Permission for the Downtime

This was an interesting read. This article discusses giving yourself permission to not obsess about everything. This is something I must work on.

And since I am writing this at the golf course, I clearly haven't listened.

It's ok. We all start somewhere.

This week, I am excited for another edcamp!

Today I discovered EdCamps!

Oh my! What a whirl wind of a day!

I attended my first EdCamp in Hershey, PA. This has been a total amazing experience! I have met new people and have learned new technology that I can use in my classroom.

Science teachers, check out https://sciencejournal.withgoogle.com/

I do not teach Science, so I haven't taken the time to check it out yet, but many teachers were raving about it! I also figure if I 'leave this info here', I will be back to check it out later!

In the Google group, I shared Google keep with one group! I am loving this app and the ability to pull it into docs. I intend to use it to save frequent comments that I can drag into students work as comments.

I also learned some great tips for how to integrate Google Tools with Schoology! 

If you never checked out EdCamps, do it!

Educating the Whole Child

Although this is not technology related, this photo still warms my heart and causes the hair on my neck to stand up. I walked into the girls' bathroom last January and saw post it notes surrounding the mirror. A group of young ladies decided to lift one another up. I love it!

What will you do today to lift up a colleague?

Some "RULES" for 1:1

As we prepare to put technology in to he hands of our students, I started to search the internet for some tips and tricks.

We Are Teachers has published a post sharing 10 Rules for a Successful One-to-One Classroom. It is worth the read.



Tip #3 says that you need a class website. Guess what is next on my list to create? I am thinking I need more purple in my life. Or should I match my classroom theme of mink and gray? Decisions, decisions! What color scheme will you use on your blog?

Preparing to go 1:1

Our district is preparing to go 1:1. For our district this means that the middle school students will all be receiving iPads. At the high school, this year many of the teachers will be getting an iPad and some other educational presentation devices. It is the intention that the students will be coming with those iPads next year.

This initiative will face many challenges. One is that the students are already challenged with how to use the technology and how to be good digital citizens. This year it will be my position to take a group of the incoming freshman and teach them how to use the Google Resources that are now available to them. My students will share laptops, but this is the first step to prepare for next year's roll out. It is also my hope to be able to provide some supports for the other teachers in my building.

Do you want some reading? Check out the information at Troxell

What are some of your questions as we prepare for this initiative?

I'm Back!

Did you miss me?

I started this blog a very long time ago. I updated it once after an iPad class. And here I am updating it for a google tools class! Ok, I am at least consistent! But there is a big difference this time!

This time, I am returning to the computer lab. I am also going to be able to present professional developments again. And I am able to attend other technology PDs. So, this time.... let's hope I am back for good!

Socrative

I recently discovered SOCRATIVE. If you are not familiar with this site, you are really missing out on something brilliant!

Socrative allows me to create quizes and tests online. And it GRADES them for me! Oooo Yeah! Life as I know it is about to improve drastically! Yes!

Additionally, I was able to name my own class. This makes it east for the students to log into my room rather than to use some random strange number.

Do you use this in your classroom? If so, share how!