My Twitter and Facebook are full of the same lament lately. Where has the summer gone? How can it be that the lazy days of summer that I remember as a kid somehow fly by now that I'm ... (Well, we'll just leave that sentence unfinished.)
There are more than a few things unfinished around here. I didn't paint the hallway and it got too hot to have a garage sale. On the professional side, I didn't finish the stack of books that I hoped to read and I still have a ways to go to complete my website. But, I did complete a few things. I read Launch by John Spencer and A.J. Juliani. The Launch book study combined with a collaboration between Toutoule Ntoya and some amazingly creative uses of Snapchat shared by Cynthia Day have led to concrete ideas for the 2016/17 year. We plan to connect our students to collaborate on life-based science projects using a variety of digital tools for data collection, research and sharing.
There's a lot more and that brings me to #PasstheScopeEDU, August Edition. Our topic for August 18, 2016 is how we're taking what we did this summer and implementing it in our educational practice this year. Beginning at Noon EST and lasting all day, teachers, technology coaches, administrators, curriculum specialists and consultants across the country and around the world will be sharing their plans for taking their summer learning back to school to transform their school year.
For tips on how to tune in and participate in Pass the Scope EDU, check out my friend and super amazing educator Derek Larson's blog at: Ed-Tech Babble
Here's the Broadcast Lineup for #PasstheScopeEDU, August Edition.
The July broadcast of PasstheScopeEDU is Thursday, July 21st and the line up of educators who
will be sharing their wisdom keeps growing. This month educators across the country will be sharing their plans for the upcoming school year, how we are creating something new, trying something different or stretching out of our comfort zones to grow and benefit students. Check out this schedule and tune into the broadcasts. You won't be disappointed!
Check out Derek Larson's blog for recaps on previous month's #Passthe ScopeEDU broadcasts: DEREK'S BLOG
This month PasstheScopeEDU broadcasters cover the entire US and then some!
I'm not usually competitive in conference games. I think they're fun, but when I'm actually at the conference, I'm too distracted to participate. But, #notatISTE16 has been different. It was in my "Summer Learning" plan to participate in #notatISTE16 and I've been drawn into a lot of the #shenanigans as well as a TON of learning and connecting.
Creating my #notatISTE16 badge and customized ribbon counts as fun if not necessarily #shenanigans. To get points in the #notatISTE16 challenge, you have to share the badge and tweet about it. Almost immediately, @Kitty_Tripp tweeted back:
I could have ignored this exhortation to create and share; replied nicely and moved on, but something about Kitty's Tweet struck me. I'm always talking on Voxer and tweeting on Twitter about empowerment, sharing and creation. This is an example of doing just that. Instead of simply completing the challenge, getting my points and moving on to the next thing, what if I actually empowered others to do the same.
So, I did.
When you know something, tell people so they can know too.
Thank you Kitty for pushing me outside my comfort zone.
Link to: How to Make Your Own #notatiste16 Riboon
https://www.periscope.tv/w/1ynKOPVXzyZGR
(This link might expire... Not sure about Periscope.tv links. I'm uploading to Youtube next.)
The topic on PasstheScopeEDU this month was One Big Idea and Global Connections. I have to confess that this topic had me stumped mostly because I’m terrible at narrowing things down to just one thing. There are so many tech tools and I want to learn all of them. There are so many things that need to be done in education. There are so many books that I want to read and every time I tune into EduMatch I add a few more to my list. And what about conferences; the list of conferences that I wish I could go to is long and expensive.
And, don’t get me started on Twitter chats and Voxer Groups. My Hootsuite has a tab for every day of the week so that I can follow and tune into the chats going on anywhere, any time. I actually said that I wished I had a longer commute so I could have more time to listen to my Voxes. Who says that?
Part of this is complicated by my role as an instructional technology facilitator which kind of requires you to be a jack of all trades. I support five schools from Pre-K to Early College High School and I provide support to teachers and staff in everything from our gradebook system, the state assessment and instructional support system, website creation and maintenance, Google Apps for Education, Learning Management Systems, almost any cool website or app that teachers are interested in and troubleshooting on iPads, Chromebooks, PCs, laptops and every once in awhile Macs and even installation of equipment like clickers, SMART boards, and other classroom hardware. Phew - It might sound like I’m complaining but I’m NOT. Part of what I love about my job is the variety and the constant challenge!
But, One big idea? Just ONE. hmmm….
So, I want to switch gears for just a minute and tell you about the NC State Friday Institute Innovation Bootcamp on June 16, 2016 and how you never know who or what is going to bring you to a key understanding. Steven Weber gave the closing Keynote at the Innovation Bootcamp and he framed his talk around asking questions.
My question was how to focus on One Big Idea? What’s THE most important or at least what’s THE most important to me? What am I good at or passionate about so that I can actually make a difference?
Add to the mix a conversation I had with another amazing educator, Nathan Stevens. The idea choosing One Big thing seemed limiting, especially when so much is changing and so much needs to be done. His comments resonated with me especially in my job serving five schools in using technology effectively for instruction. How could there be One Thing that would apply to all teachers and, by extension, students in Pre-K through Early College?
One last story … Have you seen Hamilton? If you said yes, you have my eternal jealousy! I was watching an interview of Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator and star, and he said he never felt like the smartest person in school. The term he used was “treading water” being surrounded by geniuses.
“Lin-Manuel Miranda: You know, I went to a school where everyone was smarter than me. And I'm not blowin' smoke, I, my, I was surrounded by genius, genius kids. What's interesting about growing up in a culture like that is you go, "All right, I gotta figure out what my thing is. Because I'm not smarter than these kids. I'm not funnier than half of them, so I better figure out what it is I wanna do and work really hard at that." And because intellectually I'm treading water to, to be here. Charlie Rose: So why do you think I'm sitting here talking to you and not sitting here talking to one of your classmates? Lin-Manuel Miranda: 'Cause I picked a lane and I started running ahead of everybody else. So I, that's the honest answer. It was like, I was like, "All right THIS."”
“Cause I picked a lane.”
So, now I’m back to choosing One Big Idea. Clearly there’s some benefit to focus, right?
Last tidbit to my story. Really. I promise. Steven played the Moonshot video as part of keynote is in my brain about asking the the right questions. Then he showed the Moonshot video. Even if you've seen it before, listen to Astro Teller's segment at 2m16 sec. It's faster/better than me explaining.
What am I bothered by? Well, the list is pretty long in education these days, right?
Kids aren’t on grade level.
Too much emphasis on passing tests.
Not enough emphasis on learning that lasts.
Technology moves so fast, I can barely keep up, and I LIKE technology.
Professional Development rarely meets my needs.
How do I reach the crazy, heartbreaking, diverse needs of the kids in my classroom AND teach my standards?
Or now, how do I support the teachers and staff in five schools from Pre-K to Early College?
What’s the one thing that helps me deal with all the challenges of this job? Is there one answer? I wouldn’t have made you read this long story if I didn’t believe there is!
For me, everything changed when I started becoming a connected educator and I’ve decided that THAT is my One Big Idea.
It addresses everything doesn’t it? Being connected empowered me to figure out how to help kids who aren’t on grade level. When I discovered the #flipclass chat on Twitter in changed everything. At first, I was too terrified to participate. I just lurked, but finally I asked a question and Brian Bennett and Cheryl Morris and Andrew Thommason tweeted back. They were amazingly generous with their time and their knowledge. And it changed everything. Before I knew it, I had flipped my classroom and started reaching those kids.
There are chats and connected educators willing to help you learn and grow, anywhere, any time. I won’t address every single thing on MY list, but here’s my mission….
I wasn't bothered, but today, I choose to be bothered. And I choose to believe that it is possible to connect them all.
My One Big Idea
It's something I'm passionate about. It's something I can do with the help of the amazing people in my PLN and it will change everything.
Wait a minute... I need to scroll back through my Voxer feed.... Ok, that took WAY longer than expected because Edumatch is on fire, but here it is.
Snapchat Vox Zero*
*As in patient zero.
Wednesday. March 30. 5 Seconds. Snapchat Revolution .... well, for me at least. It turns out that Colleges and Universities have been using Snapchat to showcase student life and promote their brand for years. Education bloggers have been writing about Snapchat's usefulness for quite some time, but, as Wired said so bluntly,
"... [I]couldn’t really figure out what Snapchat is supposed to be used for. And so [I] turned [my]back on Snapchat. [I] shrugged and thought Well, it’s for those damn Millennials...."
That was until Snapchat Vox Zero, by Sarah Thomas, hit the Edumatch Voxer group. I'll be honest, the transformation was not immediate. I did not download the app right way. I did not set up my account immediately. I don't think of myself as a naysayer, but my first reaction was Nah! I couldn't really see an educational use for an app that is known for disappearing, silly and often inappropriate pictures. Here's how I went from Nah! to OMG! Two hours later Cynthia Day forwarded a Vox by Daniel Bauer (aka alienearbud) describing educational applications of Snapchat. There seemed to be a reason to pay attention to this Voxer conversation. On Voxer, we continued to discuss problems - It's blocked at school. What if we receive inappropriate Snaps from students? There was a serious security concern in the past. Legitimate concerns. Later that day Sarah posted her Snap Ghost! I wanted one too. A few hours later, she posted a Snapped video with a filter and a sticker. Then there were filters with rainbows and zombies. Basically, she let us watch her learn how to use the app. Within 24 hours, I had my Snapchat account up so I could start exploring too.
It's awesome ==> Watch me play ==> Come play too
At some point, Toutoule Ntoya invented the phrase Snapchat Shenanigans* and we all just jumped in to play and learn the app. As the play ensued, ideas for using Snapchat in our classrooms, our buildings and our districts emerged; ideas that we couldn't imagine until we started using the app.
* Shenanigans is Toutoule's trademark word.
Eight days later, I am definitely at OMG about the possibilities. I've practiced making and downloading stories and I can't wait to use Snap Stories to share what's going on inside our schools and classrooms. I've even submitted a Geofilter to Snapchat for approval. Then, this weekend, I had the opportunityto talk about Snapchat at EdCampSpark held at Discovery Place Studio in Charlotte, NC and the learning and ideas grew even more. We have a Google Doc with our ideas here that you are welcome to add to or just read through for inspiration.
