The Not So Secret CODE To Student Engagement

This morning it was raining and so it was an "in" day.  I had a lot to do and so I put a sign on my portable door telling the kids to come in the school to the computer lab. My intention was to have them work in the lab until school started.  But, I found out that the teacher that usually starts in the lab, was not going to use her time.  Carpe Diem! Not only did we have an hour in the lab this morning, but we were able to grab a couple of other time slots due to teachers not wanting the lab today. Woot! Woot!

Having so much time on computers today gave me the luxury of giving kids time to learn some Coding. I had them go to Code.org and start with the Anna and Elsa activity.  They were self-directed and motivated to learn. Although most worked independently, I noticed that if a peer really got stuck, someone was there to give a hint. (We give hints not answers in our class.) Later in the day, we had more time and I introduced them to the web version of Tynker. I gave the kids some choice since it was towards the end of the school day. They could work in Code.org, Tynker, Gamestar Mechanic, or the other coding apps in Edmodo . They could also use the time to work on any online assignments.

We spent nearly the whole day in the computer lab doing a variety of activities. I worried a little bit about so much screen time, but the kids LOVED it! It's easy to understand why they enjoyed the day so much.

Choice-  Students are always more engaged in their own learning when there is choice. There were some general directions, but for the most part, the students directed themselves. Tynker and others have done a marvelous job (from the viewpoint of a teacher with no coding background) to provide engaging free activities for the kids to try. There is variety and choice for every type of learner.

Challenge-  Learning to code and solve the puzzles is challenging for many kids. But, it isn't so challenging that the kids give up and don't try. In fact, they are "in the zone" where magical learning takes place because the kids are so motivated to solve the problem at hand. They learn through trial and error. Errors teach and they make adjustments and move on to the next problem. Today I heard little bursts of "Ya! I did it!" or "Ugh...so close!" all day long.

Instant Feedback-  Students didn't have to wait to get valuable feedback that would help them learn and progress. The feedback was instant! They were allowed to try again and as many times as necessary until they completed the puzzle. There were no grades! There were no high-stake tests! They were intrinsically motivated, made a huge amount of progress, and experienced the real joy of learning.

Personal Success-  Today wasn't about competing with a neighbor. It was more about competing with yourself. There were all kinds of personal victories today. Peers celebrated those triumphs together.  My personal delight came while watching some of my "lowest" math students love and succeed at coding. They didn't have a clue about degrees, loops, and angles before but they sure understand it now. Little victories! I can build upon their successes that they experienced today at math. I can use the self-confidence that they gained to attack other challenges.

It was a great day!

P is for PIRATE! Preparation Meets PLN

*This post was written a week or so ago, but I didn't want to post it until the official announcement was out.  Monday night 12-1 Dave and Shelley Burgess announced that P is for Pirate: Inspirational ABC's for Educators was available for sale. Woot! Woot! The book cover is beautiful! I can't wait to see the inside!

I am soooo excited! It was just announced (via DM) that Shelley and Dave Burgess have their ABC book ready to release next week! I can't wait! I was hoping that it'd be ready to be released in time to purchase some copies for Christmas gifts and my wish came true.

I can't help but think about how being a connected educator has brought me so many opportunities- especially since I started using Twitter last June.  I don't think that it's just luck. As Seneca said, "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." I've also heard a similar quote using the word, "success" instead of luck. I think that this opportunity of contributing to the "P is for PIRATE...." book came about because of all of my work and preparation.

What did I do to prepare for this and other opportunities that are coming to me? (These ideas are in no particular order.)

1.  Read-  I'm always reading- books, blogs, articles, posts, etc. It was reading an article from Edutopia that led me to Edmodo about four years ago and the rest as they say, is history. Most of what I read is related to the field of education and if it's not related, I'm always making a connection to education in some way.  It's my way of being a life-long learner. The more I read, the more I know, and the more I want to know.

When I found and read Teach Like A Pirate, it spoke to me. It validated everything that I'd been doing my whole teaching career.  I made many personal connections to the text as I read the book.  I never dreamed that I would ever know the author, Dave Burgess. I certainly didn't ever imagine that I'd be collaborating together (even in a small way) on a book.

2.  Connect- When I started using Edmodo, connecting with other educators was an easy, natural practice.  As a newbie, I had several amazing, life-changing experiences of collaborating with other educators across the country and around the world.  Although I still have never met many of my online friends and acquaintances in person, we are friends.  I hope that someday that we can connect face to face. I know that it will be a big, happy family reunion.

It is very empowering to meet and work with amazing educators who are like-minded. I grow professionally in immeasurable ways! My students grow because they benefit from my learning and growth. They also benefit because I'm able to connect them to their peers, across the country, and around the world because of the teachers that I meet online. Connecting on Twitter allows me to connect and grow with a whole network of people on a regular basis. The whole experience is something that I'm unable to describe to other educators. It's something that they will have to experience. Connecting and growing with my PLN is a virtual hug from the most inspiring people in education every single day.  Connecting with people that inspire me places me in a position to connect with even more people and expand my network. Who knows where a connection can lead? I believe that opportunities come my way because I'm a connected educator.

3.  Take-Risks-  As a teacher, I've always been a risk-taker. I've always challenged the status quo and done things a little differently than most teachers.  I'm usually one of the first people to try something new. I may feel a little fear and anxiety to take a risk, but challenge motivates instead of paralyzes me.

 I hate the phrase, "I'm just a teacher." But as a newbie to Twitter, I was "just" a teacher with only a few tweets and few connections to my credit when I reached out to Dave and Shelley. To my thrill and surprise, they not only Followed me, but interacted with me. I felt like I mattered and actually had something to contribute to the conversations. Since then, we've interacted many times. I'm so grateful for their friendship, genuineness, and being down-to-earth. I consider both of them role models and appreciate their enthusiasm and love for education and kids.

I'm sure that all of my hard work also had something to do with my preparation for meeting this particular opportunity.  I admit that I'm a workaholic to the point that I consciously have to plan to have more balance in my life. But reading, connecting, and taking risks is opening doors that I didn't even know existed.  I'm amazed and grateful for the opportunities that are coming to me.  I hope to keep preparing myself for many more.

Too Good to Start a Revolution!

Today my team dressed up as a royal court of queens (cousins to King George III) and thanked our colonists for paying their taxes.  We thanked them for being loyal and paying without resisting. All three of us wore many "jewels" and expressed our desire to have more. We encouraged the colonists to keep paying their taxes. Our message went right over their heads! I have no one that's even upset in the slightest way to pay taxes without any representation.

This year I'm feeling that my class is just "too good to start a revolution"! They are cheering for the King throughout the day by saying, "Long Live King George III!". No amount of taxes have caused them to stop and think about why they are paying. The taxes keep getting higher. Some students are running out of money. But they still pay without the slightest complaint. The only sign of frustration that I've seen is when I accused some kids of having a secret meeting and of talking badly about King George III. Tomorrow I will have to frustrate them even more!

A Great Lesson Using Nearpod!

I've played with Nearpod before but I haven't use it consistently. I don't know why other than not taking the time to troubleshoot.  Today I taught one of their FREE pre-made lessons about Glaciers. Everything worked seamlessly! I was so excited! There were a few times where I held my breath inside, but nothing went wrong. It was amazing! Kids were engaged! They loved drawing the glaciers and having me share their masterpieces. We laughed and enjoyed the lesson. It always helps to have some SUCCESS without using a plan B or C. Can't wait until tomorrow!

*It also helped to know that I'd have iPads for the whole morning! Wow! Awesome day!

Blended Learning Blunders

Even before I'd heard the term "flipping" back in 2011, I tried to create a blended learning environment in my own way. I occasionally had access to about 15 very old laptops through a check out system. Although they were available for other teachers, it soon became apparent that other teachers didn't want to bother with maintaining old laptops and so I had them in my classroom quite often.

Sometimes it's good to experience some success early on when you're trying something new. I experienced a lot of success! Kids were motivated, loved doing assignments online, and enjoyed the ability to extend the classroom walls beyond the traditional clock. As a class (actually 5 sixth grade classes), we had many engaging discussions after school hours about the subjects we were learning about and about life in general. But the utopia didn't last for long.

Every year brings a new group of students and going back to teaching 5th grade was a challenge. They enjoyed playing the games and chatting. But to engage in conversation, to complete assignments, to watch even a 2 min. video of instruction was difficult. I also had about 10 students who didn't have regular access to the Internet and more that didn't have tech or homework support at home. I tried to do an in-class flipped model. That's really hard without access to devices. I grabbed the iPads and scheduled lab time as often as I could! It required me to be very flexible with my schedule and to adapt all of the time. The inconsistency of having devices made my schedule inconsistent. And...having the classroom schedule being changed all of the time had benefits but certainly had a lot of disadvantages.

This year I feel more prepared to teach in an online environment than I ever have before. But, I still lack the consistent access of tech. I try very hard to keep a consistent schedule. It's virtually impossible when I'm trying to grab 30minutes of lab time here and 30 min. there.

Although I love sharing what I have learned these past few years, the more I teach others how they can integrate tech, the less time with the lab or devices that I have for my class. It's a true dilemma for me.  My wanting to share almost always trumps my greedy desire for lab time or iPads.

I'm in a strange situation. I KNOW what I could be implementing, I have SOME knowledge of how to use the tool or program, but I need the TIME to PRACTICE with the kids. I need time to troubleshoot. I need time to feel confident. I need time to make the tool work seamlessly with a lesson.  I know that by the very nature of wanting to use tech that I should always have a plan B,C, and D. I do that now. I want to get to a point where I can prepare a lesson without it taking me hours of my time for one lesson. It's not about the tech! It's about the teaching and learning. However, it is somewhat about the tech if you're learning how to use the web tool or program.

At some point, I will find a way to get a set of iPads or even better-laptops for my class. I am determined! I need access to tech every day all day! That's when I could really develop a blended learning classroom.

Overwhelmed and Out of Breath!

     The start of this school year was crazy! I had to move my whole classroom to a portable classroom and only a day before Back to School Night. The only thing that I had time to do was basically shove things in a closet or in a box. The portable has NO storage! I was glad to have the room clean for Back to School night let alone decorated. The parents were kind and very understanding.

     I caught a flu bug. It hung on to me for nearly two months. For a while it was in my head and I had terrible headaches. At other times, it was in my chest. It was not fun to be coughing for two months! The worst part of it all, is that it made me weak. I physically didn't have the energy to do that things that I'd normally do at the beginning of the year.

****This was the start of a post that I never finished. I decided to publish it anyway.

Excuses! Excuses!

I have a long list of excuses for not blogging! Every weekend, I've read tweets and blogs and told myself that I needed to take the time to write a post. But, the weekends slipped by and the weeks started to add up quickly. At first it was only a couple of weeks behind--I could catch up, I thought. But, I never did. What a hypocrite! I talked to my kids about the value of blogging. I encouraged other teachers to blog. And the whole time, I didn't make time to keep up my own blog.  Maybe it's because I struggle with thinking that I have anything important to say. Maybe it's because I've been so busy that I haven't even had time to breathe. Being in school and teaching full time is hard! I'm exhausted at night! Other people have done it so I shouldn't whine. Maybe it's my inner struggle of "being out there and vulnerable". I'm such a private person by nature. Maybe there's some fear in me if I'm to be honest. I KNOW I need to blog and document my professional journey. I KNOW that through reflection that I'll grow. I KNOW this because I kept a journal for most of my life and know how going back and reading my thoughts and feelings helped me to grow as a person. And...because I know this....I will try again to keep a consistent blog.