Day 26 of my 30-Day Blogging Challenge for teachers fromteachthought.com

Here is the link to the site with the 30-day challenge. 

http://www.teachthought.com/teaching/reflective-teaching-30-day-blogging-challenge-teachers/

Day 26

What are your three favorite go-to sites for help/tips/resources in your teaching?

I promise that am not trying to be s suck-up when I say this, but I honestly to love going to Teachthough.com for a lot of my resources and articles. I love the way the site is organized and the way it flows with the separate topics related to educational technology. 

However, I know that there is more to life that Teachthought.com :-). 

I have become a big fan of Twitter for educational resources this year. Before this year, I merely used it for following celebrities and SOMETIMES communicating with my students. However, in my new position as the technology facilitator, I have found some great handles to follow using Tweetdeck. 

•  (https://tweetdeck.twitter.com/) 
• Sign in and you can follow several different hashtags and twitter handles at once. 
• Look for anything with the # iledchat or #educoach
• Also Follow:
• @edwaves
• @edutopia
• @os_edtech
• @googlestudents
• @googletalks
• @google
• @inteledu
• @googleresearch
• @googleeducating
• @teachthought
• @fractuslearning
• @weareteachers
• @Larryferlazzo
• @tomwhitby
• @web20classroom
• @BUrlacher54----I mean...why not!!

I have also starting using Flipboard a ton and found it awesome for news in the techworld. 

So...give me a follow on Twitter and Check out my Flipboard!!! 

Maybe we can become a resource for each other!!

JVlk

@Vlkthetechguy

Flipboard

http://flip.it/WTkTS 

Day 25 of my 30-Day Blogging Challenge for teachers from teachthought.com

Here is the link to the site with the 30-day challenge. 

http://www.teachthought.com/teaching/reflective-teaching-30-day-blogging-challenge-teachers/

Day 25

The ideal collaboration between students...what would it look like?

I think that this question has become (in the education world) like "the meaning of life." 

When I started teaching, 11 years ago, it seemed that the "best" teachers were the ones who lectured, gave out packets and really grinded through class each day. Like most young teachers, I fell in the trap of trying to be like everyone else. 

I came in every day at 6am (school starts at 7:30) and would grade, plan and get my packet or worksheet ready for the day. I was an English Teacher so I had grammar drills ready, stuff written on the board and was ready to rock and roll when the students came in. I would teach bell to bell and leave exhausted, only to come back and do it again the next day. 

I wasn't enjoying myself and really didn't know my students that well; but I was determine to grind through my first few years and not smile until Thanksgiving (advice I was given in several of my education classes). 

After my first year of teaching, I reflected and realized that what I was doing just wasn't working. In fact, I was miserable and was dreading the start of the next year. 

Half way through my second year, I found a thing called Wikispaces (I have since evolved to Schoology and Google Sites..but this was a start). 

I wasn't sure how I wanted to use it, but I loved the fact that this tool allowed me to do on-line discussions with my kids and let them interact on a different level. 

So I gave it a whirl, and after my first week of using it, I kind of felt guilty. My kids had interacted, however: 

• I had merely posted a few questions and topics
• I used their work to drive the class and 
• didn't hand out one grammar packet or give one quiz. 

My kids seemed happier and I felt that our classroom functioned how I always imagined teaching to be. Still, I kept this all a secret. I did't want to be the teacher who wasn't doing grammar packets; and the though of putting their work and discussions on line seemed wrong. I really didn't show anyone until about May when a parent emailed by division head letting her know how she loved the "new approach" I was taking to the classroom. 

From that point on, I really just ran away with the idea of using technology in the classroom to foster student collaboration. I really tried everything from LMSs like Google Drive and Schoology to gaming apps like Kahoot to get my kids engaged with each other and drive the instruction. 

I never looked back from there. 

Whenever I reflect on what my first few years were like, I remember leaving exhausted and depressed and not feeling that I really had made a difference, yet I had worked so hard. 

After I turned the corner and let my kids foster the growth and development of the class while I moderated their learning, I fell in love with teaching with the classroom and with the kids in my classes. 

Honestly, it was student collaboration that made me fall in love with teaching and I believe saved my career :-)

Day 24 of my 30-Day Blogging Challenge for teachers from teachthought.com

Here is the link to the site with the 30-day challenge. 

http://www.teachthought.com/teaching/reflective-teaching-30-day-blogging-challenge-teachers/

Day 24

Which learning trend captures your attention the most, and why? (Mobile learning, project-based learning, game-based learning, etc.) 

Even though I am the Technology Facilitator at my school, I still think that I may fall on the "old-school" side of this one. 

I am a huge fan of mobile learning, as I do think it offers students access to an unlimited amount of information. However, I am not completely sold on game-based learning yet. Now, I do not want others to think that I am being a curmudgeon about this; but game-based learning is the one that captures my attention the most, simply because I do not know as much about it as I do mobile and project-based learning.  

We have teachers in our building who are doing some great things with apps like Kahoot that allows them to play live, interactive classroom-based learning games with their students. However, I still wonder how these games have an effect on the actual learning in the classroom. I know that the teachers who use Kahoot do a phenomenal job of trying change up the class and keep their kids engaged, but I will be interested to see how they feel Kahoot as affected the overall classroom/learning experience for the kids and if there is solid data to support that. 

I am usually the first one to jump on different bandwagons, but this is one that makes me cautious. I guess the jury is still out on this one!! 

Day 23 of my 30-Day Blogging Challenge for teachers from teachthought.com

Here is the link to the site with the 30-day challenge. 

http://www.teachthought.com/teaching/reflective-teaching-30-day-blogging-challenge-teachers/

Day 23

Write about one way that you “meaningfully” involve the community in the learning in your classroom. If you don’t yet do so, discuss one way you could get started?

So it has been about 3 months since my last post. I guess life kind of got in the way. We had our holiday break, iPad proposals and a new grade book system we had to roll out in January and February; but I need to stop making excuses......I am starting to sound like my former students  :-)

Anyways, I think that community engagement is one of the hardest things one can do as an educator, yet it is one of the most important things that a school can do to publicize some of the great things that are happening within their walls. 

We have hosted several events in our tech department to help reach out to the parents and educate them on the technology that their kids will be brining home. 

The first event we host every year is our "Parent Information Night." This night is a fairly simple night where we bring in parents in, and give them general information about the iPad, parenting tools and school expectations. It is an opportunity for parents to ask questions, bring up concerns and get some information on how the iPads will be used in the classroom. 

The second event we do is something we call, "Closing the Generation App." This event for parents takes place during our open house and gives parents an opportunity to come and actually go through a virtual class on the iPad, turn in homework and participate in an online discussion with other parents. This event was a huge success as it allowed parents to get an inside look at what their kids go through on a daily basis. 

The third event that we do is what we call an, "iPad Playground." The premise of the iPad playground is

very similar to the Apple Store concept. We have out Noggins (Student Tech Support) who are readily available to sit with parents if they want to stop by between conferences and just "play" on the iPad. 

We have only run these event for 1 year, but we are hoping to expand on them as we move forward with the iPads in the classroom.