An Island of Images

Right?  My title gives you NO indication what my post will be about.  HA!  That's ok.  I'll explain it here and I'll also explain the title.

I'm going to talk about Pixabay.

Title first: In my head a bay = an island.  While geographically incorrect, it's the word association my brain uses to remember the website.  I can call it what I want.  :)  Pix = pics = an image.  Get it?!  Get it?! Huh?! Huh?!

The "a" is inconsequential.

This summer Tony Vincent came and talked to a group of teachers that I work with and one of his suggestions for finding images for presentations was Pixabay.

Why use that when Google images has all of the possible wondrous images that you could ever image?  Well....because of copyright laws.  That's why.

Pixabay images are from users who upload the images and you have free right to use them, change them, reprint them, etc. all without giving credit.  You are totally in the legal free and clear when using Pixabay.

Why does this matter?
It matters because back in the day when the only thing teachers and students did was create a power point and show it within their own classroom or school.  While that was still not legal, nobody really knew and it could easily be "swept under the rug" and ignored.  Now your audience, whether you are a teacher or a student, is on a much more global scale.  Folks are bound to notice if you are using their material illegally.  Or maybe they won't.  But do you really want to 1) risk it? 2) set that example for your students?

Nope.

Give Pixabay a chance.  They have some really amazing pictures.  You may even consider uploading some of your own and know that other educators out there are using them and sighing in relief because they are in the copyright free and clear.

A Step Away

For the last week, I've taken a step away from blogging, Twitter, Buffer, and anything work/social media related.  I should have but didn't take a step away from Facebook, but that is more of a personal social media than professional, so I felt justified in being able to chat with friends from all over the country and wish them a Merry Christmas.

In taking the time away from my professional world, I felt like it would give me a chance to reset. My brain was on overload and there was so much flying around in my head that I didn't know what to do next.  When I came back to work, I restarted and organization was my priority.  I started with a small Buffer list, then moved to my calendar, then last organized my emails.

I feel like I'm in a better place to move forward in an organized fashion.  Do you need to take a step away?

Blab Blab Blab Blab...Beta

Recently Periscope has been a tech tool that has everyone a buzz.  To be able to cast to anyone, or specific someones, in real time - at the moment - has been awesome!  And don't get me wrong, it's still awesome and still has some great potential for educational purposes.  I may even blog about it at some point.

But what I want to talk about today is Blab.  It's an app that I recently found.  I want to say that I discovered it from a Tony Vincent tweet.  I gave it as an option to one of my teachers who was looking to support his Physics classes outside of school hours.  After that, I didn't focus on it too much.  Not because I didn't want to but because I had other things I was focused on.  Don't judge...you're busy too.  ;)

So a couple of days ago, I decided I wanted to explore Blab more.  As opposed to Periscope, you can actively engage with viewers.  So I want to actively engage with you!!  Plus, you can schedule a Blab and get a link ahead of time in order to be prepared.

<Tangent> That's me.  I like to be prepared.  Probably a little too prepared if you ask any of my family and friends.  A back up plan for my back up plan for my plan.  And even then, different versions of all the back up plans.  What?! <Tangent End>

I tried to schedule and hold a test Blab yesterday, but was at the dentist getting some fillings done. BOO! And decided my mouth may be a little too tender to have strangers looking at my face.  I rescheduled the test for today at 8PM EST (because my face is not tender...my dentist is GREAT!).

Tonight's Blab will be 15 min.  It's called Bedtime Stories and I will ask 1 question.  Share your stories with me.  Teachers are amazing story tellers...so here's a chance to share.  Join me tonight: https://blab.im/erin-g-bedtime-stories-test-blab-1

See you then!

K12 vs Higher Ed

I come from a K12 background.  I just finished my 1st year in a Higher Ed setting.  It's been an adjustment.

The whole time I was in K12, I would find myself saying, "I'm preparing them for college and real life".  Now, I see that what I was preparing them for, is not in fact Higher Ed.  Ok...in some ways yes; critical thinking, independence, making good choices, etc.

However, the way I was teaching...giving choices, allowing for creativity, asking for creation and explanation of thinking.  Granted, I didn't have much of a choice because this is how I was directed to teach, but I also agreed with it.  With all my heart!  I felt like much of that allowed for the critical thinking and independence and making good choices.

I feel like as a child I got REALLY good at following directions and "being a student" so that now, being free and creative is sometimes a challenge for me.  I don't want my students to feel that way.

Anyway, back to the point...in Higher Ed, sometimes it still feels like what it used to 15 years ago when I went to undergrad.  There's a gap.  There's a difference between how we teach in K12 and how we teach in Higher Ed.  And if they aren't already feeling it, students will soon figure it out.

How do we close the gap?  How do we focus on the best way to reach students?  Will students revert to "studenting" when they go to college?  Will they want the more interactive way of learning?

Want to get "Buffer"?

A colleague of mine, that is also pretty active on Twitter, recently introduced me to a website called Buffer.  It allows you to decide how often to send out tweets and schedule those tweets ahead of time. When he first explained it to me I admit I was a little lost as to why I would need something like this website in my life.  Then I tried it.

I now know "all the whys" that this website should be in my life!

1) It allows me to plan out and schedule my tweets ahead of time.
    I was always curious how fellow Twitter teachers always had the time to post something every 30       minutes or every hour or whatever their time frame.  I still don't know how some of them do it, but     I know what I do!

2) I want to start building a bigger presence on Twitter.
    I can't build a presence on Twitter if I'm not on Twitter.  I want what I say and do to have an      
    impact.  Again, I cannot do this, if I'm not on Twitter.  So simple solution, Buffer does all the work     for me and tweets out what I have schedule.

3) Of course, as a teacher, I immediately start thinking of the possibilities this could have for a    
    classroom.  
    Teachers know their assignments and tests well in advance.  You can schedule reminder tweets and     focus on in the moment tweets as they come up.  What about PD for teachers?  Schedule tips and
    reminders of what was covered to keep the material fresh in everyone's minds.  Do your parents
    follow you?  Tweet school events, classroom homework, blog posts, etc. to keep parents informed
    of what's going on in your classroom.  Should Admin use it?  DEFINTINELY!  It would be a
    fantastic way to send out positive notes to your staff as a whole.  In addition to reminders of  
    meetings or upcoming events.

Ok so those may not be "all the whys" but it's a pretty good start.  I definitely highly recommend using this website.  You do have to create an account (I created my account through my Twitter account so it was one less account to keep track of) but it's free unless you decide to "Upgrade to Awesome".

One Tab

I cannot stand where I have a messy and cluttered desktop.  I can't find anything and I can't see my picture of Disneyland's 50th Anniversary Castle by Thomas Kinkade, both are equally important to me.  That being said, I try very hard to keep my desktop very organized.

I also cannot stand to have a million bajillion tabs open either.  Unfortuately, I am VERY guilty of this.  I leave a tab open because I won't remember it if I close it.  I leave a tab open because I work on it daily.  I leave a tab open because I know I will have to refer to it in a meeting today, tomorrow, or next week.  I'd rather have a million bajillion tabs open than a million bajillion bookmarks, cause at least I know I can close the tabs.  The bookmarks...I'm too lazy and they will stay there for eternity.

Knowing that I have a problem with tabs (the first step is acknowledging it right) I decided to do something about it today.  This summer I went to a Google Summit in Charleston, SC.  One of the presenters, Chris Craft, talked about Chrome Extensions.  So I busted out my black and white composition notebook (yup I like to take notes old school) and looked up what he had suggested. There it was, beautifully printed "One Tab: put multi tabs in one page ---> multiple links to share w/ students".

So I downloaded One Tab.  And in 5 minutes, I had downloaded, figured it out, and my life is now changed!  I hear the angels singing above my head as I do a little happy dance in my seat.

Once you download One Tab, you click on it and it absorbs all the tabs for that page and closes it.  I organized my tabs on each page - work, social, articles to read, etc. - so I did this for approximately 5 open windows.  Holding my breath (because at this point EVERYTHING IS GONE!!!) I opened a new empty window and clicked on the One Tab icon on my extension bar (or whatever that area is called) and it showed me a list with all my windows and all the tabs that were open under each window.  I could restore or delete any of them!

Those angels singing became a frickin' choir!!!

Learning in November

Have you ever seen Alan November present?

Let me tell you...well, to me anyway, it's awe-inspiring.  I was lucky enough to be able to see Alan at ISTE 2014.  Then as an incredible perk to my current job, we brought him in to speak to faculty and staff one day and then to the high school teachers the next day.  I spent 2 full days with him.  

Let me share some take aways.  

1) While he represents "ed-tech", you almost forget that he's ed-tech.  He speaks to such a global shift in education and learning.  It's not a tool, it's a thought process.  Design assignments, create learning environments in a digital world - not a paper world.  *mind blown*

2) Almost everything is beneficial to someone that is not in the world of education.  The "site:" command for Google search for example.  The majority of people are googling just with some random words and retrieving thousands and hundreds of thousands of results.  With a few commands, you could have much more precise and much fewer results.  

3) Talk to him 1:1 if you can.  When you talk to him, he asks questions, he wants to know about you and your experiences.  He is enthusiastic and appreciative of what you share.  When you talk to Alan, you feel like he really wants to know about you and what you are doing in education.  

4) Despite being overwhelmed, you leave feeling like you can see his vision.  You have no idea how you will possibly achieve said vision, but you know it's possible.  Even if it's only with one tiny first step.  

Thanks Alan.  I'm again, renewed, inspired, and refreshed.  

Take a Vacation

So I recently returned (yesterday) from a vacation.

"What does that have to do with anything?  Oh great!  Is she going to start showing a ton of family pictures?  I don't know you, I don't care."

So all this is flying through my head.  And while my vacation is more personal than I am going to share, I have a different point to make.  Being a teacher, I often find that when I'm on vacation, I'm not really on vacation.  How many of you are in that boat?  Constantly checking emails...grading papers...creating lessons, etc.

I started my vacation the first couple of days doing much of my job "from home".  I then decided to put my phone/laptop away and really focus on my vacation.  My job is across the country from my parents and "home".  The move was insanely difficult for me because my mom and I are so close.  I realized that if I spent all the time that I had set aside with her, the rest of my family, and my friends working...I would only resent my job, be angry with myself, and miss them that much more when I did return home.

That being said, your vacation is a break for you.  You need that time to recover, you need that time to decompress, and you need that time to enjoy what/who you love.  And you need to give that 100% of your attention.

Cross That Bridge

Recently, I asked a colleague of mine if he was going to submit a proposal to present at an event.  He said he planned on it.  (Neither one of us did because we ran out of time.)  I looked at him as he was replying and he had a very "nonchalant" look on his face.  The idea of submitting - not even presenting - TERRIFIED me! He didn't seem to care at all.  I cared a lot, so I asked him about it.

I'm a 30 something and I'm still afraid of rejection and judgement.  I'm still nervous to put myself out there.  Despite the fact that I aspire to be someone that others can look to for #edtech advice, guidance, conversations.  If, as a professional, I'm still not 100% comfortable...gosh, what about the kids?!

How can we get them to take that first step?  How can we get them to cross that bridge?

What Do You Sound Like?

Funny thing...I just got done recording a You Tube Live Event with a few teachers that I work with. Before getting started, you know, there's some chit chat and prepping, etc.  So the teacher, Brock - yup I'm calling you out! - says, "I read your blog post.  And it, the way you write, it sounds like you."

My initial reaction is somewhat bashful that he would have taken the time to read my rambling.  My next reaction is seriously appreciative.  Not only that he would take the time to read what I thought was important enough to write down, but to also note that he can "hear" my voice in my writing.  So thanks Brock.  It kind of means a lot to me that you read it and that you would say something like that.

That being said, those of you that don't know me...maybe can't hear that voice.  So, here's a short PD that Scott, one of my team mates, and I put together.  Appropriately enough, on blogging!  HA!

PS I am the female voice, Scott is the male voice.  

Why Do You?

Why do you teach?

Why do you cook with mushrooms?

Why do you read a book even if you know you'll cry?

Why....why....why?

I'm working on a version of PD for some of the teachers I work with and the objective is ways they can provide PD to their staff.  I have a couple of approaches, but the one that has me really thinking is blogging.  Why does this have me thinking?  Because I started reading some blogs.

For this particular PD I'm sharing the blogs of some "real" teachers.  Teachers that I know and have worked with.  Teachers who are not looked to in the ed tech world but who are looked to in their classroom.

I just finished reading a post from a friend of mine about having a student observer in her class.  Why did she agree to have that student in her class?  I then reflected back to when I had a student teacher in my class.  Why did I agree to that?  Because I wanted to be a teacher...not just to the kids, but to a future teacher.  I wanted to have an impact.  My friend wanted to give back because she felt like she didn't have a mentor.

Then I continued to think back to when I took that course in my undergrad.  I was NOT a fan of my teacher.  She wasn't warm and she wasn't welcoming.  In fact, she said I didn't take any initiative.  I don't think she knew it was because I was worried I was stepping on her toes.  Why was she selected to have me in her class?  Why did she agree?  Why did I decide to continue on the path to teaching when my experience had been so negative?

Why am I where I am today?  Why am I working with teachers now more than kids?  Why am I out of the classroom?  Why is it so hard in a classroom?  Why would you want to stay in a classroom?  Why would you want to leave the classroom?  What makes you love teaching...regardless of who you teach?  Why are you a teacher?

Why.

Because of You

Kelly Clarkson said it best in her song "Because of You"..."Because of you, I find it hard to trust".

So I recently came up with my own little theory as to why so many people are so adamantly against the use of technology, specifically in the classroom.

Humans are programmed to lose trust when they are disappointed or let down.  Unfortunately, we are often times disappointed and/or let down by technology.  Not just classroom tech, but everything! How many times has your phone broke, or you A/C quit working (in the summer), or the copy machine ate your copies?!  All of these instances lead to a mistrust of technology.  Especially when the molding of young minds is what is "at risk".

I then think, how do we go about trusting again, once we've been disappointed.  We either completely reject someone/something or we protect ourselves.  Since technology is not going anywhere, I highly recommend protecting ourselves.  What does this mean?  It means understanding that technology is man made.  It's not doing anything on purpose to try and cause you problems.  But it's also not perfect.  So have a back up plan.  

How are you going to teach this lesson with technology? 

How you would teach it without technology?

Preparation is the key when it comes to protecting yourself.  Don't let yourself be afraid to trust.  

 

Weebly

I've been wracking my brains about what my first "official" post should be about, but nothing was very satisfying to me.  It's probably because I hadn't figured out my approach, my purpose.  I wanted to talk briefly about Weebly, but was so hesitant because Weebly was "work" and I didn't want my blog to be related to my job.  However, it didn't take me too long to get some sense knocked into me again, and tell myself (yup, I do have the inner monologues),

"Erin! You wanted to do this blog because you are so in love with your job and #edtech!  It's OK for them overlap sometimes."

To which I hesitantly replied,

"Yea...that's true.  Ok, Weebly it is!"

And that's how I got here today!  So just a quick overview.  +Weebly is a VERY user-friendly, FREE (E-ticket word) website that allows you and/or your students to build websites - no coding experience needed.  However, there is an option for coding though as well.)

So here is the big question...

HOW CAN I USE IT IN MY CLASSROOM???

How many times, in your education experience (as a student, as an undergrad, as a teacher) have you been asked to create a "poster" to present information?  Posters are the GO-TO creative way to show off vast amounts of learning in a fun and creative way.  Well, now students can create a website instead!  WHAT?!?  MIND BLOWN!!!

Do you need to have a class website?  Would you like to have a class website?  Not an LMS, where you post and receive turned in assignments, but a place where parents can go to find out what's going on in your classroom. Photos, blog posts, up coming adventures, ways they can help in the school or your classroom, etc.

+Ben Clutter is a science teacher that I work with and he took his students to Costa Rica over the summer.  Before they left, he used Weebly to create web quests so the students would have the necessary background knowledge to be fully prepared for what they would be experiencing. Additionally, he had the students build Weeblys with photos, blog posts, community outreach projects, etc.  This was a really creative way to assess the student learning in an alternative setting.

In an early childhood setting*, how incredible would it be for students to help the teacher build an ABC website to showcase student learning.  Ever heard of classes creating businesses?  In today's world, it's important to have a website so your audience can find out about your business.  What about website with book reviews to go with your class library or the school library?  The possibilities are endless!!

What will you do?

Videos courtesy of +Ben Clutter 2015

*be sure to read through Terms of Service for students 13 years of age and younger

Intro

Hello!

My name is Erin and I am an Ed Tech.  In a nut shell...here is my story.

Graduate from UNLV and take a job teaching Kinder/Computers where I went to school in 8th grade. I asked not to teach computer because I wasn't comfortable enough with the content.  I then moved to a different school and teach 4th.  We had SMARTBOARDS, but I didn't use it to better my instruction.  I was still excited about them though.

After 3 years, I move to a different district, different school, and different grade level...1st.  I found there were NO SMARTBOARDS!!!  I also learned I needed to better my instruction.  Then...WE GOT SMARTBOARDS!!!  YEA!!!  However, I knew that I needed to learn to use the smartboard to continue to better my instruction and my students learning.

After 7 years of teaching, I decided to pursue my Masters in Ed Tech because I loved learning how to improve my teaching and my students' learning experience with technology.  When I graduated, I left the classroom to become an Educational Computing Strategist.  Which is just a fancy name for a teacher that "should" coach other teachers on ed tech integration but really just fixes printers.  When my district got rid of ECSs, I applied for and became a DLC; Digital Learning Coach.

Most recently (less than a year ago), I left my district, my DLC job, my home, and my state to become an Ed Tech at an AMAZING university.  Here I am lucky to be able to work with high school teachers to support their efforts in ed tech integration in their classrooms.  As well as support them as they work to encourage the rest of their staff in ed tech integration.

What's next???  I have NO idea!  It's a huge ed tech world out there and I am not done learning.  

How did you find you way into the Ed Tech world?  Thank you!