Twitter Chats - CAUTION long post...I'm twitter pated

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Where to begin...a long, long time ago...just kidding.

I did my very first Twitter chat in 2014.  I know random how I know that right?  But here's the thing...it had THAT big of an impact on me.  It was spring...and I had been in my new job for almost a whole school year.  One of the things I was determined to figure out was Twitter and why/how it should be used in education.  Little did I know, that chat would set me on a path that I never imagined!

From there, I was on chats a couple of nights a week.  Learning so much from so many!  I don't remember their names...none of them are my friends...but I still found them all to be SO valuable!  I started finding my own personal rock stars that I could go to their feed when I needed tips or tricks or even just pick me ups.

Fast forward through the summer...I went to #ISTE14, tweeted about that, followed the very first #edcampVegas through twitter (injured ankle made it hard to walk), and continued my regular chats.  I decided that Las Vegas was no longer the place for me and started looking for jobs in Ohio...it's not as random as it seems in this brief history.  Anyway, I searched #ohedchat.  Low and behold, OSU, THE Ohio State University...is hiring for a job that I CAN DO!  So I tweet the original tweeter...and set the ball in motion.  That was in October and by November I was moved to Ohio.

And it all started with a Tweet!

Anyway...jump forward a few years.  I am back in Vegas...miss OSU terribly...but have a whole new adventure as a technology teacher in a K-8 school.  I'm disengaged.  I love the teachers I work with, and I love "coaching" them, but I am frustrated by how my classroom position goes.  At the end of this school year, I know that I have to make some changes.

I'm also started a MA in Admin program and the more I dive into that the more I feel called to work with teachers directly and with students indirectly.  However...I know that isn't an option.  It's not an option Erin.  You need to be a technology teacher.  I also need to recognize that I'm learning how to teach middle schoolers, I'm learning how to teach technology, I'm learning how to teach in a Catholic school again, I'm learning...and that is OK.

Now...let's jump to tonight.  Monday, June 12th.  I saw @ryan7read post about a #tlap chat.  I know that I'll have to participate in a chat soon for one of my assignments, so I decided I would join in.  I put it on my calendar.  (Cause you can't do anything if it's not on your calendar right?)  It just so happens that I was on Twitter an hour before and was able to join in the #edtechchat as well.

Let me preface...I've done an #edtechchat before, numerous times...and they have always been fantastic!  Tonight...I wasn't feeling it.  I was glad when it was over.  The questions were good, thought-provoking questions...but the conversation wasn't there.

I think I need the additional feedback and conversation to see what others are thinking to expand my thought process.  I already know what I think...I want more...I want to know what you think.  Are we on the same track?  Are you going to give me some insight that never dawned on me?  Are you going to reaffirm what I'm thinking?  Are we going to continue to learn from each other?

I know that #edtechchat does those things...but for me, tonight, it didn't.  I was fully ready to close my laptop and just call it a night on Twitter.  But I decided to search #tlap anyway and see what happened.  The reality is, I could leave and nobody would know if it wasn't what I needed at that moment.  So I saw @daveburgess initial introduce yourself tweet and did.  Then as I saw everyone else tweeting their names and sharing bits of who they were...I was getting some likes on my name alone.  That may not mean very much...but the reality is...in the Twitter world to me...it says "Welcome, we are glad you are here".  And well so I shared my next bit that it was my first #tlap chat and my notifications expanded about how great the chats were and how many connections I'll make and how wonderful it will all be.  Now you've welcomed me AND you are making me excited about learning from you!  I'm "hooked" (haha pun intended...get it Capt. Hook...pirate.  hahah I make myself laugh).

From there on...the questions came rolling in and the answers didn't roll out.  I loved that I could take a few minutes and be contemplative.  I could answer a question and had time to go back and review and like and comment and question and ENGAGE!  There were conversations and side conversations and it was all so positive and interesting!  I learned that a fellow teacher snorts when she laughs and that it creates a beautiful effect where the students then laugh and it's ok to be that happy and unguarded!  I learned how to address hot button topics with middle school students so parents don't get angry...send home a letter.  Duh Erin.  There was lots of talk about blogging.  We all have such a powerful voice inside us.  You won't reach everyone, but you will reach someone...share your voice. Reach that someone.  And I got a couple of blogs that I will have to share here so that if you read this...read theirs.

Mr. T's Jibber Jabber by Scott Titmas: https://mrtjibberjabber.wordpress.com/
Fearless Educators by Shawn Ford: http://fearlesseducators.com/
Love Learning. Love Life. by Krista Pedrod: https://lovelearninglovelife.wordpress.com/

At the end...I feel excited, I feel connected, I feel rejuvenated.  I can do this...I will do this...I will make mistakes and get yelled at (and then cry)...but I know that I do ALL of this because I care about the kids.  And I want to be the absolute best teacher I can be.  And on top of all that...there are educators around the world that feel the same way...whether you cry or not...and we are connected.

So thank you.

Internet = Truth!

A friend of mine used to (or maybe still does) has an email signature that talks about Abraham Lincoln referencing the truth of all things on the internet.  So let's first admit that the ridiculousness of this signature line is hilarious and I loved getting emails from him strictly for this reason.

Now, lets move on to the fact that there are some people that legitimately believe this to be true.  Not the Abraham Lincoln part (or maybe...I don't know) but the part about whatever is posted on the internet being true.  It's like saying that everything on TV is true or said on the radio is true.  It's not.

Perhaps when these medias first came out and they were revolutionary and unknown and it was FANTASTICAL! (yup...I said it) At that point in time, I suppose it was acceptable to believe that everything that was put out to the world could be believed as true.  We didn't know...but now, we do.
So we can no longer claim ignorance. And it's so important that we teach our children/students that everything is not true and how to differentiate between fact and not-so-obvious fiction.

I recently began working with my middle school students about evaluating the websites they gather their facts from in order to ensure their validity.

Side note: When I said that to them...they looked at me and I was informed that they didn't know what I was saying.  I told them we needed to look at websites and see if the information was accurate and legit.  They understood that.

Anyway...it was kind of a fun series of lessons.  I didn't tell the kids we were working on website validity.  I told them we were working on researching some kind of social justice/current event/make the world a better place website. Of course, I have to model what I expect.  So we visited http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/.

It started with choosing a cause that you have a passion for and ensuring that you are properly educated before you start spreading any message.  So I told them that this particular cause was very near and dear to my heart but I wanted them to be fully educated. Of course many of them were confused having never heard of a tree octopus. It was SO fun to be completely flabbergasted at the fact that they had never heard of this animal!!

Since they didn't know anything about the Tree Octopus, we started researching some basic questions.  Ex. Where do they live?  What do they eat?  How do they breath?  Why are they endangered?  I encouraged them to explore the website and also other websites (not provided by me).

Some classes explored outside the website others stayed solely on the page I gave them.  The ones that started exploring began questioning whether or not these animals were real sooner.  However, they came to me with "They aren't real because I've never heard of them." or "They can't be real because I've never seen one."  To which many other students jumped on board to exclaim that just because you can't see it doesn't mean it doesn't exist...i.e. atoms and molecules.  And the fact that they are only 10/11/12/13 means that they haven't explored the whole world or seen all there is to see.
It was an exciting discussion from a teacher perspective.

As time went on it was very clear that the class was divided as to whether these animals were real or not.  So we finally sat down one day and had a discussion.  No laptops, no computers, no devices.  I very seriously wanted to know what they thought since this was such a hot topic of debate in my classes.  Regardless of what they thought, I needed a solid defense...an explanation of why they felt the way they did.

In the end, I told them that the whole website was fake.  The students that believed it to be fake felt validated.  The students that believed it to be real were frustrated, amazed, and some even thought it was hilarious.  BUT, I got my point across.  Just because it's on the internet, does not mean it is real.

Map Scales and Google Earth

Do you remember breaking out your atlas to measure how far it was from your school to your house? Or maybe from your favorite vacation spot to your house?  Of course there was also the obligatory worksheet that had perfectly manicured streets with geometric houses, a school, and a library.  All different ways to learn that on the map, the distance is not real...it is a scale.

Now we're so used to using some kind of GPS (Google Maps is my personal favorite) that the concept of needing a scale is completely foreign now.  Even the kids know how to use a GPS app. The skill of reading a flap map, an atlas, is seemingly obsolete!  But, nope, it's still part of the curriculum - and I'm not arguing whether or not it's important, I'm just stating that it is what it is.

So, in technology the last couple of weeks, we have been learning about map scales (to compliment the kiddos 4th grade curriculum).  Since we have computers and not paper maps, we broke out Google Earth and since we have GPS that gives us EXACT distance, we worked on estimating.

The image of the kiddos searching on Google Earth and getting their exact distances from point A to point B (we also brought in some Nevada Geography and measured the important places in Nevada) was amazing!  They are pros!  Then the image of the kiddos using the rules on the monitor was quite funny.  Who ever imaged that we would use a ruler on a computer monitor?!  Not me!!

They really seemed to enjoy the exploration and realizing that a few inches can be anything from a few miles to hundreds (or more) of miles!!

Up next...longitude and latitude?!  Any ideas?!

Not Goodbye...

but rather, I'll see you later.

This week I am wrapping up my last week at Ohio State University.  It has been an incredible journey.  I was living in Las Vegas 2 years ago and I decided to pick up and make the move out to Ohio.  There were some personal reasons behind it, but professionally, to say that I worked at THE Ohio State...just WOW!  So when I was offered my job, I took it...no hesitation.

And WOW was right.  I met some AMAZING teachers that I will never forget.  I was fortunate enough to work with some of the TOP educational technology leaders.  Not to mention the inspirational and HILARIOUS College Ready Ohio team.

This week has been an emotional roller coaster.  I have laughed, cried, felt like nothing was changing and been blown away...literally in the matter of minutes.  IT'S ONLY TUESDAY!!  I'm going to be an emotional zombie by Saturday when I start the drive with my husband and father in law to head back to Las Vegas.

I wouldn't change it for the world.

Now, however, let me take a minute and look at this from a student perspective.  Our kids are not all stationary.  How many of us have kids that have left your class, you, their friends, and sometimes their family?  As an adult, if it's a struggle to make this kind of a change, when it was MY/YOUR/OUR own choice...imagine how hard it must be to have to deal with all of it and feel like you have NO choice.  

During my wrap up meeting with Ben, we talked about how it wasn't the LAST time we'd see each other...it would just be a very LONG time.  In order to keep from tears, I made a flip comment about us being Facebook friends.  Which, while it may seem insincere or vapid...it really does make me feel better.  I makes me feel as if the relationships that I have spent the last 2 years working on and building aren't gone forever.  I can reach out to anyone and see what's going on in their daily life.  As a military brat growing up, I was not able to do that and I lost many friends because we couldn't stay in communication about "nothing".  

Now I'm not necessarily suggesting that you become FB friends with your students.  I, personally, would recommend against that in fact.  However, what I am suggesting is use the social media platforms that are available to you to give your students a chance to stay in communication with you and their friends about the "nothings" that are happening.  Do you have a class FB page?  Do you have a class Instagram page?  What about a class Twitter account?  Even a class Snapchat might be worth looking into.  

The students will move and they will love their new teacher and they will make new friends.  But in this day and age of globally connected technology...goodbye doesn't have to be anything but I'll see you later.  

big changes...bigger freak outs

You know how we always say that kids need stability and structure.  They like it, they just don't always know it.

Well as an adult (most of the time), I can say that I LOVE IT!  I love stability, I love structure, I love routine.  I love knowing what is happening and how it's happening.  I'm especially fond of situations where I can be in control of all of the happenings.  *Self proclaimed control freak*

However, I also know that change is inevitable.  What is it "they" say, "The only thing that never changes is change."  Well, change my old friend, welcome back.

I will soon be leaving my current position as an Educational Technologist at Ohio State for a position at a Catholic school as a computer teacher.  In that sentence alone there are at least 2 BIG changes; higher ed to K-8 AND outside the classroom to inside the classroom.  HELP!

I've been a K-5 classroom teacher before but not a computer teacher.  I will be pouring over pinterest and reaching out on Twitter for help.  I will be asking for advice and suggestions and ideas.  Help, help, help.  Thanks.

Now, couple those things with the fact that Ohio State is in Ohio and my Catholic school is in Nevada -- Las Vegas -- more specifically, and WOW!!  Thankfully, I am from Vegas.  My family is there.  I made the trip from Vegas to Ohio 2 years ago for this job at OSU.  BEST DECISION!  hard move. So while I know Vegas...I'm going home...it's not an easy move.  It's a big change.

So...I think...if I'm freaking out and stressing and panicking about all of these things that are my choice and under my control, how do those kids feel?  The kids who have no choice when they move from home to home?  When they have no control about the people that are in and out of their homes? When they do not have a choice of what school or classroom they are placed in?

What can we do to help them...while we are with them?