Ecosystems

 

Weekly Curriculum Update

Dear Parents, 

Welcome to Week # !

The curriculum calendar for this week has been attached, here are some highlights for this week.

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• https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NrFwEV33Uxl6FcPsCVLMhorvPneaPo3w_HlbTAKWukg/edit#heading=h.rm64dkbn5dc5

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Keep Calm, Almost Done Teachers

So I am closing out my Spring Break like most school administrators, teachers, and students. For me,  as a Technology Director, Spring Break can be used as a time to catch up with work that you couldn't do when teachers and students are in school or a time to just relax. For me, the time was used for a little of both; I got to relax with my children (or lack thereof), and a little catch-up work. As I am working on cleaning my Google Drive Folders (thanks for the tip Alice Keeler), adding information to my PLC Google Classrooms and creating my upcoming Google Certified Educator Classroom for a select group of teachers, I take a look at my website, www.eujonanderson.com. As I begin to update my website, adding the training sessions from this past year's FETC and other digital tools, I look at my blog. The last post I submitted was back early in 2018. The blog post was interesting because I wanted to give teachers something to think about as they came back from the Christmas Holiday Break. Here is that particular article: Message to Educators: Finish Strong.

So after Spring Break, I guess it's a pretty good time to submit my first blog post for the 2019 school year, and it is a reminder to "Finish Strong". In the last blog post, my objective was to give teachers some ideas of what they can do to finish up the school year. We all know that during this time, burnout is real. This is especially true to teachers who do not feel like they had the support for the school year, whether it was from leadership, their colleagues, parents, and even the students. As best as I can, I would like to say, to keep going educators, and finish the fight. If you are wondering why I am saying this now, it's because of how far you have come, especially through whatever obstacles and challenges that came this year. The end of the school year will be here before you know it. But, if I can do my best to motivate you to remain interactive, innovative, and creative in the classroom (wouldn't be a Technology Director if I didn't), here are some more tips and ideas along with those from last year's article.

Take a Break or Fix your Social Media
Now, I'm not a big fan of removing myself away from social media. I believe that some of the information I post on social media benefits others, whether that's teachers, administrators, or even common folk. Also, I pretty much run our school systems' social media accounts so that's my other excuse to stay plugged in. But I will say to those who need a break from all of the negativity seen in social media, especially from group pages where it seems as if every post is negative to get away. However, there are alternatives. They are to block, unfollow, and snooze. Basically, get the social media negative feeds out of your life. These options work wonders as you begin cleaning your social media. I did a social media training a while back and explained that it is true, social media, even websites, at times can use an algorithm to track what your interests are and what you follow and watch on social media. So I explained to use this to benefit you. Begin blocking the negative videos, messages, and images from social media, and watch how the trends change for you. Those who follow these guidelines usually notice a change in what messages are fed to them (I've done this, and now all I receive are educational, edtech, and business-related social feeds. The only negatives are from the clothing, watches, and shoe stores because I continue to add these items in shopping carts but never purchase).

Educator Socials
Book studies, #coffeeEdu, and just simply having social gatherings with your fellow educators are essential. Use these moments to connect with your colleagues or other teachers in different school systems to connect and collaborate on different topics. Now, you do need to stay on task, for instance, if you are joining a book study or an edcamp-like setting, but I've yet to see a setting such as this where teachers couldn't open up and have an honest discussion about what's going on in their schools or classrooms. The challenge is to make certain that whatever is intended for that event to be the main focus and do not turn it into a venting session. Even though venting sessions are needed as well, I still believe the goal should be to come up with a solution or brainstorm any changes that could take place. I recommend that you set something up now. Yes, get a group of teachers, set an evening where most could attend and create this time. You would be surprised, but maybe there are teachers who are trying to set these up, they just need a push as well. Depending on the culture of your school and leadership, I recommend sending the brainstorm and thoughts to your administrators as long as the group feels confident in sharing. This doesn't mean the administrators will react on it, but similar to venting, I say after you get it off your chest, at the very least you have notified them in a professional manner.

Try One Digital Tool for Innovation, and Stick to it
From my last blog, I mentioned working with positive teachers to finish strong and to collaborate with them. This is still true at this moment. So the challenge I give you is to come up with an innovative lesson, either something you will do as a group of educators or just in your classroom, and stick to it. Failure or not, continue to work on it to finish out the year. I only say this because I have seen teachers who at times do not give a lesson a chance once they feel it crashed the first time. On the other side, I've seen teachers who have so many innovative and creative tricks in their bag that it overwhelms the students. As technology director who also assists with professional learning, I believe in working with a few digital tools until they are mastered before a teacher should move on. For instance, tools that I solely believe in that allows collaboration and offers a more student approach would be Google Suite for Education, Flipgrid, and Seesaw (Seesaw mainly used for primary). I have teachers focusing primarily on these tools because I know there are thousands of ways they can be used and if you are on Twitter, ideas are steadily growing (check out #GoogleClassroom, #FlipgridFever, and @Seesaw). Yet, there are still teachers who haven't tried them for whatever reason. So I would say if you can get access to any of these tools, whether through your district or if you have to sign up for free (all of these have free accounts) to try at least one, and come up with several ways on integrating it in your classroom for the remainder of the school year.

Message to Educators: Finish Strong. #NoCountDowns

We have come upon a New Year. The holidays, celebrations, and thrill is either over, or for some people still going on (sometimes people don't get down from Holiday high until after Super Bowl). As educators, it is "round 2" for the school year. Depending on where you teach or what level you teach determines how you will begin your second round of school. Some educators are Primary teachers or even Secondary, who will receive the same students. Some, on the other hand, are on some type of block schedule, or you are even in Higher Ed, meaning you have an entire new group of students.

No matter if you have a new group of students or the same students, the challenge will be if we can stay focused and finish the race strong. Maybe you were inspired at the beginning of the school year. Maybe you attended a conference over the summer or beginning of the school year. Somehow, during the latter months of October and November, the excitement may have worn off. You're exhausted from long hours of teaching. You are tired of staff meetings, professional development days, and the holidays couldn't get here fast enough. Beyond this, the holidays went by to quickly, and you didn't even have time to prepare for the second semester.

Kudos to you educators who came in a few days earlier to prepare for the next semester and for those who even stayed late to get everything ready for the "new" students. In my opinion, whether you have a new group or not, they are all new to you.

With all of this being said, I would like to encourage you to stay strong, finish strong, and do not think about counting the days down until school is finish. In other words, #NoCountDowns! Do your best to give your all to your students. They are counting on you, and they need it, believe it or not. Though this may become difficult, especially because of the obstacles ahead, including testing dates, Spring Break, more testing dates, and then summer, here are some things you can do to help stay strong.

Collaborate with other positive Teachers 

Collaborating with other teachers is key to this time of year. They are going through the same you are going through, of course, and what better way to get to the finish line than with other teachers. Notice I mentioned positive teachers. What ever information is fed into your mind will determine how you will finish the race. It's okay to have "venting" or teacher's lounge talks, but be careful on how often you have them. Instead, try taking the time to brainstorm on ideas of how the two classrooms can work together. Challenge each with activities to try with your students. Try that app or do that lesson you wanted to do in the first semester that either you didn't get to or didn't work as well. Hopefully, you can find (or it may be you) that wacky, always excited, ready for the next challenge teacher, and just hang on to their coat. You will be amazed at all of the things you could do before school ends.

Lean on your PLC, or find one/some

Besides having that wacky-tacky teacher to collaborate with, make sure your Professional Learning Community is up to par. As a matter of fact, try to become a part of several. For instance, there are a number of growing PLCs on social media, whether it's Facebook or Twitter, that have great educators who are always sharing great information and are great places to continue to grow and work for the remainder of the year. My advice, get on Facebook or Twitter, find a good hashtag (#Edtech, #flipgridfever, #HipHopEd, #tlap, #BER are some of my favorites), and not only use it to grow your followers, but to actually incorporate some of ideas into your last 4 or 5 months. I look forward to my PLC's twitter chats more now than I did back in September, because I know this is when I need them the most.

Attend Edcamps and free online Webinar/Conferences
I believe that all educators need to attend conferences to network, learn, grow, and share ideas. I also feel that conferences can be used as a time to pickup educators who are drained or uninspired in school. This is critical to have, especially during the second half of the school year. However, majority of school systems may not have funding for its teachers to attend opportunities like this. To accommodate this. I advise educators to take advantage of local Edcamps and inexpensive or free webinar or online conferences.

Edcamps and online conferences are great ways to have that extra pickup for the second part of the year. Both of these events allow you to network with other educators who have possibly gone through the same type of year you have. Better yet, they may have best practices, tools, and other apps that may have worked for them or didn't work. There are great educator led discussions that occur, which leave participants with a new insight and just enough fire to continue through the finish line. Slowly becoming awesomely popular, are your online conferences. What better way to get ideas and listen to other great educators and edtech gurus than to sign up and participate in an online conference. One online conference that comes to mind is the Ditch the Conference that was held online this past month in December. Instead of bringing the educators to the conference, organizer Matt Miller brought the conference to the educators.

Tell your story: Listening to Podcast - A Passion for Storytelling and Equity with Ken Shelton

WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE IS GOING TO BE THE NEXT BIG IMPORTANT THING TO SHARE?
"Story telling needs to be more amplified. Make sure your story is appropriately represented and distributed. You tell the story in the capacity that would be proud of that tells the real story and not someone else's." - Ken Shelton

This was the last question that Creative Learning Strategist, Barbara Bray of Rethinking Learning, asked Edtech Team keynote speaker Ken Shelton in the podcast A Passion for Storytelling and Equity with Ken Shelton. The entire podcast, in fact, had great passion with the moderator, Barbara, and Ken Shelton. Speaking on topics ranging from Mr. Shelton telling his life story, how he got into education, and eventually his drive behind educational technology, in particularly, how educational technology can impact minority students.

There were many viewpoints in the podcast. In fact, I was so moved by it, that I created a topic in my Online PD Google Classroom (called Troy Academy Online), asking my fellow administrators, teachers, and outsiders who are apart of the classroom, to review the podcast and begin a discussion.

A question that stood out amongst teachers, that I have worked with during my professional learning sessions, is in regard to how school systems use certain jargon to distinguish students. Is there really an equitable divide when schools use the terminology AP, Honors, remedial, and then regular classes? To me, this is intriguing because at times, when educational technology professional learning opportunities are brought into the school, by default, some teachers instantly think of which student group - AP, Honors, regular, etc. - would benefit and actually learn from those skills learned. For instance, when you enter a classroom and suggest a great app to use or a new project to try, I see the look on a teacher's face as they think and say, "which period would this work best" or "this may work for my AP students".

I can get deeper into that topic (maybe for another blog post). However, the last part of the podcast was just as much intriguing. As the conversation is ending, Mr. Shelton speaks on how the impact of technology in the classroom, if use effectively, can give students a voice.

"...In an ideal equitable environment, you have to have technology so each and every student has a platform for their voice. How many stories are going on right now in classrooms that we don't know?...I would like to see telling stories more amplified. If you don't tell your story, someone else will."

This message has carried me from the time I listened to this podcast, and prayerfully, throughout my life. What is your story? How do you represent your story. Can you represent your story, in a way that you are proud of and that no one else can tell?

We all will have different stories. From the administrator who strives to promote equity and equality in their school system, to that teacher who works overtime to give his or her students an engaging and impactful day that makes students not want to leave the class. To the technology directors (shout out to my TC family), who make sure the network and all devices are operational, and no one notices it. Everyone has a story to tell which is great, but make sure it is YOU that is telling the story.

Be sure to tell your story and how it is impacting your students and possibly the world.

A Passion for Storytelling and Equity with Ken Shelton : Rethinking Learning

Evening Out: Chats on the Square

On a Thursday night, students of Troy City Schools, along with teachers and community members, got together and had a chat. This particular day, called Chats on a Square, was inspired by the popular Ted Talks, but with a twist. Instead of just having talks, different genres of art were displayed. There were music selections, poetry, artwork, and inspirational speeches at Chats on the Square. You heard dialogues from University professors, songs and acting from dram club students, and powerful poetry and speeches from several individuals from Troy City.

To top off the evening, were two motivational chats from community members who grew up in Troy, went to school, and are now key figures of the City of Troy.

This year's Chats on the Square, was based on having powers; powers of persuasion, purpose, process, and the power of poetry and prose. The evening started off with a light selection of music by Henry Everett. After Mr. Everett's selection of jazz music, senior Kat Deal performed several songs with her guitar. This sparked the interest of the community as they walked downtown Troy, which led some to sit and listen.

The MC for the night, Ms. Elizabeth Huggins, welcomed everyone and gave a brief synopsis of what was in store for the night. Each session had a teacher to give their thoughts on a particular power, followed by selections from students and other community members.

Carrie Rice gave a revelation on why it is important to express yourself through poetry. She was followed by two students, who recited poems, which placed them in this year's Poetry Out Loud competition. Sherrell Walker, a senior for Charles Henderson High school, performed "Living", while Reagan Gross, a junior, performed "A Poison Tree", by William Blake.

Mrs. Judith Park, Theatre teacher for CHHS, allowed us to take a sneak peak at some of the upcoming attractions, she and her class will be performing. Their first selection was "Someone in the Crowd", from La La Land, followed behind a scene from their upcoming play "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown. Both selections had the crowd applauding and laughing at the humor from the selections.


 

During the middle of the night, there were more chats and dialogues from community members, Mr. Quinton Cockrell of Troy University Theatre Department, gave an outstanding dialogue; Mallory Hughes and Marley Park, owners of Confetti Crate, spoke on perseverance and how they are where they are today; Charlotte Walden explained the process and journey it takes to create a work of art; Pam Smith, a retired teacher, explained the joys and benefits of traveling the world.

To persuade the crowd, Ms. Huggins explained the different ways of persuasion, and was then followed behind three presenters, that made you shake your head in agreement with their thoughts and words. CHHS senior, Orion Nokes, had everyone believing that "reaching for the sky" isn't enough anymore. He spoke on the importance of having programs in school such as FBLA and how it influences him daily.

Ending the night, were the keynote presenters for Chats on the Square. It began with an introduction by Mrs. Casey Moore, as she explained that there is so much time we have, but aren't using it at all. That the time we have in a day, after work and before bed, is critical to our growth as a person, whether it is growth to your family, growth to your own business or even yourself,  we all have time. This was followed by Dan Smith, of Troy Parks and Recreation, and Mitchell Sneed, owner of Suso Enterprises.




"Its ok not to be liked when it lines up with your purpose. Your movement sometimes, everyone will not be okay with it. But that's fine. Because this is your purpose...you define who you are". These were some of the passages from Mr. Sneed's message for the night, as he challenged everyone to define their passion, know who you are, and continue to let your passion drive you.

Classroom Design: Flexible seating with a Cup of Coffee

You walk onto Charles Henderson High School's campus. You take a right and head towards building 200. Now, if you aren't familiar with the campus, you may find it difficult, as I did when I first came to Troy City Schools, to locate building 200.

But once you get there, you enter classrooms with unusual settings. There is coffee brewing, pitchers of water, smart televisions, and books (not textbooks) as you enter the classrooms. There are student stations, couches, and even antique tables and chairs in some of the classrooms. These flexible, or comfortable seating arrangements, gets rid of the old ways of teaching. Traditional classrooms are normally designed in rows. The following teachers, explain why they decided to change their classrooms from traditional to a more flexible, "comfortable" setting.

"Have you sat in a desk for over 30 minutes? I want them to feel comfortable in my classroom. Lots of times, we may have conversations where Ss need to be in a place where they feel comfortable expressing themselves. I want them to feel like they can talk to me and/or their classmates. They have to learn to articulate their thoughts and how to be good communicators to people they work with and their bosses in the future. I'm just trying to foster the environment. Also some students can get too uptight and too stressed about school. I want education to be fun, and I want school to be a place where they feel relaxed and laid back....somewhere they look forward to going. Selfishly, I teach best when I feel comfortable... I am sure they learn best when they feel comfortable!! I really did it for everybody! So far, so good. -Mrs. Allie Singleton, English 

"I want my classroom to inspire confidence and creativity. I want students to feel excited to come into my room and I want them to feel like it's their space as much as it's mine. I want them to feel like they have some freedom and choice when it comes to where they sit, read, rehearse, or record videos. The tall tables in our Learning Lounge simulate a cafe at a bookstore. The couch, coffee maker, and dim lighting in our Green Room allows students to feel relaxed and open to reading or rehearsing their lines in peace. My new wall of mirrors gives my room a professional feel that inspires my performers take class more seriously when it's time to polish pieces. Overall, I want them to enjoy and look forward to theatre class and I think the new design helps with that." -Judith Park, Theatre Teacher

"In a more student-centered classroom, the students feel valued; they know that they matter and that we want them to feel comfortable in their surroundings. I, also, like that the students feel comfortable taking control in the classroom and co-teaching." -Casey Moore, AP English

Empower and Engage

Summertime is normally a time for relaxation. Yet, for most Technology Directors, this our time to prepare for the upcoming school year. Now I know there are several employees, like administrators, Central Office personnel, and others, who can argue that they are just as busy. But, I would say refreshing devices, technology planning, scheduled meetings, and Erate paperwork can take up an entire summer. So we are excited at the beginning of the school year, if we don't get tons of calls of complaints and issues.

One thing that I was able to do more of this summer, was read. Out of the many books I've read, one sticks out to me, and is the driving force for this school year. Now, I am not big on being a critic, or giving book reviews. That's not what this post is about. But, I do want to recognize the powerful reading of The Innovator's Mindset, by George Couros. One thing about being a Technology Director, you have to have some type of knowledge with Educational Technology. This can hurt some, because a lot of TDs have a technical background. I also have a background of technical skills, but was told that my "mindset" had to change. I had to understand how administrators and teachers view technology usage in the classroom.

That advice was given to me well over six years ago (thank you Dr. Chris Blair). Fast forward to today, my driving force as a Technology Director, is to make sure that I can not only manage the network and make sure all data is secure, but I also strive to work with administrators and teachers so they can understand how to truly integrate technology.

I have always preached to administrators and teachers that in order to really make change and great things to happen in a school, first and foremost, the culture and the mindset has to change. Most school systems miss this idea, by thinking that throwing technology in the schools, without proper training, will solve the problem of student achievement. It actually makes it worse. The mindset of your school system comes first. So what does this mean? Well, of course, I have my own theory behind this. But reading The Innovators Mindset has really open my mind to thinking differently as well. In fact, before reading further, I can't say if the idea came from Mr. Couros, or if it was a thought of my own. So, once again, I am going to thank Mr. Couros for writing this book, and apologize that I am not truly siting and reviewing his book.

After reading The Innovator's Mindset, two words stick out to me; empower and engage. Now being Technology Director, and slowly comprehending educational technology, I always encourage teachers to engage. "Engage your students, engage other teachers, engage the community", and the list goes on. But, I never thought about empower. As a matter of fact, I was in awe when I read that you "should empower your students first, then engage them" (yes, that is all George Couros). This one statement alone, has put me on a roller coaster ride for this school year and now I have a different tune for teachers and administrators. We have to empower students more in the classroom.

Now I don't feel that empowering students means giving them full control over your classroom. We all know how that will end up if you did. But we do have to change our "mindset" and understand that students do need some type of say in the classroom. I think that was the entire reason years ago, we began bringing mobile devices into the classroom. Was it not the wondering minds of the students, and the way they feel comfortable receiving information from technology, is the main reason we all went down this path? So now that we are here, let's make sense of it.

"Empowering students means giving the kids the knowledge and skills to pursue their passions, interests, and future." Engaging students "means getting kids excited about content and curriculum". So I can see where the two have to work together. AND, how empower has to come first. Because we can engage our students all day, but ask yourself at the end of your lesson, are they pursuing your passion, or theirs?

So, the mindset that I encourage our school district to begin changing (it's not going to happen overnight) is to find ways to empower our students. Let's take some of the control off, let's migrate from a teacher-centered classroom to a flexible seating, student-centered one. Give students privilege to have ownership in the class at times, meaning they can lead the discussion. Give student choices, but real choices that will still meet your standards. Continue to reach out to other teachers who are doing great things and collaborate with them (tell them Mr. Anderson sent you).

Closing, because I am not a teacher, I always ask, what are you doing currently that you feel is empowering and engaging your students? What are you planning on doing if you feel you aren't empowering and engaging? Are you willing to help other educators who need guidance?