"Creativity is contagious, pass it on." ~Albert Einstein

Monday, May 28, 2012

It all started with this Tweet...
Four days later it had happened.  The first version of #meetandsharecamp was a small group of passionate educators that cared enough about expanding their learning to come and share what has worked for them in their classrooms.  @Mandery @MrsCoover @hcallihan and @bmowinkel joined @JenBadura and myself last night for some good food and learning. 

There wasn't much planning that took place.  Just a tweet here and there.  Participants each brought a covered dish and the Badura's provided the Brats and Burgers.  After some great conversation over dinner, the sharing began.  I was a little leery of my wireless network holding up especially after I noticed @hcallihan had FIVE devices going at once, but soon realized that all was well on the wireless end! 


This meet and greet may not seem like a big deal to some.  But you have to realize that for the most part all of the participants were complete strangers with only some limited interaction via Twitter.  Yes, there is that word again.  Twitter!  I have blogged a couple of times about the power of building a PLN on Twitter and what it has done for me as an educator.  Last night solidified my thoughts on using Twitter even more. If you are an educator, and you are not on Twitter, I am so sorry that you are missing some amazing opportunities to not only create a greater learning environment in your classroom, but to grow yourself as a professional.

In looking at the Google Doc that we created it may not seem like we shared that much. But we did! There were so many authentic conversations dealing with education!  I will admit that I didn't share a thing.  I was so enthralled with what I was learning from @ShellyMowinkel and her expertise with the iPad and totally flabbergasted with the knowledge and ways in which @Mandery uses Evernote as an Elementary Principal at Exeter Milligan Public School.

There was discussion of doing our #meetandsharecamp on a monthly basis this summer.  I really think that it is going to happen!  I look forward to learning from these, and hopefully more, educators in June.

Perhaps you would like to join us?  Stay tuned for dates and a time!  


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Thursday, May 24, 2012

I find myself asking "Where did the school year go?" as I close the book that represents my 2011-2012 school year.  One of the best things about being a teacher is that you get your summers "off".  Now I know that the word "off" has been misconstrued by many that aren't involved in education.  Many think that our work ends when the last bell rings in May or June and we spend our days  relaxing poolside.   For me, and millions of other educators around the world, that is simply not the case.

Summer is time for my learning adventure!  During the summer I plan on taking classes towards my Master's Degree in Instructional Technology and I relish the the fact that I have the opportunity to make myself better as an educator.  I will be attending an event hosted by Educational Service Unit #11 to learn about the  Flipped Classroom with flipped classroom pioneer Aaron Sams, then presenting at UNL's Technology Edge Conference,  at the annual Nebraska Council of School Administrators' Days and helping out Heather Callihan (@hcallihan) with one of her WOW sessions.  I might even try to sneak in some training and learn the secrets off the best Instructional Tech Trainers I know in Omaha!  It's busy, but I owe it to my students and teachers.  

Education is transforming right before our eyes!  Our students are leading the way. Are you going to be denting (sitting on the couch) or discovering new ideas this summer to enhance the learning that takes place in your classroom?

Image Credit:http://www.flickr.com/photos/national_library_of_australia_commons/with/6173548853/
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Monday, May 21, 2012

For the last two years I have had some of the most amazing experiences in my 13 years in education.  I have grown as an educator in ways that I did not think possible, and it was all because I was a member of the York Dukes.

Two years ago I walked into Dr. Mike Lucas's office expecting an interview for a Middle School Geography position and walked out as the K-5 Media/Technology Integration Specialist!  Talk about a major career change!  I had taught Social Studies the last 11 years and now I was going to be running the media center AND teaching students and teachers how to effectively use technology!  Wow!   

Recently, I accepted the position of PK-12 Technology Integration Specialist for Aurora Public Schools.  Leaving the #yorkdukes was a very hard decision for me, but it was the right one as my family (wife, daughter and son) are all associated with the Huskies.  Family is very important to me and it was the right decision.  Yes, I am giving up a great position, but I believe I am taking a position that will allow me to grow even further as an educator.  Aurora is a very progressive school district that I am excited to join.

This whole process was solidified by a quote I heard during our Pastor's sermon last Sunday:

"We make progress when we are willing to make changes." 

This quote can be directly tied to education.  Change is tough, plain and simple!   It is very easy to continue doing the same thing year after year in your classroom, but are you really providing the best opportunities/experiences for your students?  If not, perhaps you should consider changing what you are doing.  

In closing, I would like to thank the administration, teachers, paraprofessionals, students and parents of York Public Schools.  You have made me a better educator through the various experiences that I have had as a member of your team.  I think we did some pretty amazing things in my two short years here.   I leave you with this wonderful, student created video that was played for me on my last day!  Thank you Lindsey, Aislinn, Lillian and Abbey!  


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Wednesday, May 16, 2012

A couple of weeks ago one of our awesome 5th grade teachers, Mr. Luce (@5luce) showed me the movie trailer feature on iMovie for the iPad.  I hadn't really had time to play around with it....until today.

Last week at York Elementary it was "Jump-Up Day."  The last hour of the day our students find out who their teacher will be next year and they get to "jump-up" for the remainder of the day.  Mr. Luce showed me this trailer that he created to show the future Y.E.S. 5th Graders:


 After I picked my jaw up off of the ground, I think my immediate words were something like, "I want to know how to do that!" Mr. Luce told me that I needed to update my apps (something that I don't do a very good job of) and gave me a short tutorial.  I finally got around to updating my apps today and had time to create a movie trailer with clips that students shot during a Mystery Skype with Kristina Speakes's(@MsKrisinBrazil)class in Brazil. Here is what I created in approximately 10-15 minutes with no prior experience:

No, not really worthy of an Academy Award, but I thought this can and will be an amazing tool for your classroom!  I only wish I had more time in the school year.  I can imagine student creativity and critical thinking exploding while using this feature of iMovie!  The possibilities are endless!

Here is how simple it is:

Click on the + Button and you can choose "New Project" or "New Trailer." Obviously, we are going to be choosing "New Trailer."
You can choose from nine different themes. Choices range from "Fairy Tale" to "Scary." If you would like to preview the theme, simply click on the play button after choosing your theme.
Once your theme opens you will have to enter information for your outline. I love this feature! It is all set up, just click and add your information! After you are done with your outline information, click on "Storyboard." There will be default titles, change them as you see fit. Then start dumping your video clips into the pre-fabricated storyboard that is waiting for you.
Once you are done with your Storyboard and Outline you can go back to your gallery. Click on the box with the arrow that is pointing out.
I prefer to upload the completed media to our school YouTube page, but you have variety of choices to where you want to send your trailer.
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