Keeping Your Students Engaged While Learning at Home

Since technology integration is one of my passions, I have been busy since last week creating screencasts with some of the tools that could be helpful. (I have been using Screencastify and it has been working out great for me.) I have been sharing them out, however, I thought perhaps I would consolidate them and share them on my blog (a blog I haven't updated in awhile!)

Flipgrid and See Saw

Breakout Edu

Formative Assessment with Google Slides

Google Applied Digital Skills

Fun with Formative Assessments

I was supposed to present "Fun with Formative Assessments" at the MACUL Conference on Friday, but it was canceled.  Instead, I created a screencast of my presentation. 

If I create more, I will be sure to share them out! 

Good luck, stay safe, and enjoy this adventure and challenge in our lives! We've got this! #BetterTogether!

Cheers!

Jennifer

Reflections From My 3 Day Walk Experience...Part 1

Over the last 3 years, I have had 3 of my childhood friends diagnosed and treated for breast cancer.  

When I went to get my first mammogram last year at age 40, the technician told me jokingly I should get new friends, as we are out of the range of normal occurrences. Since my friendships aren’t going anywhere, I knew we had to tune a bit more into this awful cancer. One of my friends Katie, diagnosed last October, decided she would like to do the Susan G. Komen 3 Day Walk this year.  I decided that it would be the least I could do, so I registered to walk.

Not being a person who formally exercises, I was a bit nervous for the daunting 60 miles! I began training here and there during the spring months, and kicked it up a bit once the school year came to an end. My fundraising proved to also be a bit daunting, but I received a lot of donations when my friend Laura was unable to walk and transferred her donations to my account.  Without this, I probably would not have been able to raise the $2300 needed.  In addition to her funds, I had many supportive friends, family, and colleagues that also donated.  

It has now been 10 days since closing ceremonies, and I still keep finding myself going back into the pink bubble of the 3 Day, so I decided to share some of my biggest takeaways from my rookie experience at the Michigan Susan G. Komen 3 Day Walk!

There are a TON of Committed 3 Day Walkers

George was a super star walker!

At opening ceremonies you are given a special lanyard if you are a first time walker. In addition, you get a special button that says, this is my FIRST walk! If you are not a first time walker, you can fill in the number of walks you have been on.  One of the first people I met had on a button that said it was his 50th walk!  I was shocked!  He told me that he walked all 14 walks in 2011. I thought he was a rarity, but as I walked and talked, I met several people that do multiple walks each year. In fact, I know some of the walkers I met along the route are gearing up for another walk this weekend in the Twin Cities. (Note...my feet still aren’t back to normal.  I couldn’t even imagine doing it all over again!)  I am so inspired by their commitment to the Susan G. Komen organization. In fact, Jim Hillmann, the man I met at opening ceremonies, actually was awarded a milestone award at camp celebrating his 50th walk!   And then there’s a man named George Nummer who is an 85 year-old celebrity walker!  Check out a local news story featuring him here.

So Proud to be a Walled Lake Educator

When I learned that the opening ceremonies were going to be at Walled Lake Western, I was excited that the school district that I worked in would be a part of my 3 Day experience!  In addition, my fellow teammate’s husband is the principal there!  After we left WLW after the opening ceremonies, we were able to pass our administration building, which had many people outside cheering, offering candy and water, as well as the WLW cheerleaders!  We were able to have one of our pit stops at Meadowbrook Elementary too!  

But the coolest thing by far was coming back to camp on Friday night and getting high fives from Walled Lake Northern football players...even some that I had when they were third graders at Glengary Elementary.  But wait...it gets better!  They carried our bags to our tent, helped set up our tent, and even carried our plates to the table at dinner!  It was soooo wonderful! The next night the Walled Lake Central football players joined in on the fun!  I truly enjoyed it so much and immediately shared thank-you emails to the coaches, principals, and our superintendent, as these young men were very well-mannered and handled themselves with the utmost respect.  They were very appreciated by the 3 Day walkers and staff, and I was very proud to say to others, “I am a teacher in Walled Lake!  Some of those boys were my 3rd graders!”

There are so many things that I learned about myself and this experience...too much for just one blog entry. Stay tuned shortly for Part 2 of my blog series on Reflections of the Michigan 3 Day focusing on the support I received from others!

BloomBoard: A Great Resource for Teachers

After teaching third grade for the past 14 years, I made the switch to fifth grade this school year.  I am truly enjoying getting to know a new curriculum and feeling rejuvenated.  With that being said, I have also spent a TON of time searching for resources to support my curriculum and build background knowledge. As with most things, when you have a question or need ideas, what do you do?  I bet you Google it, which also means, you are probably on a mini-scavenger hunt to scan and search for quality resources.  I recently found out about a great resource for educators that is a huge timesaver!  BloomBoard is a place for educators to learn, share, and discuss educational topics, resources, and ideas!

Instead of digging around the web for quality sites, games, articles, videos, etc., BloomBoard has collections created by educators that focus on topics relevant to education.  There are content-specific categories with awesome resources, but what drew me in even more, was the focus on broader topics like: Educating the Whole Child, Maintaining Professional Happiness, Building Strong School Culture, etc. What’s even cooler is that you can follow certain topics of interests, save and share resources, and even earn micro-credentials, which some school districts are using for PD credits.

I created a collection on Formative Assessment called “Formative Assessment Can Be Fun” highlighting two of my favorite tools, Plickers and Kahoot, as well as several articles and videos showcasing ways students can have fun while being assessed.  Here are some of the highlighted tools.

• If your students don’t have access to devices, Plickers is the tool for you.  Also, they just launched an amazing new feature with Scoresheet, which makes data collection far more flexible and user-friendly!
• Kahoot has been a student favorite for several years. My students are now creating their own Kahoots to quiz fellow classmates, as well as lead book club discussions.
• C. Ross Flatt and his sixth-grade students were featured in an Edutopia video highlighting game-based assessment.  He not only showcases the fun way assessment can be administered, but he also has links to his game for teachers to print off from the main blog post.
• David Wees, a formative assessment specialist, shared a presentation with 56 ways to assess, complete with visual examples.

Overall, my collection has many great resources featured that will help you in finding the formative assessment tool(s) that are right for you!  Like many of the BloomBoard collections, you can find resources to help you everyday needs in education, connect with like-minded educators, and help improve your practices.

Check out the BloomBoard blog. You can check it out to get links to the blogs that that have already been featured, as well as check out the schedule of featured bloggers for next week that will be posted on Monday. You can also follow along daily on Facebook and Twitter.

Tomorrow's featured blogger is Jennifer Gonzalez. Jennifer Gonzalez is a National Board Certified Teacher, a former middle-school language arts teacher and college-level teacher of teachers, and the creator of Cult of Pedagogy, a website devoted to helping teachers do their work better.

#LoveTeaching

As a child, I had a memory book for each grade level, and each year I was able to check off what I wanted to be when I grew up.  Among actress and singer, teacher was always a box that received a check.  I couldn't wait for the day I would be able to use a chalk holder as a teacher!  I was very fortunate to have great teachers that inspired me, cared for me, and gave me leadership opportunities in all grade levels.  I knew that I wanted to be a part of the educational world!  In high school, I was able to volunteer in a Kindergarten class, as part of my National Honor Society service hour requirement.  This solidified that my childhood dreams of being a teacher were still relevant, and I went right into Western Michigan University with a set plan!

      I am now in my sixteenth year as an elementary educator, and I am still confident in my career choice!  I was able to look back and reflect on my experiences by looking through my teaching portfolio.  The things that I thought were important as an undergrad are still the things I think are important, which makes me very proud that I have stayed true to the ideals I had set for myself as a young adult.  Of course I have evolved, yet my value system remains.  I value creativity, classroom community building and risk taking, technology, and the integration of the arts into curriculum. The contributions I have made to education and the impacts that I have had all fall within these themes.

      Creativity is the heart of my teaching!  I strive to give students opportunities to express their learning through their creativity, as well as give students the opportunities to develop their creativity.  My greatest contribution through the years has been managing Destination Imagination, an after school creative problem solving program.  I have been involved for 15 years, and I have worked with over 400 students developing their skills in collaboration, creativity, problem solving, STEM, and the arts! I have taken many teams to the state competition, and I was blessed to join a team at Globals! I received an email from one of my former students, and this is how she closed it: “I believe that learning to think critically and creatively in DI set us up for a lifelong love of learning and the skills that accompany it that will get us far in life.  The creative and challenging environment you provided for me as a student and DI participant affected me in ways that will stick with me forever.”  I hear things like this often from past Destination Imagination members, and it is what drives me to continue offering this program to others.   This year I have even extended my love for creativity to a pilot program I am doing for the Imagination Foundation. I am facilitating an after school program at Hornung Elementary (the school that my own children attend) to promote creative play on a weekly basis. The Hornung Imagination Chapter has been a wonderful addition to my life, and I am looking forward to helping the program grow and grow throughout the years! Creativity is at my core and it makes me #LoveTeaching!

      As a teacher who is passionate about technology, I am constantly evolving the set of tools I use in the classroom (something that has been even more fun than getting to use a chalk holder!)  Some of my highlights include being the first Edmodo user in my district.  Edmodo is a social learning platform often called a Facebook for classrooms.  This led to a leadership role in launching it out to the rest of our district.  In addition to helping teachers in my district with Edmodo, I have also led sessions around Michigan and the United States to help educators integrate Edmodo into their classroom.  In recent years, I have become a leader for Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) with elementary children, which was highlighted in the educational documentary, Look I’m Learning.   I have allowed my students to bring their devices for the last few years, and I now see other classrooms adopting this as well.  I know I have made a difference with my students’ use of technology, and it is wonderful to see other teachers open up to it as well.

This week in particular was a great week letting me see that kids love my teaching. Yesterday I received a handmade sign from a student that embodied my motto for life...Live, Laugh, Love! She did this just because...something that I am lucky enough to get very often. Third grade students tend to have an enormous unconditional love!

Another awesome thing that I got in the mail yesterday was an invitation to the Walled Lake Northern Musical, Cinderella...complete with a personal note from a former student.  She reflected on the shy, self-conscious student she was back in third grade, and she expressed that she had grown by leaps and bounds in the personality department since...even giving me credit, as I pushed her out of her cozy, little shell. She is now playing the part of a sassy step-sister, and I am looking forward to seeing her shine on stage!  

What I love most about my job is building the social intelligence of my students.  I know that I have made a difference when I can help students find and celebrate the gifts they have inside!  It makes me #LoveTeaching!  

      I went into teaching because of the wonderful teachers that I was blessed to have in my life, and I believe I am making the same type of difference in the lives of my students.  Through creativity, technology, and the arts, I have been able to impact and inspire, and I know that my greatest contributions to the world of education are tucked away in each and every student’s heart and mind!

Smore and Plickers...Great Tools for Teachers!

Smore is a great way to create digital newsletters and flyers.  I have been using Smore for almost 2 years now, and I just can't say enough good things about it!  With Smore, you can easily create attractive flyers and newsletters that include video, photos, titles with hyperlinks, text, buttons, forms, and many other neat tools! In addition, you can easily share your flyers using social media, unique urls, or embed codes.  My families enjoy reading these, especially when they include fun videos and photos!

Plickers was mentioned briefly last weekend on Edmodo, and I wanted to give it a try.  Unfortunately,  I did not remember the name of the app and spent quite a while trying to come across it online.  Luckily, someone else posted a reply to it on Edmodo, and it came up in my notifications again!  I jumped right in to pilot mode yesterday, and we gave it a whirl.  After reading a passage about the Detroit Flag, I typed questions right into the app.  It was great and worked very well!  I was so excited I immediately went next door to show my coworker Jennifer!  We then used it with our read aloud, and I asked questions while we read.  It was a very easy way to assess!

To combine both of these tools, I created a Smore with the theme of Plickers.  Take a look!

Bryan Chick Had a Secret for Me Hidden in The Secret Zoo

Last Tuesday one of the coolest things ever happened to me!  It definitely ranks as one of my highest honors in life!  Bryan Chick, the author of The Secret Zoo series, dedicated his fourth book in the series,  The Secret Zoo: Traps and Specters to me and my teams of third graders that have enjoyed the stories year after year!

I came home from work to find an envelope from Bryan.  I was expecting it, as he had asked for my address a couple days before.  I was excited to get it before it came out in stores.  (It comes out tomorrow...September 25!)  When I opened it, I saw a note bookmarked that read, "Jennifer See Here."  

I opened it up and screamed!  This is what I saw!

I immediately ran out my garage door, clutching the book in my hand.  My husband was painting the sign at our neighborhood's entrance, so I sprinted up the hill to tell him.  Yes...I sprinted and yes, my heart rate remained up for quite awhile after that.  I hadn't really digested what I had read, I only saw my name and immediately ran to share it with Brandon.  When I got to him, I read it aloud, and the tears flowed.  I was so touched that he would choose us to dedicate book 4 to!  I had one of those silly grins the entire night.  I knew that I wanted to share it with my past students, but I wasn't sure if it was allowed, since the book wasn't due to come out for a week.  I emailed Bryan to thank him, and he gave me the go ahead to let the students know.  

Luckily I had prep time during the 4th and 5th graders lunch and recess, so I asked all of my former students to come to my room.  As they walked down my hallway, I started to get emotional.  It was strange to see the hallway fill up with the little faces I have taught over the years.  I see them out and about in the hallways, but they are mixed in with others.  For some reason, this scene struck me more.  They entered my room noticing the changes in the set up and decor and curious why I had summoned them.  Once the majority of the kids were seated, I revealed the surprise.  The true joy was expressed when the kids saw me take the book out of a storage ottoman.  Their faces lit up and they cheered when they realized Book 4 had arrived!

I wanted to share the moment with Bryan Chick, so I had my iPad taping.  He enjoyed watching it, and said that it gives him the motivation to do what he does!  I can't wait to get all of my teams of students together and have a night where we celebrate The Secret Zoo and the honor that has been given to us!  Until then, I can't wait to read the book and continue the adventures!  By the way, Bryan says this is his favorite book thus far!

I highly encourage you to start the adventure with your students!  It is the best book series I have ever read to my students, as it provides action, adventure, themes of friendship, high level vocabulary, and wonderful author's craft in descriptions and character development!

I posted a blog post yesterday about the neat things we have done with The Secret Zoo over the years.  You can read about it here or just you can find it below this post!

Cheers to Bryan Chick and The Secret Zoo!  

The Growth and Impact of Edmodo

In the spring of 2010, I was getting ready to share technology tools that I had learned at the MACUL Conference, the Michigan Association of Computers Users in Learning Conference, for my staff in an after school lab session.  I went through my notes that I had written to see which web tools would be the best.  When I looked over my notes from a Steve Dembo session, I came across, “Edmodo…future for school’s websites.”  Edmodo had not been demonstrated, but Steve was talking about how static web pages would be replaced by interactive websites where parents could share resources and information on a school’s page. When I checked out edmodo, I immediately signed up and signed up my students.  When my students and I used it, edmodo was in its infancy.  We could post notes, links, embed videos, and post a poll.  Edmodo in 2012 is quite different, as the company has grown by leaps and bounds over the years. In fact, check out the rap that was written and posted on the edmodo blog. (Click here!)

                I attended the second annual EdmodoCon, which was held on August 8 as a global web conference.  11,000 participants from all 50 states and 117 countries attended.   I was excited to find out that Edmodo will continue its growth this fall with some new features for students and educators!  I tuned into the keynote of EdmodoCon, led by Nic Borg, one of the co-founders.  He gave the participants a sneak peek of what we can look forward to seeing coming soon to Edmodo.  Some of the features that I am most looking forward to are the expanded grade book options,  the topic pages, and the apps. 

                The grade book will be updated to allow multiple scoring methods.  Currently, the scoring can only show points and percentages.  Soon, the grade book can be used for progress monitoring.  Being a third grade teacher, I do not work in percentages often, so I am excited to be able to use the grade book now in edmodo.  Topic pages will now be able to be created and searched for.  The topic pages will includes lessons and videos that teachers have posted and allow them to be searched for.  Currently you can post videos and files for other teachers to add to their library, but you have to add them as you scroll through the communities or with your connections. I imagine this is going to open up a whole new world of opportunity to build our libraries with content that will benefit our students!  Finally, I am excited to see how the app store will grow.  I was lucky enough to have access to the beta version of the app store this spring.  My students were able to use the premium version of VocabularySpellingCity.  I have been a user of the free version for years, but I have to say…I am hooked on the premium version and can’t imagine going back to the free version.  I am excited to see what other educational sites will be added as the year goes on, as I also love the ease of having only one login for the kids to use and remember. 

                If you would like to watch any of the EdmodoCon sessions, they have posted them to: www.edmodocon.com

                Last week my district had our annual Spice It Up Technology Conference.  We used edmodo to post resources for each session, as well as to have backchannel conversations.  (We use twitter too, but not many teachers from our district are using it.)  Overall, it led more people to edmodo , which hopefully will lead them to using  it with their  students. I also hope that teachers continue to post to the groups they joined and continue to share resources.  We have a large school district with 12 elementaries, 4 middle schools, and 3 high schools, so edmodo can be a powerful tool to connect all of us together!  

              I know my classroom has been impacted over the years by edmodo, and I look forward to introducing it to a new group of third graders in a few short days and excited for the new tools coming this fall!  Happy Back to School (for those in Michigan) and Happy Edmodo-ing! (If you would like to get started using edmodo, go to www.help.edmodo.com!  The Rollout Resources will guide you all the way!)

Here I am sporting the edmodo shirt from ISTE this year!  FYI...it is a great  to wear in  public areas, as  I have had many people thank me!