3 Things You Can Do

During my long run today, it dawned on me that it has been a minute since I've shared. I know I have explained that I journal everyday. It's how I start everyday. Journaling grounds me, it provides quiet time where I can gather my thoughts and start my day with a clear head. 

One piece of my daily journal is my "Today" list. I used to have such a wildly long to do list for each day that most of the time, I'd end up feeling defeated because I never accomplished it all. It was impossible. Have you ever felt like your to do list had become a "never to be done" list? Overwhelming and frustrating. I've been there!

I changed things up in the last year and I feel so much more productive! I feel like I am accomplishing my tasks rather than failing and never getting things done. Here's what I changed ... I identify 3 things that are my top priority. Three. I aim to check those off. If I do - yay! If I don't, I don't kick myself, I will carry them over to tomorrow, or I might decide it's ok that I didn't do them and skip them altogether.

These 3 things always are personal tasks. The first is generally my workout goal for the day (running, strength, etc) but the second and third vary. It could be a bill I need to take care of or a task around the house that needs to get done or something I need to pick up. I really feel far more productive. Here's the kicker ... I have so much more on my to do list - activities for my girls, low priority tasks, family/friends birthday reminders, etc, but because they aren't my top 3, if I don't accomplish them, I don't kick myself.

That's all for my personal life - my home life. Professionally? I have attacked it the same way. This year, I am back in my beloved role and I am beyond thrilled! I am surrounded by people I love and doing the things I love. I have stepped back into doing so many of the same responsibilities from before and adding on new ones. So many new ones! Talk about an insurmountable to do list!

My to do list at the beginning of the year was quite unbelievable ... I didn't think I could ever dig my way out. But then I pulled my "top 3" idea in ... and yep. You guessed it. I identify 3 top priorities for the day and work really hard to check those off. I list all the rest below and as the week continues, I keep working to check them off. On Fridays, I set aside time to go back through the week and carry forward anything to Monday that wasn't done previously. 

Why did I pick 3 you might be wondering? I'm not sure - I didn't research it or anything - 3 just feels good for me. A different number might feel good for you. If you are looking to manage your to do list, really consider what is necessary. Don't overreach ... your to do list can always be more than your top priorities.

One last thing - where do I keep this? A notebook. A simple, regular, my girls didn't use all the pages in a notebook from school one year, notebook. I put the date at the top and use one page each day. I use the pens my husband got me for Christmas last year (a 32 pack!) and I write it down. This way, I get to see the collection over time, which is also a really satisfying feeling. 

And yes, at one point, one of my top 3 to do's is to get another notebook out of the hall closet upstairs and prepare it to be my next journal where I can continue to write my top 3's. It's an easy - but important! - one for me to check off. 

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Reflection: My year limiting my phone & watch

This one is going to feel a little different. It has literally taken me months to write this blog, not because it's difficult. It's because it almost feels silly. And it all starts with a law the state of Ohio passed last year. Thanks to House Bill 250, by July 2025, all Ohio school districts had to "establish an official policy governing cellphone usage during school hours and seeks to minimize student use of cell phones in K-12 schools." (link to article)

Each district needed to have a policy. A policy. Something showing how they were going to limit cellphones during the school day. My district chose to go with a no phone & no smartwatch during the school day policy. I was overjoyed! Phones and watches are a huge distraction. I knew that. I lived that the year prior when I was back in the classroom after 8 years. I read "The Anxious Generation" (Jonathan Haidt) and I agree with the research he has collected ... phones are harming our kids. Yes - I was pumped to see how this policy impacted our kids. I was worried not all of the teachers would follow it.

Then I started thinking ... I was in a unique position. I was the technology teacher, for peke's sake! I was newly back in the classroom and it was only in my 2nd year at this district. I did my best to balance offline and online activities in my room. I brought in the local police department to talk with the kids about being safe online. Everything I did had some kind of technology component to it. My whole job was about using tech better/safer/well.

I also saw my colleagues, friends, family, and myself. I saw how we all interact with our devices. As adults, WE can't help ourselves. Not allowing phones & smartwatches in the classroom was exciting! But then I thought about MY phone and MY watch. 

Sure - I'm an adult.

Sure - I "think" I'm good about managing my time on my phone.

Uhhh, well - I put a time limit on social media for myself.

... and - I'm still drawn to notifications ... so much so I didn't turn them back on after my last summer vacation so I DIDN'T feel that "need" to look at that red bubble. (It HELPS!)

Sure - I'm a good example.

AM I a good example? I thought long and hard about this. 

Does being an adult give me a "pass"? 

Right?

I thought about it for a looooooong time and I decided I was going to follow the policy, too. By choice. I decided I would live the same ban as the kids. I also thought it would be a great conversation piece with them and my colleagues. 

With each group of students, I started with the same statement. "You have to leave your phone & watch in your locker by district policy, per the state of Ohio. I am choosing to follow this same policy." I did clarify I would be putting them in my desk drawer because I don't have a locker, and I would check it at lunch and my plan period.

There was very little pushback and questioning. The #1 question they had for me was, "Mrs. Kiefer, what if your family needs to get ahold of you?" Easy, I responded, I gave them all the office phone number to call. The office can get ahold of me. (Plus, my 2 youngest daughters also had a phone ban at their school.)

It was shocking. Shockingly GOOD! Yes, it was hard at first. I had all the thoughts I'm sure the kids did. "What if someone texts me?" "What if I miss a phone call?" "My wrist feels naked." "Will I still close my exercise rings?" "What if there is an emergency?"

Guess how many phone calls I missed from my family? A couple. 

Guess how many were urgent. None. 

Did I miss text messages? Yep! I would check it at lunch and sometimes there were a shocking amount. 

How many of them meant I missed out on something? Not a single one. 

I survived. And I loved it!!! I had a new appreciation of being able TO TEACH. I didn't have buzzing on dinging on my wrist or in my pocket. I taught. I interacted with the kids. It was great! I believe my students were far less distracted. I did have to take a few phones and watches, but it wasn't anything like the year before. 

After a full school year of this, I find that it's a lot easier for me to put my phone down while I'm at home and walk away. I don't feel like I have to be glued to it. I have very few notifications on my watch. It has gone back being more of a watch than anything. (Ok, I'm a runner, so it tracks that for me and it's pretty awesome at setting timers when I need to remember something in 5 or 10 minutes.)

I share this because I know I'm not alone in feeling the same addiction to devices as our kids. I share this because being mindful of how we used devices is the greatest example our kids see. I share this because I'm 46 and I survived a year in the classroom without my phone in my pocket or my watch on my wrist. I share this because YOU CAN DO THIS, TOO! And I hope you see and feel the impact on YOU, so that you can work towards the same positive impact with our kids.

I hope you read this and try it. Give it a week. I promise you'll notice a difference. And then I hope you share a message here. How'd it go? How did you feel? Let me know below, or reach out on social media. I'd love to hear from you.

And if you are interested, I've written more on this topic. You can find it here: Phones + School ... What Do We Do?

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A New Take on Resources You Can Do

Happy summer! It has been a wonderful change of pace.  I love teaching - I love the kids, the connections, colleagues, challenging my brain in many different ways, the routine, etc. - but I also love the breaks. Kind of.

A day off here and there is like sneaking a little extra dessert. Summer for me can feel like I'm stuffing my face with chocolate. I need to keep a close eye on what I do so I don't overindulge. I always plan out projects and learning and activities. 

I need that routine. I thrive on it.

One of my favorite things to do is listening to podcasts or music while I fold laundry. It's a productive task (laundry) while I squeeze in entertainment (podcast/music). Recently, the podcast was Jennifer Gonzalez's "Cult of Pedagogy" episode 251: Holding Students Accountable in the Age of AI.  Her conversation with Tony Frontier was great and really got my thinking about one specific area. Asking kids how-who-what helped them with their work. Not in an effort to catch them cheating, but rather it's like a peek in their brains about how they are getting things done so we know where better to help them. If we encourage this honest & open sharing, I think we can get a better gauge on our students learning. 

Tony's point was to ask for sources, not just on big assignments, but on ALL assignments. Not to "catch" AI use, rather getting students comfortable with citing their sources - all of them. Whether it was a family member at home, a Google search, an AI chatbot, an encyclopedia, a textbook, etc, asking students to identify what is helping them can go a long way with teaching academic honesty and integrity. (Thank you Tony & Jennifer!) 

I thought of how I could apply in my classroom of the last 2 years. Could an idea like Tony's give me an insight to their learning? Probably. Most of our work was done inside the classroom but we used resources often. They could share if they Googled something or asked a classmate for help. And if they worked on it outside of class, they could do the same by sharing whatever resources they used, whether human or digital or print. I see the goal to have students see, document, and share more insight to how they are doing their work.  

The more I think about this idea, the more I really like it! You could even set goals of using a variety of resources for different assignments/projects. Example, "In your paper, you need to use 3 different types of resources" and then have a list of resources to choose from. 

I hope I inspired you to contemplate this idea! Give Tony & Jennifer a listen and think about what this could look like in your class. If you try it out, will you let me know?

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My Next Chapter ...

I have been keeping a secret for a few months.

I am closing my Madeira Middle School Technology Teacher chapter. I am returning to my previous district ... and I am pumped! Elated!

Two years ago, I made the decision to leave Ross and start a new chapter at Madeira. That decision came with a lot of heartache and tears. It was the right move for me at the time and I do not regret it. This time, my job change comes without tears or heartache.

I am leaving a great district and a great building. I reunited with a great friend and met lots of wonderful educators. I was challenged to teach a variety of classes and connect with lots of students. I saw first-hand the challenges of being a "newbie", a classroom teacher, and a special area teacher. I had a lot fewer responsibilities.

I am going back to do the same job I left, this time with a colleague in the same role. I am going to see a lot of familiar faces and some new ones. I am going to miss seeing some faces that have also moved on in the past two years. 

I am going back to a new administration with a reinvented vision. 

I am going back home and I will get to write my Ross 2.0 chapter. I know this is the right move and I look forward to each new page.

*** Every Monday, I share a newsletter with a collection of Tech You Can Do resources. It is delivered right to your inbox. Interested? Sign up here!  ***

AI Learning I Am Doing

If you are in education, I'm sure you have been inundated with AI tools, resources, how to's, why/why not, do/do not's, and so much more. I know I have been.  ChatGPT was release on November 30, 2022. A little more than 2 years ago. I did a search on Amazon for "artificial intelligence books" and it returned over 20,000. Wow. 

I am not opposed to AI, but I'm super hesitate to just go all in. I have serious concerns with introducing AI far too early to our students only to find out in a few years that we've unintentionally weakened their educational foundation. I'd like to take a slower approach and be mindful with what and how I incorporate AI in the classroom.

I have been in the ed-tech world for at least a decade and I have my favorite resources so I have been sticking close to them in this world of AI discovery and learning. Catlin Tucker comes out near the top. She and Katie Novak have recently release a book, "Elevating Educational Design with AI: Making Learning Accessible, Inclusive, and Equitable". What I am most excited about this book is that it is not pushing a tool or prompts to feed o AI. 

In their own words, this book wants to  "empower teachers with an adaptable and rigorous educational design framework that embodies the best ideals of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and blended learning". 

I have not yet gotten my hands on this book, but I have listened to a couple of Catlin's podcasts where she shares about the book and it really piqued my interest. I think they might be of interest to you, too. Here are the two I've listened to:

• 12/17/2024: Designing for Equity and Engagement: A Preview of Elevating Educational Design with AI (14 min) 
  
  
• 01/14/2025: Preview of Elevating Educational Design with AI (18 min)

I'd love to know if you have read Catlin's book. Is it helpful? Do you have other resources you'd like to share? 

*** Every Monday, I share a newsletter with a collection of Tech You Can Do resources. It is delivered right to your inbox. Interested? Sign up here!  ***