Learning Communities You Can Do

Do you have a good support circle? I'm not talking about social friends - yes, they are important - I'm asking about your "professional learning network", or your PLN. People you can reach out to when you need help with your job. Maybe to bounce ideas around with, help you solve a problem, share resources with, remind you to give yourself grace, and more.

If you don't have a PLN, and I'm referring to the bigger world - DO IT. Create a professional account on a platform of your choice. (I like Twitter and Facebook.) Keep it professional. Find others that are like you - your grade level, your content, your teaching style, etc. Follow them. Join some groups. Don't feel required to interact until you are ready. Use these groups and people to do what we always tell our students ... ASK FOR HELP. 

Why am I focusing on this right now? I am lucky to be part of several great learning communities and I want to encourage you to join them. Here's a great example of the power of my PLN ...

The story:

A teacher texts me and asks about an extension to "shade" part of her computer screen. Yep, I know there was one. I couldn't remember the name, so I did some looking. Couldn't find it. Looked in the Chrome Web Store. Nothing. Searched on Google. Nothing. Looked in a book that I thought had it. Nope. I was striking out - I the teacher know I couldn't think of it.

Then, just before I put my phone down for the night, I threw it out on Twitter. I tagged a couple of people in my PLN and sent it out. I had confidence at least one of them would chime in with help. And that they did. I've linked the Tweet thread on the screenshot below. Just my simple question.

I received responses from more that the people I tagged. 11 suggestions were made. And I think several of them will work ... and I didn't know about them before I asked. See what happened was, people were not only answering my question, they were broadening my questions reach by tagging others - people and companies in a couple of instances - they thought might be helpful. I am SUPER excited!

Here are the top three four I'm going look into:

• using the "Stickies" tool on Macs (it's built in, nothing to download or install, I can re-size as much as necessary, even change color & type on them)
• the extension Annotate.net (which is packed with a TON more features than a screen shade)
• the extension Helperbird (which has 38 other features - the company chimed in on this)
• just before I published, I looked back at the Tweet and found Texthelp chimed in, too, so this is definitely on the list!

Here's something to note about these ideas - I don't know the people who suggested them. I am super grateful they chose to respond. When you use a platform like Twitter, not only can you reach out to your PLN, you can reach out to the wider world.

Can you add to this? That would be awesome! See, it's not going to just help me ... anyone who reads the Tweet will learn everything I just did. How cool is that? 

Have you used any of these? Do you have a preference? Let me know in the comments or on the socials. 

Social Media Your Students Can Do

OK, so it's not really fair of me to use the title that I did, but I HOPE it caught your eye enough to be intrigued.

I try to focus a chunk of my time on is sharing out ideas that I've see or read about. I hope that activities I find are useful ... or maybe they are innovative ways of doing activities ... or possibly ways to better utilize the tech we have in our classrooms. Some ideas are well received. Others, I never hear a peep about.

If I'm being honest & upfront, this is not HOW to use social media, rather it is about how you can TURN social media into a productive and creative tool in your classroom. Writing doesn't always have to be paragraphs ... images in a report don't always have to be portraits ... critical thinking doesn't always have to take place in a huge time-consuming project ... conversations regarding tools in a program don't always have to be dry and lecture style ...

One teacher who entertains A LOT of my ideas is Beth Kingsley [@bethkingsley13] - 3rd grade teacher who already does a fantastic job of incorporating tech in her room and trying out new ways to "do" school. 

Background: I read this on Twitter: [LINK to actual Tweet]

And I was INTRIGUED! I had to check out these Google Drawings @JenniferPeart used with her kiddos to make fake Twitter accounts for ... of all things ... the planet MARS! What??? In her tweet, she thanks Ryan O'Donnell, aka @creativeedtech, for his template.

Two of my FAVORITES! Templates and the recommendation from another teacher who has done it. 

Anyhoo ... Ryan's blog [LINK] has an entire page devoted to templates for "for student or teacher use".  How awesome! I shared this link with the teachers in the elementary buildings where I work.

Beth talked to me and said she was going to do the Twitter one for Groundhog Day! Of all things! But you know what? It is SUPER cool! Groundhog Day is right around the corner so it is timely. 

You Can Do ... Anything!

I've structured my blog around the theme of being able to "do" technology.  Today, I want to share a bit about the human side of technology. This is where the power in technology comes - the people.

I am excited to share that my district is embarking on a digital book study next week.  The prep work has been going on for some time and WE DID IT! We have over 50 registered!

"Do or do not. There is no try." - Yoda

The book is an AMAZING one ... George Couros' "The Innovator's Mindset". The whole theme is right on his cover - "Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity". It's an inspiring and reaffirming read which I know will resonate with my colleagues. [And if this sounds like something you might like - don't question it ... get it! Read it! Don't hesitate!]

"Innovation is not about the stuff; it is a way of thinking." 

- George Couros

Now, technology has played a HUGE role in this - the planning, the roll out, the organization, and the sustainability of it. We built a website, are utilizing a badging system built off of a Google Sheet (thanks to Daniel Sharpe's BadgeU!), incorporating our LMS platform Schoology, sprinkling in Google Forms, Mentimeter, Twitter, Padlet & Flipgrid.  That's a LOT of tech, come to think of it, that we plan to do ... that we WILL do.  And it's all tech you can do, too!

"What we model is what we get."

- Jimmy Casas

A team of people put this all together ... a team of people bounced ideas off each other ... a team of people supported, encouraged, questioned, pushed & pushed back.  And if I can brag a little, it's a team of people that I am thrilled & honored to be a part of!

Change You Can Do

- George Couros -

Change can be a BIG, SCARY word.  But it does NOT have to be.  As the quote states, it's "an opportunity to do something amazing"! Change is a risk for sure.  But taking risks can pay off.

Personal example ... a couple of years ago, I was NOT a fan of social media.  I resisted creating accounts.  Then change happened.  I went to a workshop led by Marsha Kish (@dsdPD).  She dangled a free Chromebook for the best Tweet in the workshop. 

I 💖 tech.  Our district was going 1:1 with Chromebooks. 

I. Wanted. The. Chromebook.

So I created a Twitter account - with my husband's help - and I Tweeted ... something ...  what? I have no idea.  Apparently, it was not Chromebook worthy, BUT I had a Twitter account.  I could have deleted it. Instead, I ventured out there, and slowly - remember I said a couple of years ago? - 2014, 3 years later, I can't remember NOT having it.