EdTech Resolutions for 2018

Happy New Year! Janus, the ancient Roman God of beginnings and endings, is typically depicted with two faces, looking into the future and reflecting on the past. January, Janus's namesake,  provides us with a clean slate for the New Year to learn from our past and resolve to make improvements in the future. As you reflect on the school year and set professional goals moving forward, I wanted to share one of my resolutions for 2018.

Starting in January, I will make myself available every Monday for a new professional development initiative, "Mastery Mondays." On a rotating schedule, I will set-up shop in each building's library for a half-hour of informal professional development modeled on the "Genius Bar" at the Apple Store. You are welcome to stop by to ask questions relevant to your instructional technology goals and accrue a half-hour's-worth of professional development credit before school (elementary) or after (secondary). 

• Click here for the Mastery Monday visitation calendar.
• Log-in to MyLearningPlan and search for "Mastery Monday" to register by date.

What are your New Year's Resolutions for 2018?

Tales from the Classroom: Student-Centered Learning

Having access to instructional technology in the classroom is certainly a convenience, but more importantly, it can change the way we teach. One approach to transforming instruction is to consider students as co-creators of knowledge, creating opportunities for them to construct knowledge and showcase that which they have learned to an authentic audience. In this week's Tech Tips Blog, guest-blogger, Keith Newvine, ELA Teacher at West Genesee High School, offers his approach to student-centered learning through the use of a website creation tool called Weebly.

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This year my English 9-Enriched students and I are using Weebly for Education to create websites which catalog our learning. Weebly for Education is a service provided by Weebly which allows teachers to create student accounts wherein students can safely create a complete website. Weebly for Education allows teachers to password protect student websites so that only individuals with the password can view student-produced information.

This allows teachers to continue to teach students how to be critical consumers and critical producers of information while also teaching them about Internet safety. As students (and adults) continue to increase just how much we share about ourselves online, it is important to teach students how to protect themselves and their privacy while still having an online presence. Weebly for Education allows for the opportunity. Eventually, after my students and I are confident that we have created something that we can safely share with the world, these sites will go live.

"All students are capable of creating amazing things--they just need to be given the space and time."

So far this year my English 9-Enriched students have produced three different final products: an original short story, a webpage about avoiding the dangers forewarned in Fahrenheit 451, and their own blog, digital storybook, or videobooks (using Google Slides and Screencastify) after reading The House on Mango Street. With their permission and their parent’s permission, I am sharing three student's websites so you can see what they created (Obviously, I picked the best ones, just so we are being honest).

You can view any of them here:
It's a Thing by Abby Ray
Thinking Outside the Box by Eva Kloepfer
The Tales of Death by Danesia Patterson (Don't let the title fool you...)

Lastly, I know what you are thinking: Keith is a prima donna and only teaches really, really smart students. My response: You're right, but so do you. All students are capable of creating amazing things--they just need to be given the space and time. I am happy to come to your classroom to help you or your students learn about how to use Weebly, or any other piece of technology, in your learning and teaching.

Pop Culture in the Classroom: Star Wars

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

I was seven years old when Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope was first released and can remember putting my hands over my father's eyes as he was driving, encouraging him to "use the force." Although I don't remember how I was punished, I did learn a few new words that day! Who would have thought that we'd be talking about the release of another installment of this epic saga four decades later?! I can't wait to see Star Wars: The Last Jedi, as it will be released next week, and am confident that it will be yet another blockbuster. I am equally confident that many of our students will be just as eager to watch the movie and ask their parents and/or Santa for all of the movie-related merchandise.

As educators, we oftentimes struggle to make learning relevant to students. Leveraging pop culture offers us a way to engage students in the learning process. Whether it's using pop culture references as a hook or making a connection with students who are shy and reluctant to participate, teachers who incorporate pop culture into their lessons are likely to cast a wide net to reach all students.

Check out the Star Wars Crawl Creator to learn how to turn your own text into the famous Star Wars Crawl that introduces each episode of the series. And may the Force be with you, always!