February 27th, in conjunction with The Learning Liaisons.com, I hosted an ‘eBook Smackdown’ webinar with guest presenter Lea Anne Daughrity from Texas. Lea Anne is heavily involved in the Discovery Educator Network (DEN) and Texas Leadership Council with me and is a fabulous presenter. Lea Anne shared about choosing the right productions apps to load […]

With the school year coming to a close in a few months and summer educational conferences fast approaching, I am interested in what educators want to hear and learn about in a webinar or conference presentation session. If you could take a few minutes to answer this one question survey I would greatly appreciate it. […]

Below are the resources shared during my "Connecting Classrooms through Global Projects in Leaps and Bounds" for the "speaks VOLumes conferences 2015". Recording link: https://sas.elluminate.com/site/external/jwsdetect/playback.jnlp?psid=2015-07-30.1335.M.26BDCCCCECA3E21F0A81A74E6B22D1.vcr&sid=2008257 Click here to open this binder in a new window.

Join us on September 17 for Global Collaboration Day. The day will be honored with classrooms around the connecting and learning together. The day is described by the Global Education Conference, sponsored by Lucy Gray and Steve Hargadon, as, On this day (and beyond), experienced global educators and other professionals will host connective projects and events and invite public participation. The primary goals of this whole day event are to demonstrate the power of global connectivity in classrooms, schools, institutions of informal learning and universities around the world, and to introduce others to the tools, resources, projects, and networks that are available to educators today. The Global Education Conference Network believes in the power of connected, globally competent learners of all ages…..let’s show others what connected learning looks like around the clock on September 17th! Classrooms can participate and host a variety of events. If you would like to host a special event to commemorate this occasion, click here to find out more information and share your event information: http://www.globalcollaborationday.org/host-an-event.html. To join an event, sign up your class and look for an event to participate in that is interesting to you, engages your students and fits your time zone. You can sign up here: http://www.globalcollaborationday.org/join-an-event.html. So, join the fun, have a blast and connect your students to the world!

International Dot Day is September 15th-ish and began when fellow FableVision Ambassador, Terry Shay, introduced the book, "The Dot" written by Peter Reynolds, to his students. The book is very motivating and inspiring and I highly encourage you to explore the book if you have never read it. "The Dot" Since then, teachers around the globe get together to share the book and various activities associated with the book around September 15th. What is the book about and why is there such fanfare around the book? The Dot is the story of a caring teacher who dares a doubting student to trust in her own abilities by being brave enough to "make her mark". What begins with a small dot on a piece of paper becomes a breakthrough in confidence and courage, igniting a journey of self-discovery and sharing, which has gone on to inspire countless children and adults around the globe. And each year on International Dot Day - with the help of people just like you -the inspiration continues. What started as a story in the pages of a book is transforming teaching and learning around the world as people of all ages re-discover the power and potential of creativity in all they do. As shared above, you can see why this book makes such an impact and lasting impression on students around the globe. It has a universal theme that students, teachers and parents can all relate to. There is a big book version to show on an interactive whiteboard and information about the big book can be found here along with a variety of ways to participate and celebrate International Dot Day: http://www.thedotclub.org/dotday/get-inspired/making-a-mark. Handbook A handbook has been developed to help teachers share ideas and how they have celebrated International Dot Day in the Past and put together in a wonderful resource for teachers. You can find out more information about the handbook here: http://www.fablevisionlearning.com/fablevision-dot-day-handbook. Skype in the Classroom Many International Dot Day participants turn to Skype in the classroom to connect their students with other students from around the world. Using Skype, students collaborate on classroom projects and teachers share ideas and inspiration to make teaching and learning more exciting and memorable. Visit International Dot Day’s Skype in the Classroom project page. Skype is a great way to connect to other classrooms and read the book together or share in a fun activity based on the book. Ask your student what their special talent is and where their ‘dot’ will take them. What kind of journey will their dot take them? Help your students make their mark on paper and transfer that inspiration to their lives. Every child has a talent. Helping students determine and foster that talent is a challenge and what International Dot Day is all about. The Dot Gallery The Dot Gallery has images of past projects and pictures of past participants in International Dot Day. Terry also sparked Celebri-dots, dots by illustrators, authors and ‘celebrities’ sharing their mark and talents with the ‘The Dot Club Community. Check it out and join the club! Make your mark and share it with the world. This would be a great opportunity and topic to celebrate ‘Global Collaboration Day" on September 17th. I wrote about Global Collaboration Day in the previous post). Combine the two events and make a full day of and celebrate dot day with the world on Global Collaboration Day!

I find this incredulous statement that teachers’ lounges was even part of a discussion by presidential but according to an email I received from the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), removing teachers’ lounges so we educators cannot complain about our jobs and if we are such terrible teachers we should find another job. The full text is shown below. TEXAS AFT LEGISLATIVE HOTLINE—WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2015 You Can’t Make This Stuff Up—Presidential Candidate Issues Call to "Abolish All Teachers’ Lounges" At a time when school districts around Texas and the nation are experiencing teacher shortages, you might think public officials would try to avoid giving fresh offense to educators who are fed up with being scapegoated and sick of seeing their students’ educational experience warped by the testing industry and its allies. But Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a contender for the Republican presidential nomination, apparently couldn’t contain himself. Today he shared with the audience at a so-called "education summit" meeting in New Hampshire (convened by groups promoting private-school vouchers) his solution for low morale: getting rid of teachers’ lounges so teachers won’t sit around and gripe. Here’s how Kasich’s remarks giving the back of his hand to teachers were reported in an online article on the Talking Points Memo Web site: Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) on Wednesday said that he would like to get rid of teachers’ lounges to reduce how much teachers worry about losing their jobs. Kasich said at an education summit in New Hampshire that many teachers believe that "we’re out to take their job" when schools evaluate teacher performance and that teachers’ lounges provide an environment where this worry spreads. "No we’re not out to take their job. If you need help, we’ll help you. If you’re a terrible teacher, then you should be doing something else because you’re going to find more satisfaction doing something else that you’re good at," he said. "We have to constantly communicate that." He then suggested that teachers’ unions contribute to educators’ worries. "I’ll tell you what the unions do, unfortunately too much of the time. There’s a constant negative comment, ‘They’re going to take your benefits, they’re going to take your pay,'" Kasich said. "So if I were, not president, but if I were king in America, I would abolish all teachers’ lounges, where they sit together and worry about, ‘Woe is us.'" You can see the video of Kasich’s comments here: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/john-kasich-abolish-teacher-lounges. His remarks were like catnip for his pro-voucher, anti-union hosts at the "summit." We suspect his words will not go over so well in those teachers’ lounges, however.  I would agree - teachers’ lounges will be a buzz with talk of this candidate and won’t be appreciative of the sentiments expressed in the above conversation.

Terry Shay, FableVision Ambassador, came up with the idea of International Dot Day based on the book, "The Dot" by Peter Reynolds. Classrooms around the world, on or near the date of September 15, celebrate International Dot Day with a variety of activities based on the book. It is so exciting to see and hear the events teachers have their students participate in. With the date fast approaching, Terry polled his students and shared their views of participating in International Dot Day activities. I wanted to share those with you as the students’ comments were phenomenal and inspiring - too motivating to not share with the world! Below are the comments that Terry shared on his blog - Several people have asked on Twitter how to celebrate Dot Day with high school students. Since the very beginning, I’ve just set out art supplies and let them make dots. No special lesson. We do use canvas now and I hang the resulting dot art in my classroom for the remainder of the year. I decided to ask my beloved former students what they thought of Dot Day. At the risk of seeming immodest,  I am quoting them exactly as they responded. I believe their responses show exactly how amazing my students are: As a student I enjoyed dot day. I remember the first time I saw the video, I wasn’t sure what to expect and it turned out to be something very eye opening, motivating, and encouraging. I loved the idea of dot day, not only because I got to create my own dot, but because it was a great message that we were helping send out world wide. - Molly I liked seeing the map showing all the countries that participated in Dot Day! I thought it was cool that my music teacher from Iowa had managed to reach kids that were hundreds of thousands of miles away.- Emma I liked Mr. Shay.. He was cool and everyone respected him.. Maybe if more of the teachers were like him they wouldn’t need to pry their students to make a dot that could change a life.. Not only change a life, but show that there are people who care and want to help out all over the world…Taylor Dot day to me not only stimulates and shows the creative nature inside of everyone, but also being able to see a small group of people be able to reach out and affect thousands of lives for a day. It shows you can make a difference through hard work and inspiration.-Mitchell Nowadays, we are pushing students to do more and learn more to try and help them find out what the future may have in store for them, but it is ALWAYS necessary to take a step back for a day and bring out your inner feelings and creativity, and what better way is there to do so than a dot! Dot Day is one of my favorite times of the year because I can forget about everything, and just focus on making a dot of my own that would be hung on Mr. Shay’s wall. Your eye is always drawn right to them when you walk into his room, and it is really awesome to see everyone’s creativity come together to form such a beautiful piece of art. I cannot wait to one day have a classroom of my own and get to encourage my students to partake in this great event each year! -Landon To me. dot day is a day that not only celebrates creativity, but also emphasizes the significance that is held by each and every person on this Earth. It is a day that reminds us all that each and every one of us has talents to share, no matter how small we may think they are. It teaches that we never need to be anything more than ourselves; we are all great in our own ways. Just think, if a small town, Iowan, teacher can spread joy, creativity, and a sense of significance, to millions around the world, starting with something as small as a dot, what great things can you do? - Shannon I always enjoyed dot day because I liked how it was something people from all parts of the world could share together. You were able to get creative with your dot and share a little bit of your personality with everyone that was able to see it. - Jackie As I said, best kids in the world! Celebrate however you like, but don’t think you need to do anything special. Watercolors, markers, crayons….whatever you have. High school kids just want to be creative…like all of us.   Isn’t that exciting how much the students appreciated and valued the activities they participated in? Reflection on learning activities is a step to improving professionally and it is great when you can get direct feedback from your students. Consider signing up to participate and view the educator’s guide if you need ideas of ways you can involve your students in International Dot Day. You can also contact Terry Shay or myself if you need suggestions for ways to participate with your students. This is a great way to involve your students in a global project with classrooms on every continent and around the world. Don’t forget Global Collaboration Day is on September 17th.

Word Formatting Tricks from Jennifer on Vimeo. Do you have a Word document that seems possessed by evil formatting spirits? Watch this video to learn three ways to defeat those spirits. See how to: Clean up your styles Clear all styles and formats Reduce the file size.

The folks at E-Learning Heroes have issued a challenge: Create a gate screen and share it with the E-Learning Heroes Community. What’s a gate screen? It is a screen that serves as a kind of "gate" in an online course. If modules are pastures, then the gate screen would be what connects the two pastures. The gate screen usually provides information to learners such as instructions, navigation, and feedback. You can find out more about gate screens here. Are you ready to accept the Gate Screen Challenge? You can find all of the details on the E-Learning Heroes site. Not up for the challenge, then check out what other people have come up with to inspire you. Once you complete the challenge, brag about it here in the Comments section! Show off your skills!

Most of us know about visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners, but did you know that there are four more types of learning? Bluemango put together a great Infographic explaining all seven learning styles. Click on the image to go to their site.  When designing your training, it is a good idea to try to include something for as many styles of learning as possible. Also remember that people can be a combination of learning styles.  Watch your courses become more exciting! Your learners will be more engaged and learning retention will increase.