In a matter of weeks, we’ll all be saying goodbye to bright smiling faces and yet another year of learning. In a year’s time, we planned activities, wiped tears, gave hugs, attended trainings and even implemented new technology. We made a point to address the needs of learning and purposefully made sure that students were reached beyond the limits or constraints of standards. Somehow in the middle of a field of projects, devices, crayons and posters…we’ve also managed to teach them life lessons that will serve to frame the people that they will become. Learning That We All Have Value I remember being in a training years ago and as we worked collaboratively to develop content. We were asked to consider that each person brings a level of expertise to a conversation. We had to set aside our differences to work together to reach a goal. It wasn’t easy but we learned so much about each other in doing that. It changed the way that I approached my own teaching. I started using phrases like "you all have expertise" when helping students to establish building collaborative relationships and my gosh, it was like seeing light bulbs glow at once! Collaboration isn’t an easy skill but it’s a necessary one and as difficult as it can be, it’s fulfilling to see kids own their journey and recognize, for themselves, the value that each brings to the table. This is such an important life lesson for all of us to learn regardless of age. Power of Perseverance One of my students, E, was told for years that he was incapable of being anything more than a thug on the streets. He was told this so much that he actually believed it. This one was one of my toughest walls to break. He needed someone to believe in him without question and I was happy to serve that role. It wasn’t easy but as long as he was willing to push through, I was going to push him. (I probably didn’t give him much choice in the matter) For three years, he came to school early and stayed late. We worked on every subject that he had beyond my class. His graduation was one of my most cherished moments as a teacher. He understood the power in pushing against naysayers and I grew as a witness to his journey. Thinking about it still gives me chills. You Can Fall, But You Must Get Up! Years ago, one of my students, who I will call B, did not pass her state exams to graduate. As someone who struggled in math her entire life, this was devastating. She had multiple opportunities still left to pass, but her confidence was gone and she didn’t want to try again. I went to her home and sat down with her and her mother. We talked about all that she had accomplished up to that point and that quitting was not an option. Over the next few months, we worked like crazy in small sessions so much that she could literally teach. Needless to say, she passed the test but the greatest lessons were those that happened along the way in getting there. Many of you may be feeling beat down from the mandates and requirements throughout the year. Trust me. I know. For a moment, I don’t want you to think about test results and other data. Reflect on the journey and the moments that really mattered with your students. These moments, beyond the standards, are what truly matter most.

I’m sitting here watching the kid problem solve his way around creating a stage for his puppets. There are boxes, baskets, shoes and just about anything to hold the stage up. I’m not helping him. My role is that of observer and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Today, Braeden took his puppet, Lenny, to school to share with his classmates. His friends, now familiar with most of his furry friends, were fascinated with Fancy the Flamingo and have demanded a new episode of the Lenny the Lizard show. So, while I finish the last remnants of book writing and practice my DEN Virtcon session for tomorrow…this is what I get to see in my peripheral vision… In case you missed it…This is normal when the world is your classroom.

I struggled with sharing this story but I felt that it was one that needed to be shared. I’m an educator but I’m a parent first and sometimes I make mistakes. My children make mistakes and writing this was really therapy for me in dealing with it. I haven’t slept. I needed to write and this is it.  Yesterday, I ignored my gut instinct, intuition and experience telling me not to allow my son to go to a friend’s quinceañera. It was odd that without thinking, the only word that came to mind was NO. I’ve rarely said no and my finite answer caught us both by surprise so much that he begged even more. Against a force so deep that I can’t explain outside of the hand of God himself, I gave in. Everything in me knew that this was a mistake. A few hours later, my younger brother called and told me not to be alarmed but that my son was being detained for alcohol possession. (Don’t be alarmed???) Before he could even get out that I needed to meet him, I was on the road headed for my child. What the heck??? This is a kid who normally preaches against smoking, drugs, alcohol…wait…what?? Lesson 1: Your kids are not perfect and sometimes they make boneheaded mistakes. This was his first…of many.  Knowing what I was walking into, nothing could quite prepare me for what I was about to see. Nothing on earth can quite prepare you for seeing your son sitting on the ground in handcuffs. Nothing. As I walked up to retrieve my son, the officer handed me the bottle to smell its contents. He said that they’ve never seen or heard of my son and didn’t want to take him downtown. They were willing to sign him over to me. (Thank you) The image of my son sitting there hurts. I’ve never heard of kids being handcuffed for alcohol of such a small quantity and part of me was angry about that. The other part of me was angry at him for putting himself in that position. The final part of me was angry at myself for allowing him to go. I’m not going to lie. I fell apart at that moment in front of my son, my brother, sister and both officers. My son was in handcuffs. It could’ve been much worse. As we drove away, my son tried to deflect attention away from his actions by shifting the blame to someone else. This is where I snapped back into the reality of what we were dealing with. Lesson 2: My son’s actions are his actions. Focusing on anything other than his part in what he did, almost certainly hides the lesson that he must learn in a cloud of thick fog. My son’s "story" is that some random man offered him and his friends liquor in the parking lot. One of his friends just so happened to be carrying an "empty"  squirt bottle which would soon contain liquor with a volume equivalent to that of a shot glass. (He clearly thinks that I am stupid) Lesson 3: There is no way that his story is true. Kids typically won’t snitch. This story pretty much means that the liquor arrived inside the squirt bottle with the friend. Also…focusing on where it came from is one thing. Understanding that this action could have happened at any time…in any place is another.  A Family Affair… As a family, we’ve always dealt with crisis together. This would be no different. Sitting in one room to talk and deal were my parents, siblings, myself and my son. We may have hit on everything from drugs, to alcohol, to sex and jail. My brother would offer insight and intel that we did not have experience with. After all, I’ve never been a black male. It was important for him to be a part of this discussion. My son needed to hear and feel what my brother had to say. We all did. Going back to his version of the story…if he were willing to take alcohol from a total stranger…what else would he take? (Why am I even considering this story to be true other than the fact that it could be and that scares me) The Conversation with Dad That Wasn’t… I would love to say that this situation brought about a united front with my ex-husband, his dad. That didn’t happen. His dad’s view is that my son, at 14, is old enough to make decisions for himself and if this is what he chooses…so be it. (Yeah…wrong answer) Lesson 4: My son made a careless mistake but I care too much to sit here and allow him to let this mistake define the man that he will become. With the support of my family, I will fight tooth and nail for him…even if that means fighting HIM for him. A 14 year old boy doesn’t get to decide to become a statistic without family intervention. That’s not how we do it. I may be "green" at parenting a teenage boy but even I know that! This isn’t over. This is only the beginning. His lesson…Our lesson Lesson 5: Never…EVER…ignore your parental intuition. It’s almost always right.  

If you want to be more creative, you have to toss out the instructions and just go! - Braeden Today in the car, Braeden expressed his plan to create an animatronic puppet. Like any adult would, I suggested that he search for a kit that we could put together. Replying in the only way that he understands, he said… "Auntie, we’re not buying a kit. Did you know that even kits are made according to another person’s vision? Even if you don’t follow their directions, you only get the parts that they felt you needed. If you make it all yourself, you can try things so that you get what you want." I asked him how on earth we would know what to do because I’ve never made a robot from scratch. His response… "Auntie, I guess we’ll just keep trying until we figure it out." In case you missed it, THIS is what happens when the world is your classroom. Earlier today, I was going through my FB and came across a post by a classmate about her son. She was talking about having a hard time with seeing him break through his legos…putting stickers in random places and simply ignoring the directions. My comment to her was… "He’s cool, innovative and creative! Don’t change it. Embrace it. The world needs more of him" If I’ve learned nothing else from Braeden, it’s that our desires to place creative constraints are really a result of the stifling of our own creativity. At some point, we were ALL "tinkerers" and then someone came along and forced us to follow directions because that’s the only way…right? Wrong! Kids have a natural curiosity with the world and if we really want to foster creativity, let’s stop defining the "how" for them and let them maneuver in the way that they were created to do. This afternoon, Braeden decided that he wanted to be the puppeteer and filmmaker simultaneously. His solution was to tape my iphone to a hat and go. I’ve captured each moment in the Haiku Deck Below. Created with Haiku Deck, the free presentation app There’s also this…

This morning, on my way to work, I stopped by my parent’s home as I often do. On my way out of the door, in the mix of goodbyes, my mom said 5 words that literally brought me to tears… I Am Proud Of You It wasn’t her first time saying those words. My mother says it almost all the time but this morning felt different. This morning, I was reminded that no matter how strong, successful and confident we are…we’re still human and with that comes moments of self doubt. No, I don’t need my mother to express her pride for me to feel good about myself but in moments such as this…when I’m really questioning myself, her words of assurance helped to breathe life back into my steps. Today, while hanging signs for our student media fair, I found myself thinking of one of my former students…Edgar. It was as if the world flipped a switch on him one day as he continued to rise to the occasion against all of society’s doubts. He was coming to school early, staying late, studying for exams and doing homework. If you knew anything about him at all prior to these actions, you would wonder what in the world was different about him too. One day, I asked him what his new motivation was and his reply was astounding. He said… "Miss, you told me that you were proud of me and I didn’t want to let you down." This was, without a doubt, an emotional moment as I honestly didn’t even remember saying it but he did and that’s what mattered. I then assured him that I would always be proud of him, even in his mistakes. He didn’t have a thing to prove to me. The only person that he needed to make proud was himself. So, I asked him…"Are you proud of YOU?" To that, he looked at me and replied…Yes. It was his first time acknowledging that fact. Are You Proud Of You? I am not perfect, by any means, but I try to lead a life of integrity and grace. I fail often and even in those moments, I always find a way to bounce back. I am terrible at keeping track of tasks but I recognize that and am purposeful in trying to stay afloat. I am deeply honest with myself in good and in bad. I love with all of my heart and try to maintain composure in the face of moments that make zero sense. I get frustrated. Sometimes I even get upset and for that I have great friends that help me keep myself together. I am strong in my faith and even stronger in loving many whose faith differs from my own. Everyday, I have one goal…to be stronger than I was the day before and on most days, I meet that goal with flair. As I reflect more on this morning, it wasn’t just the words from my mother that brought me to tears. It was the realization that our thoughts were echoes of each other. I Am Proud Of Myself Sometimes, all we need is assurance.

Yesterday I was one of two creative leap speakers at the edulounge sponsored by Classflow (Promethean). The event itself appealed to me because it was a day to celebrate educators…our stories and contributions. It appealed to me before I even knew that Promethean sponsored it and yet I still participated. How would sharing our story…Braeden’s story…hurt? See, I am a SMART exemplary educator, which I have been for years. SMART & Promethean are direct competitors in terms of IWB and software. I still stand by SMART notebook as the standard in terms of interactive software….period. The thing is…I didn’t even care or consider who the sponsor was when I signed up. I did it because of the opportunity to share. I did it because the event itself spoke to the core of who I am…an educator. Yesterday, as I was driving away…happily basking in the glow of my accomplishment (public speaking), I was immediately brought back down to earth by words that in essence stated that I damaged my "brand", was being an "opportunist" and basically should have steered clear of that "competitor sponsored" event. I’ve never felt more hurt in my life. To be clear…a google certified teacher can be an apple distinguished educator…and vice versa. Honors and advocacy sometimes overlap. However, a SMART exemplary educator & whatever the heck Promethean teachers are…cannot. (Interesting that the edulounge keynote was sought after last year at ISTE to be in the vicinity of the SMART showcase room…invited to an event that none of us were…other than Erin Klein(also a SEE) who was also tweeting tidbits from this same event…but that’s ok because at least she wasn’t in the room) Yet, I can’t speak because Promethean’s name is on the wall? I wasn’t at the edulounge to be a brand advocate. I was there to tell a story and by all accounts, I did that with fidelity and honor. I am not employed by SMART nor am I under any kind of contract. I am a part of a community of teachers and I’ve enjoyed connecting with them over the years. Today, I was basically told that maybe I’ve outgrown this group. Interesting. I stand behind my decision to share our story because I refuse to allow any company to dictate where I can and cannot go. Classflow sponsored an event for teachers where the event focused on Educators and not product. I respect that wholeheartedly. I’m not "business illiterate" and I get that the product was there & in full view of selling itself. However, at the end of the day…there was a stage. There was a space and I stepped into it. I would do it over again. That 5 minute speech doesn’t define me and neither does any edtech brand…period. However, that 5 minute speech earned me full travel to ISTE…a trip that I would have been covering from my own pocket. (I’m a single mother with a kid in college…building a house. Do the math) Call me an opportunist if you will. In my opinion, I’m just SMART.

One thing that I’ve learned along the way in my career is that there is nothing more important than the relationships that we build. I’ve been fortunate to have made quite a few strong ones along the way through my affiliation with SMART…even before I joined the SMART exemplary educator community. What most people find odd about the event that led to my first brand advocacy post…was actually normal because when one has a strong relationship…there is an understood comfort in being exceptionally honest. We need more of that. While I was basking in the glow of a great "moment", and rightfully so, I didn’t want to hear anything beyond the positive. I wanted to be just as proud of me as my family was and any communication beyond that pride would not…could not be taken in any way but negative. So, when I got the call that in essence brought me back to earth, I wanted to hear what I wanted to hear. I didn’t want to hear the truth about sponsored events…that even without a mention of product…there is ALWAYS an undertone and purpose of "product". I didn’t want to hear that a "5-minute" talk is never really just a "5-minute" talk but one that lives on repeatedly through video playback. I didn’t want to hear the business side of edtech while I was focusing on the passion of who I am…an educator. The reality of what we do is that there is ALWAYS a corporate drawback and in this moment, my "unofficial mentor" was mentoring yet again…by showing me the parts that I did not want to see. The thing is…I needed to see. The relationship that I have with SMART extends well beyond boards and software. For me, it was and is about people. My path into edtech began with SMART as I sat in a training, not listening…exploring on my own. I was more enamored with the speaker, herself because she was fantastic and I wanted to do that too. Over the years, that same person mentored me through trainings, made sure that my name was on the lips of conference planners and also made sure that I was in the path of any opportunities that would fit my goals…in and out of SMART. When I decided to leave the classroom, it was her that I consulted and she said…knowing that the school I was entering was void of any technology…"follow your heart"…and so I did. I am a SMART Exemplary educator and voice in our SEE community. I’m heading to Canada this summer where I will, no doubt, be under NDA with SMART. I could not, in good faith, accept a trip to ISTE funded by SMART’s biggest competitor. That’s just odd. What I learned in all of this drama is that relationships lend themselves to understanding when caring parties can sit down to listen. The fact of the matter is that my being in that space Saturday was bigger than the story that I was sharing. I looked at a list of panelist and saw a panel of educators that I have great respect for…while missing something that fuels me from deep within…diversity. So, of course I wanted to be at that event. I NEEDED to be at that event and I’m still proud that I did it. Thankfully, the people at SMART heard me too. So, while I will NOT be at ISTE under the umbrella of a SMART competitor, I will be there…but with a group that I have a relationship with…SMART. SMART’s message to me was "We believe you and want to support your goals". It wouldn’t be SMART to not let them. When you have a relationship that extends beyond product…those words matter more than anything.

A few weeks ago I sat next to a middle school student as he was brainstorming his ideas for his genius hour project. His task was to come up with a question that he could solve. His question… "Why do things in life just happen?" My heart literally dropped at that moment because I could feel that there was so much going on behind that question. We ask that students explore and deal with real life problems. We think that we have a solid footing on what those problems are but we don’t. Not every issue that kids have will be solved with a device. Sometimes their "real life" is different from our own and sometimes it really isn’t. The difference is that we are more than likely equipped with a set of skills that kids don’t yet have…how to deal. Now, before you start getting all "gritty" on me…understand that when I say, "how to deal", I mean that we are more than likely better at masking our issues than kids are. We sometimes have them but we are better about hiding them. On this day, this kid was asked to come up with a question that was burning inside of him. This question…his question…has haunted me since. I thought about my own son and the issues that he is dealing with. He doesn’t express them but in my mind he has to feel them.  I wonder how our struggles are affecting him. I wonder how the rejection of his father will manifest itself. In some cases, maybe it has. Will it get worse? Will he have a burning question inside of him one day too? Will anyone, other than me, care enough to ask? How will they react? I watched my son craft a family tree for his spanish class…leaving off any mention of his father. I’m hoping that his teacher doesn’t penalize him for that as his reasons for leaving that part out are not a reflection of a student "half doing" his work but of a son disconnecting from his former reality. I didn’t email his teacher. Maybe I should’ve. Then again, how many of our kids are dealing with this daily…no alert from home. When we talk "real world", I hope that we understand that for some kids "real world" is all too real. Real life is much deeper than the questions that we ask in school and even deeper than those that we deem as acceptable from kids. Real life is bigger than choosing the right device or app….much bigger. Back to that student’s question…"Why do things in life just happen?" Because sometimes life just…is

A few weeks ago, I took a gamble and applied to the Google Teacher Academy in Atlanta. I knew going in that being chosen was a long shot as there were only 35 slots but I wanted to go for it because eventually, I wanted to apply to the academy in Austin…a more realistic "local" location. I even reflected on the process…here. So, to be clear…I NEVER considered myself a "real" contender to get in which, as I write this…maybe that was my first mistake Fast forward to yesterday…my friend Beth Still reminded me on Facebook that today was coming. Tweets were rampant with excitement from others that applied. All of a sudden, that "thing" that I wasn’t thinking about was slapping me dead in the face and then I made mistake #2…I allowed myself to think that maybe…just maybe…I could get in. (I’m annoyed at myself for even thinking this way as I type) So, I spent a great part of my day…while in training for our district instructional model roll out…checking email and twitter for a sign that notifications went out. I got nervous and all of a sudden, I felt myself caring about THIS application…the one that was NOT supposed to count. I checked my email and read… Thank you for recently applying to the Google Teacher Academy. We’re sorry to inform that you were not selected to attend. We appreciate the time and effort that you committed to this application. Even though only a small number of applicants can be accepted, we know each applicant is a dedicated and innovative leader in education. Thank you for your service to your students and colleagues. We hope that you’ll consider applying for another academy, and wish you luck in your continued endeavors to create positive change through education in your community. Cheers and best, The Google Teacher Academy Team I read this but all I that I heard was the Charlie Brown teacher after sentence 2 which in my mind translated into… "Dear Rafranz, Thank you for applying to our super special society but I’m sorry…You suck…Goodbye!" Yep…for about 1.25 minutes…that’s how I felt. (mistake #3) Then… I remembered who I was and what I stand for and then my pity party ended. I talked to my director, a GCT and she explained that the rubric follows the application requirements. I saw others post advice like…"consult with a GCT before hitting submit"… which I did, ironically. I went back and forth debating about repeating this process again for Austin but then I remembered that I had no idea what I needed to work on. Was it my video? Was it my resume? Was it my reflective questions? What was it? (I’ll keep it real…I’m sure that it was the video…I think) The thing is…how am I supposed to know what to address without feedback. It’s interesting that doing this would be frowned upon in the classroom yet there is no GTA application feedback? So, I’m supposed to go into this thing blind again? Interesting, but then again, this is a "super special society" so…yeah Dear Rafranz, (In case you forgot…let me remind you of who you are and what YOU do) You work in a district of over 65,000 students and you are personally responsible for supporting learning for over 500 teachers and their students. Technically, your job title is "Instructional Technology Specialist" but like your good friend Kristy Vincent reminded you, your mindset is so far away from thinking in terms of tools alone.  YOU support learning. In a district that is currently undergoing a major overhaul in instruction, the tools come in handy to make learning accessible, equitable and transformative. In addition, YOU are a learner who fully immerses yourself in reflective as well as social learning environments that challenge you to grow which is even more amazing because part of your growth is an understood responsibility to share. You don’t need three letters behind your name to do the things that you do. You don’t need to wait for an academy in order to learn. This is a choice. You want to do this. As you remind your children often..there is a huge difference between NEED and WANT. So, hear me and hear me well. Do not sit here and allow yourself to be defined NOW or in the future by any of the opportunities that you earn or fail to earn. You know better and guess what…YOU DO NOT SUCK. Signed… Your Rational Self PS: Before you even consider applying again, reflect on your purpose and decide if this truly matters to you and your own personal growth. Also, remember that a "no" has never been okay in any aspect of your life so don’t start letting it be okay now. If you want Austin to be a "thing"…make it happen. #thatisall    

Yesterday was pity party and reflect day over my failed Google Teacher Academy attempt. This morning, I’m reflecting on perspective…and a few handy thoughts on Growth… Rule #1 Be a Radical Learner My cousin, Wykesha Hayes, posted this thought on Facebook today and I captured it. She said… "I’ve reached many goals in life…and I have also failed at attempting many things as well. The one thing that I can confidently say however, is that my EGO is too big to quit trying. I want to try something radical…EXTREMELY RADICAL. When you want radical results, you attempt radical things." Not every person can be chosen and even if you are amazing, you still may not be. KNOW THAT and don’t be discouraged by it. Be motivated by it. What can you do to be a better you and to communicate your ideas in such a way that there is no denying your entry into a door. It’s not about the "tags behind the name" but about the potential to be the best YOU that you can possibly be. Rule #2 Be exceptionally proud of YOURSELF and your accomplishments This summer, I applied for so many things and I kept "winning"…kept being "chosen". I was motivated by that. For example, I’m presenting at both Idesign Coppell and Ipadpalooza in the same week. I’m going to Discovery Ed Summer Institute in Tennessee followed by Calgary to the SMART Exemplary Educator Global Summit. Last week, while away to present three sessions at the Texas Google Summit, I received the alert that my Ignite proposal was accepted and I’m scheduled to present during the opening session. THAT was huge because my session proposals were denied. (They were last minute and bad. They most certainly should have been denied) That "ISTE NO" motivated me even more to have an "Ignite" Yes…and I did… Rule #3 Be just as motivated by NO as you are by YES "No" doesn’t mean failure. It just means "not right now" and "not in this way" but to me, it’s not an end. It’s a redirection to repurpose my thoughts into something different. What else can I focus on? Where can I be better? Start there. For me, that is in my current job. Ironically, we have Google Academy in my district the same week at GTA. I’ll be in Texas leading professional development with the rest of my team and helping teachers understand how to best integrate their google apps into their professional lives and classrooms. What else is better than that??? Rule #4 Be honest with yourself and expect honesty from others This experience would not be an area of growth for me if I didn’t see my own weaknesses. It would also suck if those around me weren’t honest too. At the same token, just as much as I can be honest in my weaknesses, I also have to recognize my strengths and contributions. That part is just as critical. I am not perfect. I am not "the best in the game" but I am the best me who also has an exceptional amount of space to be better. Growth in all areas is warranted. You just need to be radically proactive in doing so. In case you missed it…Please check this post out by Jose Vilson. It was perfect at the right moment.  

So this happened… My son reads my blog which is kind of cool. Today, I walked in to the house to a nice "talking to" about rejection. His words… "I know how you feel about that rejection thing you wrote about. I mean, I think that being rejected by a parent is just a bit more serious but I feel you." So yeah…there’s that. There is really nothing greater than a nice reality check moment. My Son…My Hero About a two months ago, my ex husband started throwing hints that he wanted "OUT" of my son’s life. It was the oddest thing to even have to discuss because for 14 years, while he was a terrible husband…he was a great father. Unfortunately, as adults sometimes do…He met a lady and her kids. She disliked my son and he was given the boot for good. About a month ago, as I took my son to grab a few things from his dad’s…he walked in to seeing that his dad packed all of his things into trash bags. 7 bags of memories…I’ve never seen him as upset as he was that night. As traumatic as that night was, I’ve seen my child bounce back embracing his new reality. There have been bumps along the way, of course, but he’s a trooper. At 14 years old, my son wakes up everyday and goes about life as if nothing is wrong. He’s surrounded by love, encouragement and the REAL reality that he’s going to be ok. His words…"He doesn’t want me. He’s done as far as I’m concerned. I don’t need him. I’m good." My son is a pillar of strength…my rock. He’s going to be just fine. Crazy how upset we get sometimes over the little things… All of sudden…my little tech issues are nothing.    

We are all learners! Today I decided to embark on a new journey of growth. My challenge is to see how much I can learn in 30 days or between now and #iste2014. (Yes it’s 30+ days, but bear with me people) This is not just a challenge about learning. It’s a challenge about sharing it. So, everyday My goal is to learn something new and share it with you! It may be a video, blog post, Instagram image or whatever! The possibilities are endless! It may not even be technology. (Trust me, if I learn to cook a new meal, my family would be proud) I just love learning…and sharing! And in the words of the artist formerly known as Hannah Montana… When you learn and share, you’re doing the best of both worlds! (If there is an award for cheesiness, I win!) So, dust off that brain. Bring out that blog and grow with me! It’s only 2 steps! 1. Learn something new. 2. Share it. Simple

Today, as promised, I embarked on my journey of learning something new daily. I will admit to being unsure of where to start today. I even began a lesson on Lynda.com, about storytelling. Although I did learn a thing or two, I decided against making that moment my learning moment. Then, I was tagged on Google+ by Boris Berljin, an educator from the Netherlands, telling me how he wrote a blog post about presenting on social media at a conference and referenced one of my postings from Instagram. This excited me because the post was in dutch and that gave me a reason to crank out Google translate. My Google Translate "Aha" Moment     I was so excited that once I translated Boris’ article, I learned a new thing about Google translate in blogger or probably any platform by google…I presume. We all know that google translate isn’t always as accurate as we like which meant that some sentences didn’t exactly make sense in English. Did you know that when you highlight text, you can actually "contribute" to the correct translation? What’s cool is that it doesn’t just change on screen. Boris now gets to approve my translation which set off a gazillion instructional idea alarms in my head. I thought of language classes where teachers and students post in one language, translate and use the "suggest" feature to submit corrections. I’ve never seen this so I was super excited. I even grabbed a screen shot because…hello…I planned to share this as my learning moment. Then…I made it back to my hometown. I saw my "edtech dad" sporting his Sophia shirt and I took one look at him and knew what I needed to say. I said… "Dad, is there anything that you can teach me?" After explaining my challenge and turning down his first offer of mowing the lawn, I fully accepted his brilliant offer to teach me some basics about my car. Today’s lesson was about changing the oil which I needed to learn. As independent as I am, I rely on the "experts" at the body shop to do this for me. Why do we do that? I found that my dad was eager to teach me something as this is a rare occurrence. It also gave us much needed time to bond. I watched my father come alive in a way that I had not seen. It reminded me of students and giving them a platform to teach as well. We could stand to do that a bit more I think. I will say that teaching me pumped him up so much that I captured about 7 minutes of conversation that I condensed down to 1:30. My dad is a passionate teacher. Maybe I got a little bit of that bug from him too. By the time that I "conclude" this journey, maybe…just maybe…I may even become a much better digital storyteller. Right now, I’m just happy to know how to check my car and also where to put the oil. What did you learn today? Where can I learn it?

Our little "in house" creator, Braeden is working on a new puppet. Inspired by Steve Axtell‘s Shaggy Mountain Dog Puppet, Braeden decided to make a shaggy dog…a yellow one. So, he started his process of making patterns, bonding foam, making eyes and envisioning the puppet that he wants. In one night, he sewed his foundation and excitedly showed all of us. I took pictures and video as always. It’s kind of our "thing" because I am still amazed at him…even after all that he has done. Like always, Braeden took the dog to show my mother, who replied with a very predictable and immediate… "Braeden, dogs are not yellow. Why would you make him yellow?" Braeden, of course, retorted…"Granny, it’s a puppet, MY puppet and he’s yellow!" Dear Adults…Step Away from the Child…Unless You Are Encouraging My mother is super creative in her own right. She also makes mind blowing amazing things but not in the same way as Braeden. The creator in her wants to tell him how he should see the world and she does this often. For any other child, these moments would be completely and totally hindering. The difference is that Braeden is just as stubborn as she is so he makes yellow dogs, pink bunnies and even blue humans…regardless of the criticism. We love that about him and encourage it. My mother isn’t purposefully discouraging Braeden from being creative. She’s coming from a place of being a teacher. She wants to teach him…to help him so that he can be better but it’s hard for her to understand his vision and separate her own ideas from it. I saw a question posted on twitter about barriers to creativity and another posted later with ideas to remove barriers. Here it is below.   Overcoming barriers to creativity #iwestcreate pic.twitter.com/xQ5hFizddy — Christine Lederer (@KeeneeLou) May 24, 2014 I’ve said it a million times that we are born into this world naturally creative. We learned by using our senses. We touched, pulled, tasted, built and fumbled until we figured things out. At some point, someone made us sit on a rug, put our fingers to our mouths and color between the lines…over and over again. If we really want kids to be more creative, we’ve got to take ourselves out of the equation. We’ve got to step back and let them field their way through as we encourage, support and enjoy. If they need our help, we’ll be there but it’s important that what kids create is of their own making. After all, wouldn’t the world be much better if we had many more yellow dogs? In case you’re wondering…Below is the Shaggy Mountain dog that inspired Braeden. (One might confuse this with being an example. I call it inspiration)

What did you learn today? Today, I learned to never underestimate the creativity of a kid with a vision. Ok, to be fair…I knew this already, but today’s point of view was further amplified by the fact that we were both learning something new. I’ve been a Photoshop user for years and by user, I mean that I get by with the most basic of skills. I make banners for my blog and toy with font. That’s about it! Before I even saw Braeden today, I made photoshop a personal goal of mine so I buried myself in Lynda.com, got side-tracked and started doing what most people do when that happens…switched to youtube. I watched Swoozie’s "Cheating in School" videos and found myself enamored with animation which led me to Deviant Art Muro which is an amazing web based FREE art tool. Check out the link to it in the Chrome Web store…Hello Chromebooks!! deviantART muro If you’re with me, I started out trying to learn something about photoshop. I ended up on youtube and then finding another creativity tool which happens to be a Chrome App. I’ll definitely add DeviantART muro to my "learning list" but until then, I decided to check youtube for photoshop and that’s when Braeden showed up. Learning From and With A Global Learner I’ve never shown Braeden my photoshop but as soon as he saw it, his eyes lit up. See, he has been watching videos on animation and in many of his videos…users were using photoshop so he had an idea of what it was. We started with trying to learn the pen tool by tracing an image of him. It’s not as simple as it looks but then again, we didn’t start from "photoshop lesson 1″ which isn’t a bad thing but there were tricks that we did not know, like the difference in brushes. Braeden was super excited to learn how to "trace himself" even though he felt like he was "cheating" because he was tracing. I found that interesting. I think that you can learn just about anything through youtube and today’s lesson ended on lines and adding basic color. Tomorrow, we’ll have to work on shading as we did not get that far. At any rate…the image below is where we are which isn’t that bad for a first time! Thought Bubbles from the Day I wrote a post earlier about "barriers to creativity" and I have to admit that it was very difficult to take my own advice. Braeden was learning the tool too but he had visions about his product. I found myself not listening to him even though he was right. No worries…not only did he correct me, he reminded me that I wasn’t being a good collaborator…which I found alarmingly true and ironic. Quotes from the kid… "I can just do what I want to do and make it happen. Can you just leave me alone?" (yes, you can fix your own thumb…he was right…I was wrong) "To get what you want, you have to stop following the instructions" (Feel free to deviate from online instruction & chart your own path) What I REALLY learned: Kids are experts on learning and doing even when they aren’t sure of what to do. We have to empower them to shine by standing in the shade and letting them go.  The secret sauce to being creative and learning must be void of two ingredients…Fear and Control.

I should start out by saying that I hate the squirrel reference and I knew that I would hate it the moment that I saw it in the movie, Up. Yet, squirrels are what most people equate to ADHD…so there you go. Yesterday, I read an article posted by Edsurge about some "new age" school doing "transformative" things or something like that. Those articles tend to blend into each other after a while. This particular articular listed out its "surprises" concerning learning in their "student driven" environment and what caught me was their surprise #8….  "While there are real and serious learning disabilities, ADD and ADHD are mostly nonsense." Really?? Life with Me There are moments in life for me that are a blur. It’s not the kind of blur of a person that blacks out but more of one where I speed through situations without realizing what others see. I forget…a lot. Yet, I remember so much. It sounds odd but it’s the truth. My close friends and family will tell you these things about me… I rarely finish a complete thought without switching a few times to other things. I can talk on the phone, text, tweet and talk in person…simultaneously. If something hits me mid-conversation, I will completely walk away mid-sentence to do "the thing" that hit me. When I’m medicated, everyone knows. When I’m not medicated, everyone knows. I don’t have to say a single word. Have I always been this way? Probably. I’ve always been "stuck in my head" according to my family but to me, it wasn’t just a matter of being stuck. I had ideas that circulate…lots of them….all at once. My Life as a Student As a student, learning was stressful. I always felt as if I wasn’t quite as smart as everyone else because I could not focus and retain in the same way. As a matter of fact, I was booted from my Honors English class because my instructor felt that I could not handle the requirements. That moment still hurts because I could do it, I just could not make it happen. Any course that required a great deal of reading & writing was tough. That, for me, was every course except math, computer science and band. I excelled at those things. The Medicated Me I chose to see a doctor and start medication and I have to say that doing that saved my career. Heck, it’s the reason that I was even able to get through college because prior to my "new awakening", I literally had to take off from my day job in order to sit in total seclusion just to finish reading a chapter of no more than 10 pages…and understand it. After many…many nights ending in tears, it was great to NOT go through that. In case you’re wondering…please do click play on the video below to understand what starting medication was like for me… That doesn’t mean that the medication "cures" my ADHD. It just means that I can process information in a much more organized manner and that is huge. About Social Learning At night, my medication is out of my system and that’s when I am most active on twitter. The multiple columns of tweetdeck are like stimulus to my brain. I like the movement and can manage multiple conversations because finishing isn’t an issue. They’re always right in front of me. Blogging helps to rid my mind of the ideas that float in my head.  When ideas come, it helps to have this medium to get them out. My Struggles With or Without Medication….Oh and Technology I still find organizing information difficult but certain productivity tools help. My gmail task list and google calendar pretty much run my life…as long as I place the information into the calendar. Saving to cloud spaces like Drive and Dropbox eliminated my loss of thumb drives. I keep everything in my phone and having it handy to record, with permission, helps me to process later. Books are read digitally and I do still struggle with retention but there is something about being able to highlight, save and share from one device that is really helpful. About the Classroom To be clear, I do not believe that I learn differently because of my ADHD. I believe that I learn differently because we all do. As a matter of fact, I learn quite normally. I just need quiet space sometimes to process new knowledge. Yes, we love a "noisy" classroom, but sometimes many of us need spaces void of noise. That is why I work at night. Everyone is asleep. Televisions are off. It’s just me and the silence of a room. I get so much done when there are no distractions. People often ask me for tips on helping kids with ADHD in the classroom. Here are mine… Stay away from your own perceptions of ADHD when it comes to kids. I agree that there are too many kids misdiagnosed and over-medicated but if you teach all kids individually and cater to those needs…the diagnosis won’t matter. Kids need to get up and move…with or without ADHD. They also may need to stand at times to learn. Let them and be okay with it. Work with another teacher on noisy days and have a designated quiet place because some kids need that. Your organization will help your students. I struggled with this but having consistent designated ways that materials were handled in class was necessary for all of us. If you have access to technology, an LMS or even the ability to create digital task list with alerts is so helpful. A tool like Remind101 is especially great because you can communicate and "remind" both parents and students about what’s happening in class. One more thing…to say that a kid will just grow out of ADHD is a myth. You don’t grow out of it. You learn to adapt to it. Medication isn’t for everyone but it was right for me and is easily one of the best decisions that I made concerning my own mental well being. We’re all different. Some of us get to have a bit of a super power.

For months, I’ve watched Braeden mold all sorts of clay objects. Today, I decided to learn his process. 1. Search Google images for creative inspiration 2. Open another window for a youtube video and do it again. (The still image is to capture the idea while the youtube video is for capturing movement and detail) 3. Eyeball a "glob" of clay for size and mold it into an "egg" or whatever size is needed for what is being molded. 4. Grab either molding tools or toothpicks to add detail. 5. Also grab toothpicks to attach head, arms and legs. Check out the video below and you can hear this process directly from the kid himself! Enjoy! Other learning… 1. Youtube Audio Library is amazing for finding audio tracks for student projects. It definitely gives more choices than itunes alone. 2. I’m also growing as an editor and using "tricks" like splitting audio, including "high speed video" and eliminating as much dead space as possible through splitting clips…helped with the story. 3. 11 minutes of video can still be condensed down to a more viewable time without losing the story. 4. I did try out youtube video editor but I have to say that as much as I’m using imovie now…I prefer it. 5. Capturing Braeden on film sharing his process also helps him become better at teaching it which is something that he wants to do. 6. WHEN I apply for GTA or even ADE at some point, I may just have this video thing down. By the way, what did you learn today?

To be fair, this should be day 6 but somewhere between watching the "Goliath" of our family, my dad, fall ill and coming to terms with the meaning of life…this learning moment was born. At any rate, Discovery Ed sent me a bag of seeds and the learning began. I’ve never planted a single plant in my entire life so when I received my parcel in the mail from Discovery Ed, it was no-brainer that my "learning moment" would have to be about planting those seeds. There is just something honestly therapeutic about tending to soil in order to prepare a plant for growth. The foundation had to be ready. Can this moment be any more metaphorical? A few hours before I dug into the earth, I received a text message from a former colleague that one of my students was graduating High School. I stopped what I was doing, said a thankful prayer and cried. See, this student was so near and dear to my heart because as a freshman, she struggled so much with math that she cried almost everyday at the beginning of class. Everyday, I was honored to assure her that she could do it and everyday…she did…even amidst tears. At the beginning of the school year, she proclaimed time and again that she was quitting. Time and again, I assured her that quitting was not an option. We had so much work to do beyond algebra as this child needed more than someone to love her…she needed to love herself first. You may never really understand the power of "I’m to happy to see you today", until you say it and see the glimmer of hope in the face of a student that follows. By mid-year, she was with me and I knew it. Before I left that school district for good, I made one call…to her counselor. I needed to make sure that she would be in good hands and that meant that she had no choice but to be in a certain English teacher’s classroom. We remained connected in that way and I also knew that she would be okay. I’m so proud of my Miranda because I know where she started and seeing her make it to this moment was something that she definitely didn’t foresee when we started. I read an article earlier about a high school diploma being worthless but I need to say that it’s not on any level. For this young lady, achieving her High School diploma is bigger than life. She has a solid foundation on which to build. The nurturing that she has had along the way gives her an even greater chance to exceed her wildest dreams and I am so proud to have had a hand in that. As teachers, we plant seeds like this daily. It’s ironic that on the same day that my seed paper arrived, I was able to see the blossoming rose of my student. I’ve never felt happier than that moment. About those seeds…I made a video, of course…

It’s the last of school and my son’s geography teacher kindly sent me a text that his "research" assignment wasn’t completed. His job was to imagine that he had $10,000 that he could spend anywhere in the world, plan a trip and create a ppt with a minimum of 15 slides. He had two weeks to get this done in class and didn’t finish it. As much as I despise when my son does this, moments like today opened the door to multiple learning moments. 1. I get to spend some necessary quality homework time with my teen son 2. I get to help him spread his technology/research wings. 3. My son gets to model an idea for his teacher which only works because he is open to it Why Google Tour Builder? To be clear, this assignment was totally a "time killer"…something for his teacher to do to pass the time. As annoying as that is, it was still a chance to redefine learning for a teacher who desperately needed it. Google tour builder is a google tool that mixes google earth, images, video and text to create a more interactive experience. For sharing global geographic locations it’s perfect! What I love about Google Tour Builder is that images and video can be added directly through the application, much like other google tools. In addition, the "mapping" of places on google earth give students a visual sense of the world that help them to see how their chosen places are connected. The final product is a more interactive "slideshow" experience that is much more engaging and geographically relevant. View my son’s tour here: Khalil’s Tour of Spain One big negative: No Embedding

If you haven’t read José Vilson’s piece, Michelle Obama and Why Teachers Need to Embrace Critique, you should. Many have criticized both Michelle Obama for her statements and José for his writing and in a perfect world, all teachers see kids as kids and not kids as something else. In a lot of places and schools, this is not the case. I learned from my own mother that visibility was important. As a parent, I’ve learned that if I wasn’t visible at school…my children were invisible. We’ve seen our share of jacked up situations in the case of our children and if we were not a part of their educational experience directly, we would not have known. For example, as a 1st grader my niece was having extreme difficulty paying attention in class and sitting in one place silent. Her teacher’s response to that was to place her desk facing a wall…alone…the entire year. To be clear, to keep her from talking to her peers, she turned my niece’s desk to face the wall…alone. Her principal approved this madness. We had no idea until parent/teacher night when my niece showed us her desk. Let’s just say that the next few months were interesting and eventually that desk moved. There were other ways…better ways to deal. That wasn’t it. When my son was in 5th grade, he was often reminded by one of his teachers that he would be in prison by the time that he was 16. Why say this to a 5th grader? Well, he was a bit of a clown and also didn’t answer her questions fast enough. Their student/teacher relationship only declined from there. If my son released a breath sideways, he was sent to the office…a place where the principal and this teacher were best friends. So yes, we had to be visible and united. And then there’s Braeden, a clearly gifted child who doesn’t make the cut or fit the mold of "giftedness" in our school district, given the awesome experience of a fully worksheet based education that clearly did not cater to him or his learning needs. My nephew, on the basis of his "subgroup", had to undergo mandated pull outs and tutorials because…heaven forbid that he didn’t pass the state exam! Let me be clear in saying that this kid, like others, did not need those mandated pull outs or after school tutorials. Do you think that we needed to be visible for this madness to stop? YES. In all of these situations, these teachers were not open to criticism and were quite offended that we called their practices into question because they were the "experts"…only they were not. There was no pedagogical theory behind what they did and even worse in understanding how to address the needs of kids of color. I would love to throw my kids into the classrooms of many of the teachers that I know from twitter. Unfortunately, that is not an option. If you are a teacher that thrives on providing an equitable educational experience to all kids, that is wonderful. However, instead of being offended at Michelle Obama, José Vilson and others…understand that you are not the norm. You are the exception and just because you do what you need to do…doesn’t mean that others are following suit. Truthfully, in many schools, kids of color are still seen as "them", "Subgroups", "colored" and "troubled". We aren’t quite there yet where our kids are seen as equal. I’ll say this as well… I consider myself a great teacher but I too do not have all of the answers when it comes to my learners. I am always open for critique because sometimes…you just need to hear it in order to become better. Those criticisms are why I am who I am and why I will always continue to strive for better.

Having just read Kristy Vincent’s post, "What is this, High School?", I feel like I finally need to add to a conversation that I’ve tried to remain silent on. Only, I’m not going to refer to the incidents that led to Kristy’s post. Instead, I’ll share my own story. As someone who tends to travel in my own circles of immediate interests…education, tech, race, art, creativity…I will admit to being "behind the times" on rape culture and what it meant. It’s not new by any means but it’s not something that I’ve wanted to discuss openly for many reasons. Childhood As a young child, I endured repeated sexual assaults from the age of 4 until about 8 years old. It was at the hands of a high school kid, a family friend. For years, I blamed myself…kept the secret. How could a boy, well into his teens, do this to me? Maybe I should have stayed in the room with the adults? What could I have done, as a child, to prevent it? 10 years ago, I mustered the courage to tell my mother and she was hurt…wondering why I never told her back then. I found myself wondering if it would have stopped if I told her? Again…blaming myself. As I read more about rape culture, I connected to that story. Here I was, wondering what I could have done on my own to prevent it instead of wondering why his parents didn’t teach their sexually deviant son NOT to do what he did. Adult As I was preparing to leave for college, my mother sat me down to talk about precautions. She gave me sound advice like… Don’t walk around at night alone. Don’t take an open drink from anyone at a party. Don’t drink to get drunk. When you do, you are relinquishing control of yourself. Be mindful of your surroundings. Always carry money in your pocket in case you go somewhere and need a ride. If you go anywhere, go with a group that you trust and that have your back. Needless to say, I ignored every bit of that advice. Two months out of the house, I went with a group of friends to a party. I drank from every cup in that place and I drank a lot. My friends left early and tried to get me to leave but I chose to stay. I would later recount that as a huge mistake. One of the last things that I remember were the gunshots from local "thugs" shooting at our location and being thrown into a vehicle by a friend who was "saving" me. I woke up the next morning in his bed…naked, sick, assaulted. At that moment, I thought… Why did I drink so much? How could he have done this? Why didn’t I listen to my mother? I want to throw up. Is this really happening right now? As he was driving me home, I asked him what happened and why. He apologized profusely and claimed to be just as drunk as I was. (It occurred to me that he drove us in this state) I asked him if I said no at all and he said that he didn’t remember hearing it. Surely, I said no. I found myself wondering if I could claim "assault" when we were both heavily intoxicated. He’s a man and he should’ve known better, right? Clearly, it HAD to be his fault alone. The more that I thought about it, the more that I owned that it was not his fault alone. I made critical errors in judgement…ones that cost me greatly. Reliving this… When I read the original piece, I eventually bypassed incident #1 and connected incident #2 to my own collegiate experience. I even envisioned myself and my co-conspirator. I was right back there…in his bedroom. the morning after…taking the awkward walk of shame to the car. I hated myself for thinking about all of the critical mistakes in judgement that she made…that I made. I wanted her to have my mother’s list…the same list that I ignored. Writing these thoughts right now makes me ill. Then, I thought of #YesAllWomen which led me to reading about "rape culture". I immediately came to this realization… Yes, we need to teach boys and men about "no" and that an intoxicated "yes" isn’t really a yes. There should definitely be embedded education about their roles in rape avoidance and that our bodies are NOT for their taking. However… We also have to teach women to be sensible, responsible and aware…especially in situations where alcohol is involved because we have to stop the madness of women sometimes putting themselves into these situations for the sake of a drink…or two…or three. We always have a choice and sometimes it comes before the sex occurs. Let’s not ignore that please. Yes All Women…We owe that to ourselves…

This week at ISTE has been one of the most incredible experiences of my entire life. When I think back to who I was before becoming the "me" that I am now, it makes me even prouder. You see…two years ago, this ISTE experience wasn’t possible…at least in my eyes. I was a teacher who would go to conferences and either sit in the back or somewhere hidden in the shadows of every other attendee. I knew that I was doing great things in my classroom but I did not think that I was capable of sharing outside of the small trainings that I did at home. I did not think that what I had to say was of value outside of my spaces of comfort. Two years ago, this IGNITE speech (as captured by Carrie Ross) that I shared about "sharing" would not have happened. The Power of a PLN I will be the first person to say that "getting connected" isn’t a part of "Edu-babble" but something that can make a huge difference in the lives of many. I am the "me" that I am now because of the connections that I have made along the way. It’s not like I just woke up one day and said…"I’m going to be an active participant in the global education space". I had to come full circle and understand that I am a part of that global education space and owning that idea was critical. For me, it was about making connections with people who didn’t just share in one direction but who believed in constantly pulling others in. Along my journey of growth, people encouraged me to share in spaces like my local technology conference, other school districts and even ISTE. Yes, a PLN is about learning but a PLN is also about building each other up and supporting one another to be the best of who we all can be. It’s not about following the ideas of one but on drawing upon the strength, beliefs and knowledge of many. Being connected helped me to realize that not only were my ideas valid but also critically important to share and not because they were always right but because they were mine. When I shared Braeden’s story during the Ignite, I did it for him but I also did it for my former silent self. Braeden used youtube and art to find his voice. I used twitter and a solid pedagogical understanding to find mine. The silent me is a distant memory. In her place is a confident teacher…determined to empower others to relinquish their hold on their silent selves too. In the words of Braeden… What will you learn? What will you create? How will you share it?  The world is waiting to learn from you.  

For me, ISTE 2014 was more than about coming face to face with educators that I’ve connected with via twitter. It was also bigger than being on stage to give one of the opening ignite speeches. It was 100% about re-igniting my passion as a creator and more importantly as the creative director of my own life. (more on this later) You see, as of late, I’ve been in a bit of a struggle with myself over my choice to join the ranks of the edtech community. As a die hard math educator, I’ve just been feeling a bit blahhh when it comes to technology…period. I hate talking about devices and I despise having to dedicate so much time to the mechanics of them which isn’t a great feeling to have when doing so is so much of your job. Don’t get me wrong…I love technology but I adore the art of learning even more and understanding that means knowing that the device itself is the least important…yet access to it is critical…if that makes sense. I have to say that the conversations at ISTE more than re-energized me. As a matter of fact, I’ve never felt more driven to work towards a greater purpose and I have the moments below to thank. The Personal Stories Being one of the ignite speakers and sharing from the lens of my nephew gave me a bit of an "in" when it came to conversations. Beyond talking about the speech itself, people felt compelled to share stories of their children and I loved that. One such moment involved a teacher named Tammy who in the moments directly after the ignites, stopped me to share about her daughter who just finished making her own puppets. As a matter of fact, her daugher frequented my nephew’s puppetry Tackk and she was shocked to see me there sharing him. I cried as we hugged because children liker her daughter were the reason that we shared his work to begin with. I still get chills thinking about that moment.     The Edtech StartUps & Programmers There was a time when I was a bit annoyed with startup folks but that was not the case this year. First, I met the creators of LessonCast, a platform aimed at helping preservice teachers become reflective lesson designers. As a matter of fact, I spent the day with its creators Nicole and Khalid. I was blown away by their passion for why they created their product. They were also the first black edtech developers that I have ever met and knowing the climate to which they joined, their dedication to their purpose moved me. They weren’t just there to say, "hey look at what I’ve done" but "Hey, what are your thoughts and how might we improve?". I loved that! LessonCast | Next Generation Teacher Preparation I also met Eli, the brains behind my favorite creation of all time, Desmos! The beauty of meeting Eli was that I almost didn’t go to that meetup because I was so tired. I would have been so disappointed had I missed it. When you talk to him about Desmos, his eyes twinkle and you feel the blood, sweat and tears that went into it. It’s truly remarkable. I loved hearing secrets behind Desmos as well as the story behind teacher.desmos.com, their new venture into connecting math classrooms. Eli also promised me that I could kickstart their Desmos instagram and I’m totally holding him to that because it’s a genius idea…just saying! He’s just a cool dude who had an idea that would go on to change math classrooms. I’m so happy that I met him. Did I mention that yet?   #ff to my new friend & genius @eluberoff the heart of @Desmos. Seriously, I could hang w/ him all day & that’s huge! pic.twitter.com/EasXMo0qsS — Rafranz Davis (@RafranzDavis) July 4, 2014 The Conversation Regarding Math that I Needed I could go on and on about all of the other conversations that I had during ISTE because they were all remarkable but the most touching one came at the hands of Jessica V. Allen who asked me to meet with teachers from her school in Chile regarding technology in math. Their educational system is very different from ours and while there was a language barrier…passion and excitement needs no translation. Without going into the specifics of our conversation, I will just say that it was the most rewarding moment for me at ISTE. I have never felt more motivated and excited than during that conversation that happened to take place on the final day of the event. It helped that this teacher just experienced Eli’s session on Desmos and was equally as excited about it! Oh! Thank you @RafranzDavis for your time today! You are #awesomesauce #eduawesome #ISTE2014 @aabollado pic.twitter.com/wiEOJ1WXBd — Jessica V Allen (@jessievaz12) July 1, 2014 So, as my goal was to be re-ignited…I most certainly was and the added bonus was being able to connect with all of you!  

A few days ago, we gave in and let Braeden tweet for himself. It was our way of putting the art of his story in his hands. To think that a kid who creates his own puppets could not handle something as simple as a tweet was a bit crazy and so now he is. Yesterday, he completed part of his newest creative venture…the head of his fur suit and his excitement in doing so has been contagious so much so that we are all captivated buy it. For the 4th of July, Braeden wanted to take a few snapshots and as the camera-woman, I could not just snap what I wanted. I had to snap as he posed because that was what he wanted. I stopped after several shots and asked him why these crazy poses were so important. His reply was everything. He said… "Auntie, I am the creative director of my life. I know the message that I want to say. Let me say it." For a child so young, he is wise beyond his years. We tend to navigate on auto pilot after a while. He plans and works on that plan. I love that about him. Earlier today, a fellow edu-friend, John Spencer (@edrethink) tweeted about receiving multiple negative comments on his social sites from a particular user and I immediately connected this with being a director of sorts. We share because we understand the power of adding to this space and telling our stories. We love receiving feedback and having great moments of thought as a result. However, we do not have to accept clearly negative, demeaning or abusive feedback. As the creative director of my life, I definitely utilize the "block" feature of every space without a second thought. It’s important that we honor filtering the "roads to nowhere" just as much as we pave streets of thought. I believe this with all of my spirit. So, yes…I will delete/block without question. As the creative director of your own life, you choose the players in it as well as each action. Speaking of action, I slept after ISTE and I slept long! I needed that. I also took a step back and unapologetically engulfed myself in my own family. As a matter of fact, I am pulling out of an event this week to be home since I will be leaving again next weekend. As the creative director of my life, I refuse to let "event schedules" dictate the time that I give to myself and my family. They come first no matter what and they need to know that. There was a time when this was not the case but remembering that I am in control helps keep things in order. The message that I want to convey is that I am a collaborator, passionate educator, mother and friend. It’s time that all of my actions were aligned as such. The power of being your own creative director is that your choices are yours. There is nothing more empowering than that.