I am excited to share that I began a new journey today as Director of Academic Services at Academic Partnerships (AP).  After three years as an independent consultant, I've found a position that aligns with my passion for online teaching and student-centered learning!  For those of you who follow my work, this means I am no longer consulting with VoiceThread or teaching for @One -- but my passion for using social media and VoiceThread to support student learning lives on.  And you can bet both will remain prevalent in my work. :)  And ... I have a very helpful eBook that will be available in the next couple of months that is titled "How to Humanize Your Online Class with VoiceThread"... so stay tuned! Hopefully, you'll want to pick it up for your summer professional development plans!So, what is Academic Partnerships? AP provides assistance to public institutions of higher education to transition their traditional degree programs online.  I will be supporting faculty with their introductory online teaching experiences.  How cool is that? The Faculty eCommonsWhat's even better about my new position is that there will continue to be plenty of opportunities for us all to learn together!  One of the most exciting parts of my new role will be the work I will do in the Faculty eCommons. The Faculty eCommons is a social learning community for faculty in online university programs.  Add it to your RSS reader today or follow @APCommons on Twitter.  And stay tuned as it will evolve into something even better in the coming months! :)Micro-MOOCInstructional Design for Mobile Learning April 15-May 12 - register now!AP recently began offering free Micro-MOOCs designed to scaffold 21st century educators towards becoming empowered and confident users of technology and facilitators of online learning.  What's a Micro-MOOC, as opposed to a MOOC? AP explains the difference here.Registration for next Micro-MOOC, Instructional Design for Mobile Learning, is in progress and more than 600 motivated online educators are already signed up.  Join us!  The online course kicks off with a webinar on Tuesday, April 16 at 11:00:00 AM PDT led by David Metcalf from the University of Central Florida.  Then you will learn along with peers in asynchronous sessions and targeted synchronous sessions led by industry experts including myself (I will be presenting a session on the VoiceThread mobile app) and Jackie Gerstein. All kinds of participation is welcome -- so consider this your opportunity to jump in and explore!Register for the Kickoff Webinar with David Metcalf on April 16thRegister for the Micro-MOOC  April 15-May 12

Can Gameful Learning with Social Media Change the World? Today, May 21 at 11:30am Pacific/2:30pm Eastern!https://plus.google.com/u/0/events/chu0boai9td61aiv7mib0ujkiag?authkey=CI_i-_SC2Mr8ggEOnce upon a time, making change in the world was a lofty goal that, to a student, seemed achievable only to those with great power.  Today, anyone can use social media to sculpt their own network of influencers -- friends, celebrities, politicians, thought leaders, non-profit organizations -- without ever meeting any of these people face-to-face.  How are these new social realities affecting the way we teach our college classes?  What would a class look like that embraces social media at its core as a tool to empower students to change the world?Join me, Michelle Pacansky-Brock, author of Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies, for a Google+ Hangout on Air with Jason Rosenblum  and Robert W Strong from St. Edward's University as they share their innovative approach to teaching their Global Social Problems course.  The course design uses a gameful approach, influenced by Jane McGonigal. In Fall 2011, professors Rosenblum and Strong challenged students to complete a series of missions to tackle global social problems: Research problems, take Action to deal with those problems, and Imagine potential solutions with those problems.In our Hangout on Air, we will discuss this course design, their plans to revise the design, the tools the students used, and the students’ responses and learning outcomes to this creative teaching approach. Click the link above for access to the live video stream of the Hangout on Air in Google+.

The archive of yesterday's fabulous Hangout with Jason Rosenblum and Dr. Bob Strong from St. Edward's University is available.  If you need a little inspiration or are intrigued about learning more about gameful learning, it will be an excellent way to spend 35 minutes!Click here to go to the Faculty eCommons post containing the video archive:http://facultyecommons.org/can-gameful-learning-with-social-media-change-the-world/

I'm putting my best learner foot forward and attempting to engage in an open online course that is filled with EdTech rockstars and exploring the dazzling topic of learning in the open web through peer interactions.  The course is called Connected Courses (#CCourses) and includes all of these amazing people as facilitators.I'm making this post to be able to connect my blog to the syndication feed for the course.  Want to join in?  Sign up today (yes, it's free and open to all who have an interest in joining together to explore the possibilities of connected learning in the open web.  The class officially begins on September 15th. The first unit will explore:What is, or should be, the future of higher education?  What do we stand to lose or gain in pursuing the possibilities opened up by the Web?  What are the underlying logics and effects of different approaches to teaching with technology/online?

It's been quite awhile since I've read an article that has inspired me to write a post on a Sunday afternoon. But today, I saw a link to an article in my Nuzzel feed titled "Is the lecture unfair?" and it piqued my interest. This recent article from the New York Times discusses findings from recent studies that show how lectures privilege students who come from privileged backgrounds. The author, Annie Murphy Paul, explains, "...a growing body of evidence suggests that the lecture is not generic or neutral, but a specific cultural form that favors some people while discriminating against others, including women, minorities and low-income and first-generation college students. This is not a matter of instructor bias; it is the lecture format itself — when used on its own without other instructional supports — that offers unfair advantages to an already privileged population." The idea that lectures create a biased learning environment that privileges certain students is not surprising to me -- and it may not be surprising to you either. If you are familiar with my work, you've likely read other posts where I examine this notion. However, to see studies that excavate the lecture as a method of teaching that reinforces social inequities is worthy of discussion. The article reminded me of a video presentation I made back in 2011 titled "Expanding the Funnel," which connected the flipped classroom model (a form of active learning) as a strategy for increasing degree attainment rates in community colleges (which saw an enrollment explosion in 2010-11, the time of the U.S. economic downturn). Community colleges have an open access policy, which means everyone one is welcome. They are the gateway to higher education in the United States and, as such, community college students are the most diverse group of learners in higher education. It is not uncommon for a single community college class to include students from multiple generations, ethnic minorities, first generation college students, ESL learners, students with cognitive differences (dyslexia, dysgraphia, etc.), and students with physical disabilities. This diversity creates a powerful, fertile soil for students to learn from each others' experiences. However, not all instructors use active-learning strategies in their classes and, as such, the learning environments that students confront while in college are not as inclusive as the open-access mission of CCs.  Often, when I've discussed this topic with my peers, I've heard professors note that active learning does students who wish to transfer to a 4-year a "disservice," because it doesn't provide them with the skills needed to excel in the lecture environment.Let's keep this conversation going. It's time to start examining the broader, social implications of pedagogy on degree attainment in higher education. All students are capable of learning and obtaining a college degree. Let's support all of them.Finally, we must not cast blame on faculty. We need to support faculty to understand how the way they teach a class impacts the percentage of students who experience deep learning.  Active learning is one step towards a more inclusive classroom.

Straddling The Chasm: Rethinking Faculty Support from Michelle Pacansky-Brock Today I had the honor and pleasure to share a keynote presentation at the NUTN Annual Conference (#NUTN15) in Savannah, GA. NUTN (National University Technology Network) originally started in 1982 as a group of representatives from institutions delivering distance learning through tele-courses. This was my first time attending a NUTN conference and it was a fantastic experience! There were a few familiar faces in my audience (Alex Pickett, John Sener, Christi Ford, Deb Adair) and I have enjoyed making many new connections.Prior to my session, I attended a presentation by MJ Bishop and Anne Keehn, who shared the results of a national survey about the impact of Teaching and Learning Centers. Their findings show a significant trend underway in higher education organizations that connects Centers of Teaching and Learning with efforts to bring about organizational change. In short, the findings underscore the pertinent role that the intersection of learning and technology play in organizational transformation.While the findings weren't surprising to me, it was refreshing to see this trend highlighted and recognized as a significant shift. During the presentation, I recalled a memory from one of my previous positions in which I suggested renaming the faculty support group I was a part of to a name that included "learning" and "innovations." My idea was returned with a cold, blank stare and the comment, "That sounds like a group that would get eliminated in the next budget cut." It's good to see times are changing in higher education.But the changes that Teaching and Learning Centers are tasked with are deep-rooted organizational changes, which conflict with organizational cultures and histories. The most talented TLC staff cannot bring about this type of change on their own.  In her presentation Dr. Keehn shared that organizations spend $9B annually on organizational change consultants.  She wanted to break that statistic out for her study to understand how much of that spending occurs in higher education -- but, apparently, data is not collected for higher education because no money is spent on it (citation needed). This leaves me with a far greater understanding and appreciation of the conflict and tensions experienced by so many who are in roles that connect learning and technology.The presentation I shared today was a new for me. It was an exciting opportunity to try to bring together several ideas I've been contemplating with findings from my dissertation study and another recent study I conducted with Jill Leafstedt and Jaimie Hoffman. The title of my presentation was Straddling the Chasm: Rethinking Faculty Support (slide deck also embedded above) and its focus was on investigating the gap between the support needs of higher education faculty and the types and formats of support that are provided today. For example, 80% of higher education faculty are contingent employees (part-time or graduate assistants); yet, at 9 out of 10 institutions faculty who teach online are required to come to campus for online professional development. Sitting in a room with peers listening to a conversation about effective online teaching strategies does not immerse faculty in the online learning experience, which is the only way to have a person learn the potential and power of an excellent online class. But that is not the only problem with this model. Many faculty who are part-time teach at multiple institutions, some which may be located hundreds or thousands of miles from campus. This is just one disconnect in motion today with faculty support. Our models of faculty support are out-dated remnants of machine-age thinking and we are missing rich opportunities for collaborative solutions. We must begin to understand each higher education institutions as members of a complex ecosystem. Each is an organic system that is in a continuous state of change and very much affected by its exterior situation.  Another of my goals for the presentation was to encourage my audience members to relate to how it feels to a faculty member at the various stages in the diffusion of innovation. I showed the great graphic from Phil Hill and Michael Feldstein that illustrates faculty on both sides of ed tech chasm and had each person in the room identify themselves with one of the groups illustrated in the image. Then we discussed how it feels to "straddle the chasm." And to support this experience, I referenced the powerful comment George Station shared with me on Google+ about his own experience straddling the chasm (see slide 3 of my prez). There were many nods shared during the presentation.This is an ongoing conversation and research topic for me and it's one I feel very committed to. I truly believe that our social era is rich with opportunities to transform the traditional model of faculty support and, I also believe, that faculty who are early adopters and innovators are those who will lead this change and encourage others to jump across the chasm.  I feel proud and excited about the my team at CSU Channel Islands is doing as we strive to support both sides of the chasm with online professional development and CI Keys. Many thanks to the NUTN Board for inviting me to speak in beautiful Savannah today! I will enjoy my evening ghost tour before I head back to California. Brooohahahaha!!

Last week, I attended the Digital Learning Resource Network conference #DLRN15 at Stanford University with my colleague, Jill Leafstedt. It was a very worthy experience and I'm processing a lot of ideas right now. With a couple of days of distance, I am now sensing what my most important takeaways are -- at least for the moment.The Hidden Curriculum"the student who better understands the student role & tacit expectations does better. does NOT mean they're brighter" @MarciaDevlin #dLRN15— Bonnie Stewart (@bonstewart) October 17, 2015We still use the term "non-traditional student" to refer to individuals enrolled in higher education who do not fit the classic "student" model:  full-time student, residential status, 18-24 years old. Looking out over the higher education enrollment demographics, these students are now the minority. Not earth shattering news. However, each of us must examine what this means within our own institution. A professor at Stanford, for example, and an instructor at a community college will have different relationships with the needs of non-traditional students, because the proportion of them in their classes will be different.Sociocultural incongruence. Replaces deficit thinking. Important @MarciaDevlin— Lee Skallerup (@readywriting) October 16, 2015At DLRN, Marcia Devlin shared an exceptional presentation that uncovered the ways higher education incorporates invisible barriers that interfere with the success of non-traditional students. These barriers are constructed through the gaps between students' and faculty cultural currency (the skills they arrive with, which are informed by their socio-economic status). In other words, a first-generation college student from a working class background may feel prepared for a class and be ready to apply herself, but not have the same access to criteria for completing work successfully.  For example, when she receives an assignment in a general education course to write an essay in APA format that is written in a scholarly voice, will she understand how to apply these criteria in the same way other students may?Devlin termed these barriers "hidden curriculum," which was a new term for me. Honestly, I found myself reflecting deeply on my own experience as a student in higher education. My first memory was from a Romanesque to Gothic art history course in graduate school. As a grad student, I felt like I should be achieving at a higher level than the undergraduates in the class with me. I was keeping up with my reading but found myself sitting through my professor's lectures with complete confusion about what he was talking about. I recall him referencing a person named "Soojay," which I kept writing down in my notes (by this point, I learned that without taking prolific notes during lecture, I would not retain a thing -- another gap).  I would go home and pour over my book to locate any reference to this "Soojay" figure.  Then -- literally after about a week of time -- it hit me. He was referring to "Suger" (an important character in the historical development of Gothic architecture in France) but was using the French pronunciation. Ugh. I felt utterly stupid. This gap derailed me quite a bit and the fact that this memory from nearly twenty years ago came back to me instantly (along with lots of other memories too) as I listened to Devlin, says a lot about the imprint it left on me.Critiquing the assumption that students are students first, that doesn't fit students who are parents and employees. @marciadevlin #dlrn15— Kate Bowles (@KateMfD) October 17, 2015When we teach online, Devlin pointed out, these barriers may be even more difficult for learners to resolve, as students are less able to lean over to a fellow student and ask, "Hey, are you getting what she means by that?"  And as we know from our own experiences, most students are not willing to ask for clarification in a classroom setting either.Social and Affective Aspects of LearningThe other theme that I'm reflecting on is the number of research projects shared at DLRN15 that were examining the social and affective aspects of student learning. This was also refreshing to me, as I've been exploring a similar thread in my Learning Out Loud research (about how participating in asynchronous voice conversations impacts students on a cognitive, affective, and social level).  What I was not happy about, however, was the strict reliance upon textual data to examine affective and social dimensions of learning. I understand text is more "accessible" than voice when it comes to data analysis; however, how can we rely upon textual cues to determine when students are feeling confused, stressed, disconnected, anxious, frustrated? I look forward to seeing data in the form of voice and video be integrated into the future studies of the social and affective aspects of learning.Including Community CollegesIt feels very good to have the CA Comm College Online Education Initiative included here at #DLRN15. @PatJamesHanz @joryhadsell @DrBSI— M Pacansky-Brock (@brocansky) October 16, 2015Last, but not least, I felt a sense of community at this conference that I don't normally feel at events that incorporate an international audience from higher education. This time, representatives from the California Community College Online Education Initiative (OEI) were in attendance. The CCC system serves just over 2 million students and is the largest system of higher education in the country. Nearly 27% of these students enroll in at least one distance education course, up from 12.5% in 2005-2006. Yet, it's rare to bump into my CCC colleagues at conferences that aren't specifically set up for that system.Pat James, Executive Director of the OEI, participated in several presentations to showcase the work of the OEI team, which is focused on creating a way for CCC students to locate and complete the bottle-necked courses online that they need, in a streamlined fashion.  The OEI team has developed new online student support resources and shared them with a CC-license for others to easily re-use, and is integrating professional development (via @ONE) and instructional design support for faculty (which is lacking from the faculty support services offered at individual colleges the system).Hey @diglibarts check out http://t.co/BoyuzYvnV3 amazing resources that our transfer Ss will be familiar with soon. #dlrn15— Andrea Rehn #TvsZ (@Profrehn) October 16, 2015Here, here, @PatJamesHanz speaking to the near absence of Instructional Design support in CA's Comm Colleges. Faculty #DoItAll. #DLRN15— M Pacansky-Brock (@brocansky) October 16, 2015"Higher education" events really need to be more focused on bringing together representatives from 2-year and 4-year colleges. Local/regional/statewide systems, especially, need to be crafting ways to connect, share, and learn from one another. While 52% of students who graduate from the CSU system started at a CA Community College, I am dismayed at the lack of collaboration between the CCC and CSU systems and as I return to my day-to-day work, I am reflecting deeply on this gap and what effects it has on our state and on our students -- because they are all our students.  Not ours and theirs -- just ours.DLRN15 provided opportunities to address tensions and conflict within higher education. I can only speak for myself, but I believe this is not only important but essential to "make sense of higher education." Thank you to the wonderful coordinators of DLRN15 (who I will not list, as I will miss someone important) and thank you to Laura Pasquini for encouraging me to attend.

Click here to view a full-size version of this VoiceThread or to open it in the mobile app.  The long wait is over...and the irony of the Voice"Thread" name has been put to rest! VoiceThread has released the following new commenting options.Direct reply. This feature enables only the owner of a VoiceThread to leave a direct reply to any comment left in that VoiceThread. A direct reply appears as a regular comment, but is inserted directly after the selected comment. This eliminates the need for an instructor to "move" a comment into proper sequence. Students do not have the ability to leave direct replies. Click here for more information about Direct Replies. Private reply. All users with access to a VoiceThread may leave private replies in response to a comment. This will be particularly useful for sharing important feedback to students that isn't appropriate for a group setting. Click here for more information about Private Replies. Threaded comments. This feature is turned off by default. It can be enabled in a VoiceThread in the playback settings.  To leave a Threaded comment, click the comment to which you want to reply and click the threaded icon. Threaded comments are represented by a circle instead of the usual rounded rectangle. Threads cannot be built off of threads. Click here to learn more about Threaded Comments.These are new to me too, so I created a VoiceThread so we can try them out together. Feel free to participate in the VoiceThread above (this will require you to log-in to your existing VT account or create a free one).

I wrote this post as a guest contribution for Digital Writing Month. I hope it will inspire you to to reach back in time, learn a new story about yourself, write, and share. "Each photograph is read as the private appearance of its referent: the age of Photography corresponds rather precisely to the explosion of the private into the public, or rather into the creation of new social value, which is the publicity of the private: the private is consumed as such, publicly."      - Roland Barthes, Camera Lucida, p. 98When I was a little girl, my mother often shared her old family photographs with me. The photographs were stored in a tin trunk under my parents’ bed. Kneeling on the floor, pulling out that trunk, cracking it open, and unleashing the musty scent contained inside became our ritual for initiating our travel through time. My mom, a first-generation born American who was born to two German immigrants, would share stories about her family members. Photographs were especially important to my mom, as she experienced the tragic loss of her sister and only sibling at the age of 39 and the sudden passing of her mother just two years later. Looking at and sharing stories about the images imprinted on the old torn piece of paper was — and still is — her way of visiting her loved ones. There was a palpable connection between my mom and the time and space of the fading figures portrayed in the images, it was as if the photographs had a magical ability to collapse time for her.We repeated this tradition numerous times throughout my childhood, often with my two sisters. I also ventured into the tin box on my own sometimes, gazing into the fading eyes of relatives who I had never met. Over time, the photographs became familiar to me; yet, there was one that I secretly treasured more than the others. It was a small, sepia-toned image printed on cardstock (known as a carte de visite). It measured about 2" by 3". The corners were torn and the surface of the image was heavily scratched. On the back, my mother had written the name of my maternal great grandmother in pen, but aside from that there were no identifying marks on the print.Despite the ambiguity of the photograph’s context, this image resonated with me. "You are my great grandmother," I used to think to myself, as if she were there in the room with me. My great grandmother lived in Germany until the age of 99 and passed away when I was quite young. I never met her. I would scour the surface of that image with my eyes, in a desperate quest to know her. I wanted so much to find that "something" that would transport me from the floor of my parents’ bedroom to that moment she stood in front of the camera’s lens.Through this search, I recall admiring her appearance. I wondered if I’d be fortunate enough to grow into the beautiful woman she was. I would gaze at her dress and imagine what the fabric felt like and what color it was. I resented the scratches that removed the details of her face, as I believed that’s where her essence would be revealed to me. Yet, I never found what I searched for in that photograph.A photograph's punctum is that accident which pricks me (but also bruises me, is poignant to me). -Roland Barthes, Camera Lucida, pp. 26-27 At some point through the years, however, my mother shared more about my great grandmother that transformed how I related to that photograph and, ultimately, how I understood myself. There was an old postcard mixed in with the photos in the trunk that had a message composed in hand-written script on the back, which I could not read — and neither could my mother. She explained that it was a postcard my great grandmother wrote to her husband (my great grandfather) during World War I, sometime after he left for battle. It was postmarked August 16, 1915. My mother also pointed out a phrase, written more rigidly in red ink in the blank space near the postmark stamp. One word was decipherable: "gefallen" with the date August 25, 1915 just below. Gefallen. The German word for "killed in action."I imagined my great grandmother writing that postcard by candlelight, after getting her five young daughters settled into bed for the night.  I imagined the care it took to write in such detailed, beautiful German script (known as Sütterlin). I imagined her taking the time to be sure the ink had dried. And I imagined her slipping the postcard into a cloth mailbag, picturing it arriving in her husband’s warm hands. While I don’t know the details of how the situation actually occurred, I also imagined how she must have felt upon receiving the returned postcard, a love letter transformed into a death notice. I imagine how she went about her life after that moment. How that experience transformed her, made her reach inside and embrace the strength she didn’t know she had. I imagine how that strength was transferred to her five young daughters, now fatherless, in war-torn Germany. "War hero" meant something very different to me from that moment on.After learning of that story, I never looked at the photograph of my great grandmother the same again. Her body, once a graceful representation of female beauty, conveyed power and pride. The scratches on the surface and the torn corners were less of a nuisance from that point. Instead, I related to them as footprints tracing a long, arduous journey. I wondered where the photograph had been and who had held it. I wondered about photographs that I didn’t have access to and others that were never taken. But that wasn’t all that changed for me. I also began to relate to myself differently. As I grew up, I felt the strength of my great grandmother inside myself. Knowing her story and imagining what her life experiences were like empowered me to know I too was strong. I wasn’t just a "pretty little girl;" I was her great granddaughter. And my mother was her granddaughter. And my grandmother was one of those little girls tucked in bed as she wrote that postcard. While I have had many empowering experiences in my lifetime, this story opened a new way of understanding where I came from, who I was, and what I could do.  Personal photographs are like treasures. They document our past and connect us with those who lived before us. However, the stories we associate with a photograph construct the way we relate to it and the way we remember and value the subject(s) rendered upon its surface.In our digital age, any photograph — no matter how old — can become a liquid photograph, enabling us to share stories with the world through blog posts, like this one. This is an ideal strategy for engaging students in the process of writing, because the process of writing fades away and becomes invisible when our efforts are focused on sharing a story. Last year, I sent my online community college students on a "Photo Quest." One of the topics from which they chose was titled, "Who am I?" This topic’s task was to excavate a story from their past through a conversation with a family member about an old photograph (an alternative topic was provided for students who did not have access to family photographs and/or family members). One of my students shared this story about a photograph of him and his sister, each clutching a toy. The photograph led to a conversation with his mom, which unearthed a story about his first day of kindergarten in Tijuana, Mexico. Before that Photo Quest, he had no memory of attending kindergarten in Mexico. That event was, as he wrote, "something that was just swept under the rug, not really a secret, but just never mentioned and eventually just forgotten." Connecting our formalized curriculum with our students’ real-world experiences is fundamental to ensure learning is relevant. Using old photographs to connect students with the past is not only a great strategy for engaging students, it’s also way to excavate the marginalized stories from the past that will otherwise be forgotten.An Inspiration: Make Writing … DigitalSearch around those old boxes or file cabinets, and dig out some old photographs. What stories simmer beneath the surface of the visual? What stories do they tell? What stories can you tell about the stories they tell? Consider perusing the United States Library of Congress collections of historical photographs, or find out if your own country of origin has its own collection. What do photos say about the country?We hope you will share your work across the various Digital Writing Month spaces that you inhabit. That could be right here at the Digital Writing Month blog; at your own blog or writing space; on Twitter with the #DigiWriMo hashtag; in the DigiWriMo Google Plus Community; at the DigiWriMo Facebook page; or wherever you find yourself writing digitally.

I am thrilled to share this very special guest post from eleven year old Mallory; sixth grader and world-change agent. You will be amazed and inspired as you hear her describe the day she made the decion to change the world. In October 2011 I sat down to write my Christmas list for my parents, I looked around my room and I realized there was nothing I needed, nothing I wanted. But the more I thought about it, the more I thought about the children in Africa, and how they weren’t going to get Christmas presents, and there was a lot of things that they needed. So, I sent my mom an email with my Christmas list, one thing on it, to help Africa. See, in August of 2010 the Ugandan Orphan Children’s Choir came to my church to perform, and I got to meet the children, and they were amazing. They were so loving, and just wanted to hug me and hold my hand. My mom had also started doing work for a couple of organizations that helped in Uganda, so she had taught me about the children there. The day after I sent the email my Mom and I sat down and talked about what I wanted to do, and how I wanted to help. I contacted Amazima Ministries and Project Have Hope and I told them what I wanted to do, and I asked them how I could best help them. That is how Project Yesu was born. My goals at first were simple, I wanted to raise $600 to sponsor 2 children, one from Amazima and one from Project Have Hope. When you sponsor a child, it pays for food, medicine and sends them to school. I also decided I wanted to send Christmas cards to the children in Uganda, I mean who doesn’t like to get a card, it makes you smile. So I drew two different card designs and I contacted a local printing company and asked them if they would donate the printing of 650 cards, they did. So I started to tell people about Project Yesu, and my mom helped me start a blog so people could read about it. I met with my Children’s pastor and asked if our youth group could help me with the cards, because I wanted them to be personal, so I needed a lot of help to write out 650 cards. I also spoke to my youth group, and told them about Project Yesu and about the children in Uganda and asked them to help me raise money. Every week I set up a booth at my church to tell people about my project, and the word spread.   In only 8 weeks I raised over $2,400 and I was able to sponsor 7 children. It was way more then I had originally planned on and it was great. I got to meet some wonderful people, and tell them my story. I was invited to go to WAYFM a Christian radio station because they learned about my project, and I was even on TV. The NBC station out of Nasvhille did a story on Project Yesu. I read a quote one day from Mahatma Ghandi that said, "Be the change you want to see in the world". That’s what I want to do, I want to be the change, I want to make a difference, I want to help people. Everyone thinks kids are selfish or that we’re just kids and we can’t do anything like this. I want to show people what a difference one person can make. If someone, because they heard about me, or met me, decides that they can be a change too, then it will spread from me, to that person, to another person and so on. Kids have good ideas, and you know what? We don’t know all the reasons why it won’t work, we just know we what we want to do.  I know with Project Yesu, I am making a difference, not only in the lives of the seven children in Uganda who now have food, medicine and can go to school. But I am making a difference in the lives of my family, my friends, my teachers and even people I have never met before. I want Project Yesu to continue to spread and grow, and to do that I need people like you, who are reading this post to spread the word and to help me. My goals for 2012 is to raise $4,500 - who knows maybe I’ll double that this year or even triple that and be able to help more and more children in Uganda. I plan to travel to Uganda in December of 2012 to hand deliver the Christmas cards to the children, to meet my sponsored children and to love on the children of Uganda who have changed my life. If you want to know more about Project Yesu, or how you can help you can find me on  Facebook www.facebook.com/projectyesu  My sitewww.projectyesu.org. I am selling T-shirts and wristbands to raise funds, and I am also looking for families, groups, classrooms or anyone to be a part of the "Be The Change" campaign by collecting coins to donate towards Project Yesu. So I have accepted the challenge to be the change….will you?

I am just finishing the final edits on the New Habitudes book (coming very very very soon!) My editor asked me to post some reflections on the chapter of Courage; as it is one of the hardest "Habitudes" to articulate and teach. I am sharing these with you in hopes that you will add to my pepective and understanding. What gives you "your courage to learn and teach?" Here’s how I see it: My Reflections on Courage The heart of education is an education of the heart. The root of the word "courage" is the Latin word "cor," meaning "heart." The English word "core" comes from the same Latin root. So at its core, teaching is about developing courage. Unfortunately, much of our teaching is devoted not to the heart but to the mind and the hand. We develop the intellect to solve a differential equation, to analyze and evaluate literature, and to classify differences between rocks and minerals. The lessons in this chapter serve not only to compliment these intellectual objectives; but to remind us of the need to educate the heart, developing in students the courage to propose a new explanations, the courage to ask a new question, and the courage to share their contributions with the world. The heart of teaching is the teaching of the heart. In order to teach, we need courage to overcome our fears. Consider and reflect on the following statements of courage. I have the courage to… ask brave and genius questions learn new, complex things and relish in the journey of the unknown and yet to be discovered yield trust and control to students by listening, honoring, and recognizing their unique contributions. engage in discussions that challenge our deepest convictions and ignite our hidden passions play with purpose and passion know YOU MATTER! What say you? Related articles TODAY’S LEADERSHIP MANTRA: Courage. (martingysler.com) Find Time to Build Your Brave Muscles With a Daily Courage Workout (solo-e.com) Courage (onemealeachday.wordpress.com) Courage is Being Courageous (catangeliscommunications.com) "Men Don’t Follow Titles, They Follow Courage" (leadershipdad.com) Courage to be ‘enough’ (emotionaleducation.wordpress.com)

One of the most inspiring stories of the year from an unexpected place! Congratulations to all of the Q’engo children! You are ours stars today! Preface: The Global Grade 3s of Calgary, Canada have been blogging for almost two months now. Their blog focuses on connecting globally to share their learning experiences and what it means to be eight  and nine year old Change Makers. The journey they share revolves around their Global Citizenship initiative: reconstructing a school library and putting books on the shelves in the forgotten rural village of Q’enqo, Peru. What follows are highlights of this story through their eyes! It is a privilege and honour for all of us to be sharing our global adventure with Angela Maiers and her readers! Q’enqo children outside their future library! Background: Last year’s 2010-2011 Grade 3s connected via Skype with a fellow teacher and his children who were travelling in Peru. The conversation sparked a call to action in our students. They became driven to make a difference in the lives of the Q’enqo students. "Kids helping kids! Now that is what personalized learning is all about." To support our students’ fundraising plans we partnered with Mosqoy, "a Canadian charitable organization working to bridge cross-cultural gaps between North American and Peru". Originally our students intended to raise money for sports equipment for the Q’enqo school but they soon discovered school had far greater needs. Our students decided the people of Q’enqo and the organizations that support them should decide where to direct the funds. In May 2011 our students learned their fundraising efforts would support the creation of a school library in Q’enqo. The project had be abandoned years prior, but the involvement of these passionate Grade 3s meant a building could be renovated, shelves built, materials transported, and books purchased. The 2011-2012 group of Grade 3s embraced the project from where it left off in June and they have dedicated this year to nurturing and expanding the partnership with Q’enqo. Future Q’enqo student standing outside the soon-to-be transformed library. "We are two of the Grade Three Bloggers, and our class is helping to build a library in Q’enqo, Peru!  So, we decided to make a BLOG about the library project!  Do you know our teachers BEGGED for a blog … and … they GOT it!  Oh, and did you know it is the FIRST … the very FIRST classroom blog in the whole CBE, (Calgary Board of Education)?!?  And, we found out in the middle of January. When we found out our teachers had to peel us off the CEILING!!!  On a blog, people all over the world can comment and read our writing!  It seems boring, but it isn’t!  (It is LOTS of writing … but what is COOL is that it is a REAL audience and we get to connect with REAL people all OVER the world!  It is SO exciting!)  Someone special commented on our blog … and that someone was ANGELA Maiers!  We learn from the commenters … and another one is Ross Mannell!  He lives in Australia!"  ~Larissa & Sophie G. "Our class has a blog! It’s special because we are the only class blog in all of the Calgary Board of Education!!!  Some of our posts talk about the future library in Q’enqo, Peru. Q’enqo is a little village in the mountain region of Peru. The Q’enqo library was started years ago, but they ran out of money. The fund-raising in our school started last year, with the Grade 3s that are now in Grade Four. They did a fund-raiser called "Caps for Q’enqo" and people were allowed to bring a loonie, (one dollar) to wear a hat INSIDE the school, unlike other days where it is against the rules!  This year’s fund-raiser was called True Colours.  But, that’s not the ONLY fund-raiser … there was also Pajama Day!  That was FUN!" ~Ava Q’enqo children watching the construction inside the library! "Hi! We are some of the Grade Three Bloggers and we are here to tell you about our AWESOME journey with the Library Project in Q’enqo, Peru! We do lots of Skyping with Ashli and Geneva (they are with Mosqoy and helping us with the library project). Ashli told us that when she was with her crew in Q’enqo, and she was working, the kids were watching as the library was being cleaned, repaired, painted and reconstructed. They were amazed at what the adults were doing. Some of the kids even helped! Geneva told us, the other day when we Skyped with her, that they painted the inside of the building with a gray ceiling, the inside walls purple, the outside walls light purple and dark blue, and the doors dark blue! One of the Mosqoy students is an artist and he painted a beautiful hummingbird on the outside of the future library.  For lunch, they ate bread and potato soup that the lovely mothers of Q’enqo cooked for them to show their gratitude. We feel so proud because we helped build the community of Q’enqo a library!" ~Mya & Kaylee Enjoying potato soup and bread for lunch made with love and gratitude. "Can you believe that eight and nine year olds can help build a library across the GLOBE?  If you haven’t heard about this … now you have, because we ARE! We’ve been fund-raising and we have raised a TON of money for the library project. When we had our fund-raiser, the whole SCHOOL came together to help us raise over $1 200! We even had a little fund-raiser of our own where everyone brought in 25 cents. Some people even snuck in some more.  Like me … I put twenty dollars in because I really, REALLY want them to have books to read!"  ~Martin Signing Spanish books to donate to Q’enqo Library’s Grand Opening! "I learned so many Peruvian facts that I’ve never even HEARD of by writing the blog!  It made me want to HELP Q’enqo, Peru build the beautiful library, (which, in case you’re wondering, is not quite finished - we will be writing ANOTHER post SOON to share all about the Grand Opening!  Make sure you CHECK back!) One time, in Battalion Park School, we had a Spirit Day where we got to wear our TRUE COLOURS! I felt REALLY excited about this superb, fantastic news about the library in Peru! We also wanted to add some books to the library when it’s finished, so Mrs. Renton went out and got some that were in SPANISH, (ESPANOL)!  Also, we had a TON of Peruvian guest speakers, (Mary Carmen, Tim Kitchen with Ben and Ella, etc.)"  ~Galen The inside of the library before the transformation. Some TLC and elbow grease will make a big difference! "The other day the Grade 3s had a fundraiser called "Show Your True Colours for Q’enqo". We asked the whole school to wear their Hawk colours. We also asked them to donate a toonie ($2.00) or more because we are helping Mosqoy to build a library in Q’enqo, Peru. It makes me feel proud that we are doing this because everyone should have books. Books are important because they help us to read and to be better learners." ~Rijul "I learned that if we all work together our blog can teach a lot of people around the world about how to be Change Makers like us! Our teachers had so many tears in their eyes!!!  We raised this money because we know that people in Q’enqo, Peru are SO grateful for what we did for them to help their kids.  They had to put in windows and fix a hole in the floor to help fix the building that would be the library.  How amazing!"  ~Alexia Kids eagerly watch the building clean-up (Limpieza)! "You asked us to tell you more interesting details about our journey…so I am going to tell you about our Skypes! The first Skype we ever had (in a class) was with our fellow friend Ashli. In that Skype Ashli told us about what they needed to finish the library project, the different colours they will paint the library and who could forget … her helping business … Mosqoy. She also told us a lot about the economy. Things are a lot cheaper in Peru compared to Canada. Can you believe a class of 23 students are building a library in a country across the world? You know what? I think being a change maker is fun! Do you think it’s fun as well?" ~Natasha "Plooms" (we came up with that term!) Supplies are hard to find and expensive so the Peruvian women use plant brooms! "We feel we have made a difference in the world. We donated money because Peru does not get a lot of attention. The money we raised is going towards: repairs, paint, new windows, tables, chairs, shelves and books. We can’t wait to see the smiles on children’s faces!" ~Tormod & Zack "After lunch they painted the library purple with bright blue doors. Soon they will add the furniture and don’t forget, lots of books! Geneva told us that last weekend, they were putting in the furniture and shelving.  She found some books in a market in Cusco, and they will put those on the shelves in the new library as well.  March 5th was the first day of school for the kids in Q’enqo. In the afternoon, they held a Grand Opening to celebrate the new library that Battalion Park Grade 3s have helped to build.  We are excited to Skype with Geneva on Wednesday, March 7th, to hear all about how the library opening went!" ~Jesse  & Eric Work begins on the inside after hours of sanding and plastering. "When we first saw the building that was going to be the library in Q’enqo we felt sad because it was muddy, broken and old. The walls were banged up and there were no lights. Now because of our help and their work we are really happy! It looks extremely magnificent. The library has colours, lights, new windows and smooth walls. A student from Mosqoy offered to paint a mural on the outside of the library. He chose a hummingbird, "Qente" in Quechua (the language spoken in Q’enqo). We learned that hummingbirds fly from Victoria, Canada to Peru when they migrate. It shows the connection between Canada and Peru. We were amazed when we saw his beautiful surprise artwork." ~Julia & Zahra The finished mural. A hummingbird is a PERFECT symbol for our Library Project! "Did you know that you don’t have to be a BIG change maker?  You can just be a small change maker. You can even be generous to other people like helping others without being told to.  Also, you can share with other people. For example, if someone forgot their lunch kit, you can always share your food, or you can help your Moms do their chores!"  ~Thalia "One way to be a change maker is to help people and that is what the Grade 3s in our school are doing.  Another way to be a change maker is by making the world a better place.  I feel VERY proud when I see what the library looks like because I helped build it!"  ~Damian and Brenden "I am going to teach you how to make yourself into a GREAT change maker! Step One: Add belief and make a promise to yourself that you will NOT give UP! Step Two: Connect to the world and try to set a goal for yourself!"  ~Sophie H. Thank you, Angela, for giving us this amazing opportunity to share the inspiring journey of our Grade Three students making a difference across the globe!   The blog has been an amazing way for them to share their learning, but, through the interactions with a global audience, and writing for an authentic audience, the learning has gone far beyond anything we could have ever imagined!   Thanks so much for helping us to reinforce to our students the reality, the spirit, the importance, and the power of #youmatter! Related articles The Finish (librarianswithattitude.wordpress.com) Mayland Heights School principal helps fashion turnaround in grades (calgaryherald.com) Building a Library with Joan and Friends at BridgePointe (maestrasasha.com)

Guest post by Lisa Cooley We adults are so afraid of what will happen if we let students leadthemselves! If they are given the chance to follow their passions, maybe they will all make dirty bombs or numb their minds with constant World of Warcraft playing. Or listen to violent music and go shoot up a McDonalds! Who knows what awful things will result from letting kids go? Seriously, why would the giving of respect to young people end up with them wanting to reject everything adults want for them? And we do want a lot for them. We anxiously watch over our kids and hope they will be happy and self-sufficient. We worry about the times we live in and the world they will be entering as adults. Why would continuing to disempower  them help them be able to follow their dreams, make an impact on the world or just live happily in their corner of it? It’s lack of respect that creates rebellion, and in that case, it’s rebellion that is appropriate, rebellion that we created as the folks in authority. Respect children for who they are. What’s inside them, where they want to go. Respect them before they ever get a sense that who they are is not wanted or valued: that means kindergarten. Ask kids what they want, ask kids how they want to get it, ask kids who they want to help them, ask kids what they will achieve. And then listen. And then act on it. Provide them with resources: time, space, technology, teachers, mentors. Ship them to the places most appropriate for them to learn what they need to know, because it probably isn’t in the school building. What will you have as a result? Exactly what you want. Kids who are literate, knowledgeable, self-motivated, self-respecting, productive, helpful, active. You want the world for your students? Let them grab it for themselves. Without passion, any kind of school change is just the same o’ same ol’. This post was original publish on Minds of Kids

This is a guest post by Suzanne Barton, Woodward Academy After reading Angela’s book Habitudes last winter, I decided that I would begin this school year by introducing the habitude of imagination. In each of my three fifth grade English classes, I wrote the word imagination inside a circle on the white board. Each class was unique in its responses (as you can see from the diagrams that a student from each class did afterwards). I was impressed by the ideas my students expressed so easily, and one idea quickly led to another. The activity had them fully engaged! After introducing the idea of imagination and talking about it among ourselves, the next day I asked my students to close their eyes and think about all of the ways they have used their imaginations throughout their childhood. Then each student brainstormed different imaginary experiences they have enjoyed, writing them down in a simple list. After they had written their lists, I asked them to choose one imaginary experience and write about it. Their paragraphs were rich in descriptions of their imaginary play: several secret agents, a world-traveling sailor, an energetic gymnast, a toy doctor obsessed with Band-aids, a Power Ranger, an air-kicking ninja, a librarian who reads to little kids, a brilliant inventor, a robotic vacuum cleaner engineer, an invisible fairy, a beautiful fairy, a construction dude, an amazing stuntman, a one-room schoolhouse teacher, a disappearing magician, several fabulous chefs, an owner of exotic pets, Spider Man, President Obama debating Hilary Clinton, the world’s greatest actor, a best-selling author, a gifted fashion designer, a charming tea-party hostess, a spell-casting wizard, Captain America, and a fighter of evil aliens. After completing their final copies in the computer lab, the students searched the net (Go to pics4learning.com for pictures that require no attribution.) for pictures to illustrate their imaginary experiences. The printed, illustrated paragraphs were proudly displayed on our bulletin boards for all to enjoy! (See pictures of bulletin boards below) Much of what my students learned from this writing experience is obvious. They were engaged writers because they were writing about something that was important to them, and they were writing for an audience of their peers. Beyond that, however, was the potential for much more. As a result of our conversations and writings about imagination, I hope that my students were able to visualize that if they can imagine such creative, exciting ideas as children, certainly they can do the same as they grow into adulthood. As one of my students exclaimed during our discussion, "The world is but a canvas to our imagination." (He had discovered the Thoreau quotation on his iPad during our discussion.) I hope that as a result of this experience, my students will see themselves as people who can envision something exceptional in their futures, something that has never been imagined before, and perhaps they will be the ones to accomplish great feats that have not yet been achieved. They are our future, and what they eventually do (or do not do) with their imaginations will influence not only the microcosms of their own lives but also the world we all inhabit.

"We Are Smarter Together" is not simply a mantra for my blog, it is a manifesto of my life. Outward circumstances or conditions do not determine what our lives become nearly as much as the thoughts that dominate our minds and the people we surround ourselves with. I have an opportunity everyday to fill our proverbial room with the best and the brightest in the world making the ability to be "smart" exponential.  One of those individuals I am honored to be in the room with is Ben Wilkoff, fellow educator and passionate evangelist for bringing the the power of network to students and schools. Ben is hoping to be in a postion to do that at scale, when/if he is accepted as the Blended Learning Specialist for Denver Public Schools. When he reached out for advice and support, I was lucky enough to be in the "physical room" with another member of our network, Dr. Scott McLeod. Here’s what we shared with Ben: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdFb_sMcqlI A few minutes ago, Ben responded. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzVYJiRJGUQ Take five minutes to listen and then…. Ask yourself these questions:  Are you ensuring that you invite to the table individuals who can/will influence your thinking, challenge your ideas, and demonstrate the behaviors and attitudes you seek to emulate?  Are you developing a Dream Team of carefully selected mentors, molders, guides and heroes as you journey towards your mission?  Are you doing your best to ensure that every person you are privileged to know and learn from understands how valuable they are and how much they matter to you? So, I ask you again: Who is On Your Invite List?    

 During a 2011 TedxDesMoines Talk titled "You Matter," I spoke of how these two words can change lives and change our world, if we understand them and we leverage them in the right way. Students everywhere reacted powerfully to this call to action, completing jaw-dropping quests to address problems in our world. These range from: Building a library in a rural village in Ghana; Raising money to build wells for communities without water; Starting and scaling non-profit organizations to support issues in education, environment and other social causes; and Creating innovative support mechanisms to help others in crisis. Choose2Matter was created in response to this breathtaking reaction. It invites the world to make "mattering" a new way of life. This is not mere talk. This is the new standard where apathy and complacency are not tolerated and inaction is NOT an option. I stand in amazement at the depth and breadth of our young people. They have a way of looking at the world that gives me hope and excitement.  It is a way of seeing the world that can make the pivotal difference in OUR future. Thus, the first embodiment of Choose2Matter is the Quest2Matter, a five-week, student-focused initiative. The Quest2Matter is much more than a "school project." Many innovative businesses have embraced the opportunity to help us show students that they matter, building our platforms, helping to create the content for them and spreading awareness, and providing mentors to students participating in the Quest2Matter. This is an unprecedented opportunity to unlock the potential of students to think entrepreneurially and innovatively and use modern tools to solve problems that break their heart. HOW YOU CAN HELP KIDS CHANGE OUR WORLD: 1. Help Us Raise Money Please consider a donation to our fundraising page and encourage others to do so. To promote the Quest worldwide and manage it, we’re seeking contributions from people around the world who believe in our mission. Several hundred student leaders are working long hours to help us launch, accelerate and manage the Quest2Matter. Donated funds will be used to offset the students’ expenses, and to hire additional editorial, marketing and administrative personnel to oversee the students’ efforts.  Help Us Increase Participation Encourage your teachers and students to join the Quest Student Team. Encourage your teachers and students to participate in the Quest2Matter. Help Us Spread the Word Through Social Media LIKE our Facebook page and ask Facebook friends to do the same. Like or Comment on Choose2Matter Facebook posts to increase their visibility. Post several Facebook status updates; see examples at the bottom of this post. Follow us on Twitter and encourage your Twitter followers to do the same. Send several Tweets; see examples at the bottom of this post. ReTweet @Choose2Matter tweets. Publish a blog post about the Quest2Matter. I am so grateful for your support. Let’s Change Our World. Angela http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEu3znKbBVs Sample Tweets: I made a donation to help Quest2Matter unlock the potential of students to change the world. http://bit.ly/ZxTNOS Please make a donation to help Quest2Matter unlock the potential of students to change the world. http://bit.ly/ZxTNOS The Quest2Matter will facilitate students’ learning from mentors to solve our world’s problems. http://bit.ly/16JtWTj The Quest to Matter will inspire students to pursue a quest to change our world. http://bit.ly/16JtWTj Innovative companies embrace the Quest2Matter as an opportunity to reach & inspire students. http://bit.ly/16JtWTj *** Sample Facebook Status Updates: I made a donation to help Quest2Matter unlock the potential of students to change the world. Please consider doing the same. http://bit.ly/ZxTNOS Please make a donation to help Quest2Matter unlock the potential of students to change the world.http://bit.ly/ZxTNOS The Quest2Matter is an exciting initiative that will facilitate students’ learning from mentors to solve our world’s problems. Teachers, tell your students about it! http://bit.ly/16JtWTj The Quest to Matter will inspire students to pursue a quest to change our world. This is an initiative that all educators should support.http://bit.ly/16JtWTj Innovative companies are embracing the Quest2Matter as an opportunity to reach & inspire the next generation of world leaders. http://bit.ly/16JtWTj  

On Saturday May 11 on Classroom 2.0, we discussed the Quest2Matter. Click here to access the archive of the recorded session or that chat archive. Today’s young people form the most compassionate generation this world has known. They have a way of looking at the world that gives me hope and excitement.  It is a way of seeing the world that can make the pivotal difference in OUR future. Ask your students: What matters to you? What about it breaks your heart? Let’s act to change that. Let’s change OUR world. The Quest2Matter offers platforms for students to share, with the web and the world, the actions they have taken, or ideas they have, to change our world. This is a way to take hallway displays, badges and ribbons and magnify them dramatically. This is an unprecedented opportunity to unlock the potential of students to think entrepreneurially to solve problems that break their heart.  Join me this coming Saturday May 11th and learn how we are challenging students to change our world! Learn all about the Quest2Matter and ways you can get involved!  To support the Quest2Matter, we’re seeking contributions from people who believe in our mission.  CLICK HERE TO DONATE

Our Quest to leave no genius behind is coming to fruition! We have had an extraordinary flow of good news this week and will be announced many terrific partnerships and ventures in the next few weeks. On Friday, May 17, Choose2Matter was featured on a segment of "Tech Game Changers" on HuffPost Live. CLICK HERE for a link to the recorded session. I was joined by our partners Saul Kaplan of Business Innovation Factory, several of the "troublemakers" who help form BIF, and Brian Cuban, also a noted troublemaker, First Amendment lawyer and TV talk show host. Prior to the segment, Saul and I had a chance to sit down and discuss the game changing elements of our partnership. We also explained in a joint blog post today on Huffington Post about the incredible rewards to be gained from breaking down generational barriers when it comes to innovation.  

This is NOT the face of a student who aced a unit exam or earned a perfect score on the SAT. This is Jack Andraka, upon learning that he won the Intel Science Prize. This is the face of a student who has just been recognized for pursuing his passion - not for his proficiency. Thankfully for the world, Jack’s aspirations and standards for his own learning went far beyond his school’s standard of "college and career" ready. I caught up with my Jack recently at the TopCoder Innovation Summit. I asked him to share with us what it takes to be "Citizen Ready," and, more importantly, "Change the World" Ready. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzrwqrL-8Zk Let’s hope the young people in our world and in our classrooms continue to have bigger aspirations that we do for them, and let’s hope that listening to them raises the bar in the way we support, encourage and enable them. Thank you to our youth for not letting our limitations define yours.

photo credit: Pensiero via photopin cc The following is the inspiring debut post by new blogger Shannon Denton.  Please stay tuned to her blog, Denton’s Digest, to keep up with Shannon and her fifth grade class! ***** Last year, after Sandy Hook I knew I had to do something in my own classroom for my students to see that there is more beauty in the world than there is darkness.  At the same time I saw so many adults having a hard time finding the beauty, the kindness because of their own heartbreak.  I realized  it was time to continue using Peter H. Reynolds, Angela Maiers and Amy Krouse Rosenthal as my mentor authors in my classroom so we could create more beauty in the world.  We needed to go back and reread their words and listen to them speak.  We decided to begin to "Beckon the Lovely," Amy K.R.’s call to action!  This year,  it is my mission to make sure my students know they MATTER and its our job to change the world! This year we are going to read Plant a Kiss by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Peter H. Reynolds.  I am going to give my students, and hopefully my staff a bag of seeds, with a mission. Here it is: This bag of seeds is just like a person filled with many different qualities.  We must plant the seeds, water and feed them, make sure the seeds have the right amount of sunshine.  We, the people who surround the seeds and each other, are the wind in the air.  When we are kind and gentle, the seeds can grow, create more seeds and spread across the land.  When we are harsh and cold, the seeds might not grow or the plants will wither just like the insides of a person get damaged.  Our  job is to either continue to nurture the seeds/people around us or to try to fix the damage that was done.  We need to reflect on our actions and how we can make change. ·      What do I need to do to create success around me? ·      What do I need to do for myself? ·      How can I affect the world in powerful ways? ·      How can I create a gentle breeze to carry seeds and beauty to the world? ·      How can I change the harsh wind I created into a gentle, nurturing breeze? We need to blow the harshness away, change its course, and create the calm after the storm that allows for new beginnings! You are POWERFUL, you MATTER and it is the CHOICES we make that can change the world! Here is our mission:  Lets make those choices kind and world changing!  Let start by beckoning the lovely! Lets change the world one kind word at a time and make our mark! Here is the google presentation I will also be using in the classroom before reading Plant a Kiss to see and hear Amy K. R. and see how we can make a difference!

ISTE is more than meetups, and social media is more than tools. It is a series of W.O.W. moments that take your breath away, and I am honored to share mine with you. ISTE2014 - Reflections from Atlanta from Angela Maiers Even if you weren’t able to attend ISTE this year, you can benefit from the knowledge sharing that took place in Atlanta. Below are resources that can empower you to inspire some W.O.W. moments of your own. Genius Hour Live Binder - Comprehensive resources for implementing a Genius Hour. A great extension from the amazing Genius Hour panel I was a part of. Bring passion to the classroom with Genius Hour - My blog post for ISTEConnects on what Genius Hour can accomplish in your classroom. #YouMatter resources - a collection of my best resources on #YouMatter. Teacher Cast ISTE - Video demonstrations and audio interviews from various companies and individual attendees. Brainwaves YouTube Channel - Interviews with a variety of presenters and changemakers at ISTE, including yours truly! Cybraryman’s Guide to ISTE - Links galore to information about the conference. Happy exploring, and I hope to see you at next year’s ISTE 2015 in Philadelphia!  

As a young teacher, I had an epiphany: people need to matter. They need to be noticed, valued, and honored. Ever since, the "You Matter" message has been changing hearts, minds, and lives. This toolkit curates the best of my "You Matter" content. It offers a low-cost, high-energy professional development day or retreat, and can be used every day, all year long.  It includes an invitation to an exclusive webinar on creating a You Matter culture in your organization. Purchase "Mattering IS the Agenda - A Toolkit for Transformation" below. It includes: Videos of three You Matter-themed keynote presentations by Angela Maiers (see excerpt at bottom of this page). A collection of articles on the topic. Links to outstanding writing by other leading voices. Field-tested workshop activities. Digital files for creating reproducible materials such as t-shirts, posters and cards. Examples of "You Matter" activities that have been held at schools and companies. Sample agendas for a professional development day. An invitation to a 90-minute live Webinar, including an extended Q&A, hosted by Angela Maiers and others. Teachers or other individuals purchasing an individual license may use the toolkit within their classroom or home. Schools purchasing a school license may use it throughout the school building. Companies, organizations and communities purchasing an organizational license may use it at a single location. The toolkit is digital and will be delivered via email after August 11. Please email MarkMoranMES@Gmail.com with questions about volume pricing or using a purchase order. Individual License - $39.00 School License (for use by one school) - $139.00 Organizational License (for use at a single location) - $249.00

Photo by cellar_door_films With most schools moving into a new term or near their halfway point, it’s a great time to make use of active reflection. One of the fundamental beliefs in my work is about the need to notice others and to use specific language to show others that they matter to you. The midpoint of the year is the perfect time to notice something specific: change. For teachers, noticing our students change is second nature, but communicating that change to them in real time is critical. Students prosper from not just feedback, but from perspective of how far they’ve come since the beginning of the school year—or even since the beginning of class! Many of you are likely familiar with Dr. Carol Dweck’s work on growth mindset and how much impact it can have on students’ self-motivation. To that end, providing feedback that includes changes over time reminds students that they are growing, and that further growth is worth the challenge. With so much work being submitted throughout the year, it can be easy to forget how many little steps students take to reach the next level of mastery. Scan through some papers from earlier in the year. If a lot of your work is done digitally, look back at some old drafts. (This is a nice benefit of using Google Docs or Classroom.) I know this might sound like a lot of work, but how you use it can have a huge impact on a student. If you’re a K-12 teacher, you probably had to look through last quarter’s work for report cards anyway! On a practical level, doing this will help equip you with specific things to notice and tell your students during class time. But in a different sense, this review will provide you with deep insight that is critical to understanding a student. In these documents you’ll find your students trying, struggling, sketching, searching, experimenting, and inching their way toward producing a better assignment. And, in the process, they themselves are changing. That’s what we need to find in all that old work. Then, we need them to see what we see. They need to know that they are changing, that we see them change, and that they are going to change again today. It might seem like negative change on some days, but over the course of weeks, it’s growth. Share that with them, and they’ll know that what they do in your classroom matters.

Silvia Zanatta wrote how she incorporated the Classroom Habitudes into her 7th grade classroom in a wonderful post last year. Here, she updates us on her progress of using Heartbreak Mapping and the transformation she’s […] The post Transformation through Heartbreak - Guest Post by Silvia Zanatta appeared first on Angela Maiers.