"I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging and it’s very difficult to find anyone," said Gandalf the wizard. Bilbo Baggins the Hobbit replies: "I should think so — in these parts! We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner!" 1. Are We Reading or Are We Starving Bakers? With these words echoing in my mind yesterday- the youngest person I know — our 86 year old learning lab director Mrs. Grace Adkins says: "The problem with most teachers is we are starving bakers. We bake up learning for everyone else and we don’t take time to read and learn anything ourselves." It is so easy to get into those habits and routines that are ours as teachers — grade the folders & hand them back, mark attendance & take the lunch count, serve lunch duty & trudge back to your room, tutor kids after school & go home later than you planned, struggle to cook dinner & leave the dishes in the sink, sit down to watch a little tv & wake up on the couch in the middle of the night, alarm clock goes off & get dressed, and do over. When do we read? When do we learn? Have we had the excitement of reading something new and discussing it or trying it with our students in the classroom? Have we read something that ROCKED OUR WORLD lately? Leaders are readers. When we refuse to learn, we should hand in our leader learner card because we are hypocrites. Let me ask you this — if your mind was fed by books would it be starving or stuffed full? 2. Do We Still Have Adventure in Our Lives? In the movie The Hobbit, Gandalf goes on to say to Bilbo: "You’ve been sitting quietly for far too long. Tell me, when did doilies and your mother’s dishes become so important to you? I remember a young hobbit who always was running off in search of elves and the woods, who would stay out late, and come home after dark, trailing mud and twigs and fireflies. A young hobbit who would have liked nothing better than to find out what was beyond the borders of the Shire. The world is not in your books and maps; it’s out there." Books aren’t enough, though. Adventures get our endorphins flowing — they stimulate our mind. They enrich us. What happened to that sense of adventure you used to have? When you actually tried new restaurants? When you took time to spend with new people? When you walked a different route as you worked out? Adventure doesn’t cost anything (although zip lining is pretty crazy awesome!) This past Saturday I went to visit Mom and Dad as usual. My sister found and quite literally saved four puppies who had been abandoned on the dirt road a few months back. Well, now these puppies are in the crazy growing stage where they are half idiot and the other half cute. We walked them to the catfish pond and watched as they took flying leaps onto each other’s heads as they tried to eat the catfish food and the fish. I practiced my speech for this upcoming Saturday at the BAMMYs (an 3iTalk). It was a hilarious adventure and it didn’t cost a dime. My sister and I laughed at the puppies swimming with the catfish as I practiced my speech for the BAMMYs next Saturday. It was awesome. You’ve got tennis rackets, paint brushes, skates, skiis, fishing poles, and all matter of adventure items in your closet. Hey, you even have walking shoes in there. You’ve got awesome music you haven’t listened to in years on that Smartphone and a pair of earbuds lonely for your ear canals wrapped up in your pocketbook or drawer. You’ve got free easy adventures ready to go. If your home, classroom, and school events are your Shire — how often do you venture out to have a real adventure? Have you been sitting quietly far too long? Your soul is made for adventure - if you’re feeling blah it might be because you’ve forgotten that! 3. Do You Make Time to Wonder? Austin Kleon in his book Show Your Work! makes an awesome point about having a Wonderbox. In the drawing below (since I’m really into visual notetaking now - I’m making it a habit of drawing my notes for the best books I read) you can see my pitifully scribbled notes on the concept of the "Wunderkammern" or "wonderbox." Kleon says we should all have things that spark our interest and creativity. For me, I’m including treasured collections of: heroes stories movies music books art plants shells blogs (my RSS reader — I’m talking blogs that just rip my head off wow me of all kinds of genres.) jewelry mentors (people I go to for inspiration/ advice) dreams my Bible and favorite verses certain apps   The visual notes I took on the section of Austin Kleon’s book "Show Your Work" where he discusses the concept of the "Wunderkammern" or treasured collections of things that inspire you. How do you collect wonder? On my smartphone I have a playlist called "WonderBox" - it is an eclectic mix of my favorite music. On my bookshelf I have a "wondershelf" that inspires me with wonderful thoughts. I can always find things on my wondershelf to get me excited. I have a "wondershelf" in my Makerbot Thingiverse account (for my 3D printer) things that make me wonder and be curious. I have a "wondershelf" of wonderful quotes and verses written on index cards that I’ve put on a ring and flip through in my office. Some are painted on signs or on things that I’ve used to decorate my house. The mantle in my den has things I’ve collected from around the world that make me wonder. I have a collection of magnets from the places I’ve been over my stove — I ponder the people, faces, and places and wonder about things I saw. You get the point. Intentionally create spaces and places that fill you with wonder and make you feel alive.  Do you have a sense of wonder? Do You Live Large? There’s a verse in the Bible that talks about living life abundantly — to the full. That is what I want for my own life. Not stuffed full of STUFF but intentional things that have meaning. Serving others is part of that, for sure. But part of living large for me is the books I read, the adventures I have, and the things I wonder about. It is easy to stay comfortable — like Bilbo Baggins. "It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations if you live near him," says Gandalf. And there is a live dragon. There are live dragons of all sorts in our lives. In this case, that live dragon is the complacency and unwillingness to change that will ultimately cause boredom. While you can have great comfort in routine - there can be great adventure in sometimes breaking that routine. While it might be easier to tune into your TV set than to turn on your Kindle - great joy comes from great books. While it might be easier to have a hodge podge collection of things — a real sense of wonder emerges as you create WonderBoxes of spaces and things that fill you with wonder. As you look at your school — what kind of people live in these parts? Those interested in adventure or those content to keep the routine of the Shire? But as for you — are you one people can call on for adventure? It spills over into your classroom in subtle ways, you know? That sense of wonder, learning and adventure is felt and inhaled by every single student who crosses your threshold. You cannot lead them on their own adventure if you’re not willing to go there yourself. So, my friends — no starving bakers, no Shire-stuck people wandering through our days like zombies. Here’s to living large and the kinds of classrooms we create when we reach out and do that! QuestionHow do you live large? What are the things you do to break out of your routine? You can leave a comment by clicking here.   References JRR Tolkien, The Hobbit Movie: The Hobbit - Directed by Peter Jackson Austin Kleon Show Your Work!   The post 3 Essential Keys to Living Large appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

Car crashes have been the number one killer of our teenagers for more than 30 years. With cell phones, distracted driving is causing even more deaths! Join #celebratemydrive to promote driving safety and win GRANTS (they are giving ten (10) - $100,000 grants AND ninety (90) - $25,000 grants!). Register Your School Now!  Join the State Farm 2014 Celebrate My Drive Program by registering your school by October 7. After October 7 you will have your students and parents take online safe driving pledges as they learn more about driving safely. What can you win? As you can see in the video above, 2 schools (one larger school and one smaller school) will win a concert from the band Perry. They are also giving away: 90 grants of $25,000 each 10 grants of $100,000 each This is a great cause and can help your school when times are tough. But talk about tough times, nothing is as bad as the death of a student for a senseless auto accident (or the death of a student at all.) Click here to register now. Who can participate? Public, private or charter schools in the USA (except NH)  and some provinces of Canada. See the official rules to make sure you qualify.   Only registered high schools can win prizes. You have until October 7 to register your school! Step 1: Register your school (by October 7) Ask a school administrator to register your school for "Celebrate My Drive" at www.celebratemydrive.com. You must register by October 7 so your parents and students can participate! (See Step 2 for what you do AFTER October 7) In case you think your school is too small, there are two categories of participation: schools with more than 750 students and those with less than 750. Click here to register now. Step 2: Encourage Your Students & Parents to Commit to Safe Driving (October 15-24) Between October 15 and October 24, parents and students aged 14 and up can sign a safe driving commitment at www.celebratemydrive.com .  Those with the most commitments during the period WIN.  Use the school toolkit with flyers, press releases, and daily announcements already written for you. (The registration toolkit rocks.) The one week between October 7 and October 15 gives you time to get the word out so plan your school announcements accordingly!   Teach kids to keep 2 eyes on the road and 2 hands on the wheel and save lives! As much as we love technology, we MUST help kids learn to pay attention and drive safely. As part of the campaign, State Farm is promoting 2N2® — 2 eyes on the road, 2 hands on the wheel. When Kids Are Safe Drivers We All Win We have a bench on our campus of a precious child who died many years a go in such a senseless accident. Your school probably has automobile accident tragedies too. Whatever comes out of this, if you can have students focus on driving and keep 2 eyes on the road and 2 hands on the wheel - THAT IS AN AWESOME THING. So… why not? Save a life. BIG WIN. Get money - not as big a win as saving the life of a child but still a WIN. Find Out More About the Celebrate My Drive Challenge Read the Celebrate My Drive Rules Prevent teen car crashes and win grants for your school by participating in Celebrate My Drive. You need to register before October 7, 2014. Only registered high schools can win prizes!   Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a "sponsored post." The company who sponsored it compensated me via cash payment, gift, or something else of value to edit and post it. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.) The post Win Grants and Promote Safe Driving with #CelebrateMyDrive appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

High school history has a tremendous obstacle to learning — getting students enthusiastic about reading difficult texts. When I teach World History to my 9th graders, I have come up with a list of 6 common challenges I face when trying teach reading comprehension. Here’s a glimpse into how I meet these 6 challenges and help my students win! Note from Vicki Davis: When I find great products, I see if there is a fantastic teacher who is using the product every day to write the post. Actively Learn has a free version anyone can use. This is a sponsored post by Actively Learn and authored by MJ Linane, 9th grade World History teacher in Mattapoisett, MA. MJ is teaching those tough history texts in high school as he works to align with Common Core reading standards. I like this product because you can use most of these features for free. (Sign up for Actively Learn.) — Vicki Davis 1. Did the student read the text? Sometimes I don’t know until my students walk in the door if students have read their assignment. The reality is: some will and some won’t.Some teachers feel that it is unfair for them to be held accountable to Common Core or state standards of instruction if the students do not even read the text that can help them improve. Assigning reading questions is one solution but that leads to another problem. 2. Does the student comprehend what they read? The typical way  that I handle reading comprehension is by assigning reading questions. These are either found at the bottom of the reading selection or on a different answer sheet.  The questions I assign often follow similar themes. I want student answers to show me: Did the student comprehend what they are reading? Did they look up the words they couldn’t figure out? Did they understand what is significant in the story? When I assign these readings for homework, I ask myself, is the student simply copying the answers from another student? If a student says that they don’t understand what they read, were they just skimming the reading? In order to help students, I need to know where they skimmed and where they truly struggle. If I want to really help students improve, I must answer this next challenge with a solution. We can identify specific places where students struggle. We can also embed questions in the text (where they should be instead of at the end of a chapter.) 3. Where does the student struggle with the reading? Research says that ⅔ of students are struggling readers; they cannot correctly identify the main idea when they read. Students need to be able to decode and comprehend what they are reading. As students read, two issues besides knowing how to identify the main idea  continually cause students to struggle: the difficult language in historical texts poor question design in the book I can’t change the texts but I can change the way I design my questions. Where do we ask students to demonstrate their understanding? To make the reading a "big picture", teachers will commonly put questions at the end of the reading. Most of the questions in my textbook are at the end of the reading or on a separate page. Once again, research shows that this is absolutely the worst place to put the questions. Students are "passively" reading, instead of being actively engaged. This is complicated with traditional paper/pencil because paragraph or sentence specific questions break up the page and can interfere with students understanding the reading’s "big picture". To help students, we have to improve not only the questions but WHERE They are placed in the text. (Yes, there is a solution to this problem.) Actively Learn is a powerful tool that aligns individual student responses with whether they are meeting standards.  4. How can I give meaningful feedback to students to encourage and help them improve? It is hard to tell if a student is struggling when using traditional worksheets/questions. It is even more difficult to give quick feedback on student comprehension. The alternative is to give low-tech, highly efficient verbal feedback during a class discussion. This method also has its problems as well. Students have to be willing to ask a question publicly or approach the teacher privately. For me, the trouble is that I am one in a class of 30 and I can only help an individual or small groups of students at once. Surely, there are students I am missing but I am limited by traditional approaches. To truly understand what a student comprehends, there needs to be an individual  conversation about the document. Yet, it is nearly impossible to provide that to a class of 30 students. Even small group or think-pair-share leads to a scenario where the grouped students might be discussing the wrong interpretation of the document. If I am faced with multiple groups misinterpreting the document, then I have a possible problem with differentiated instruction. Again, there has to be a better way than these traditional means that we teachers have used for decades. 5. How can you get meaningful data on where to help your whole class? A couple of years ago I gave a test on 20th century imperialism and it seemed that a lot of students struggled with questions that dealt with analyzing  primary sources. It took me well over an hour but I went through each test, question by question, and put all the question data together myself. (This was before the widespread use of online questions). My efforts were time consuming and revealed very little. Immediate, actionable data has only become more important given today’s pressures to improve student’s reading comprehension scores. In addition to finding these sources, designing questions and meaningful lessons around them, we now have to become statisticians? Where can teachers find the time? Yet, we need individual and collective class data to appropriately help those struggling students. 6. How do I align all of this with standards? Even after confronting all these questions every time we assign meaningful readings our job is not complete. We then have to validate that the assignment is aligned with the proper standards. This step could take some time depending on how familiar you are with your relevant standards. For me, it takes an additional 10+ minutes to make sure my readings are inline with my state standards for teaching history and the Common Core ELA standards for history. This should probably be the step I start with but it has the least impact on my students and therefore usually is a neglected until the very end. I would spend more time in considering the standards first if I could align them quickly so I can get right to question design. OK. So now, how do we meet these challenges and teach nonfiction text, put questions in the text, improve the questions, personalize learning AND align with standards? Let me show you the approach I use in my classroom with Actively Learn. You can use this for free but I’ll explain the difference between the free and premium version. Actively Learn works on multiple platforms. I use it to coach students to improve their reading comprehension of nonfiction texts. Review of Actively Learn: A Free Way to Improve Comprehension of Non-Fiction Texts Student Reading Assignments: Common Challenges. You have just asked the students to complete a reading assignment. It is a short story, or a primary source, or a poem, a nutrition guide, a website about biological cell structures. In truth, it doesn’t matter what the style is, the same student skill set is required for all of those. How Actively Learn Helps Me Meet the Challenges of Tough Non Fiction Text Actively Learn is a digital reading platform that provides educators with new tools to get every student reading closely. Teachers need to know exactly what students can comprehend and where they struggle. In a classroom of students it can be difficult to personalize every reading assignment. Actively Learn gives teachers a solution to that challenge. How It Works: Teachers can select any digital source and create a personalized reading experience for all students. Each teacher has a "My Workspace" to keep their digital readings and the associated questions. Teachers can then start putting together their collections from three sources. Readings can come from: Selecting a text from the Actively Learn Catalogue An article from the Internet A PDF A Google Document My actively learn workspace of documents. PDF’s, websites, and other text can be pulled into the app. I tested all three methods and found the process very intuitive and easy to navigate. All of the reading assignments and questions can then be Common Core aligned. Also, in case teachers are stuck on what questions to create, the Catalogue offers questions that other teachers have created for the readings.   What Actively Learn Does: Once the reading is ready teachers assign it to their classes and students can begin to interact with it. Teachers will have already entered in notes, videos, and/or questions directly into the text so students will have to address those questions/extensions exactly where teachers want them to. In my traditional class, readings require students to go from the reading to the answer sheet, trying to match content to questions. It is a process that dulls the experience and breaks the flow of reading. Actively Learn allows teachers to focus on text that needs further explaining or extension. This is done in real-time and class-wide. It is hard to tell if a student is struggling when using traditional worksheets/texts. Students have to be willing to ask a question publicly or approach the teacher privately. For me, the trouble is that I am one in a class of 30 and I can only help an individual or small groups of students at once. Surely, there are students I am missing but I am limited by traditional approaches. With Actively Learn, if a student encounters difficult vocabulary, there is an online dictionary able to help them. They can also ask questions and share ideas with the class directly in the text itself. Teachers can grade student responses right in the text. So once students are completed teachers can look at the class summary  data. Actively Learn allows for both individual student comprehension stats but also class-wide Common Core strand progress. It is helpful to see which skills need improvement class-wide. What’s missing? Actively Learn is essentially a "Freemium" service so there are some features that are behind a paywall. Currently a school/district has to pay for a shared curriculum library and student diagnostic reports. Also, there are user options that have yet to be included. For instance, there is currently no way to rename a reading title once created. Also, when students are commenting on a reading assignment, the other students can see the comments in real-time. This is a double-edged sword because while it allows for awesome collaboration, it also might allow struggling readers the chance to mimic other students, masking their true comprehension. The student data reports are a good feature but remember that  long-term individual student tracking is a premium feature.  It is a great start, but if you try it out and it works for you, you’ll want to consider the premium version to track improvement. Do you need this? If your students read, then yes! What about those among us who have tools that deal with reading already? When I originally came across Actively Learn, I couldn’t help but compare it to tools I already use. My school uses Google Apps for Education and I kept on questioning why would I need this if I have Google Drive? They serve two different purposes. Google is for writing and  although students can collaborate on Google Drive, it doesn’t work best for tracking students for reading skills. Actively Learn is a new platform offering new tools. It is worth checking out! MJ Linane is a High School history teacher and educational blogger. MJ is interested in education technology and its impact on student learning. He can be found at his website and blog, TeacherRevolutions.com Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a "sponsored post." The company who sponsored it compensated me via cash payment, gift, or something else of value to edit and post it. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.) The post 6 Reading Comprehension Problems and What to Do About Them appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

How can higher-ed and high school students interact in online spaces and both learn? Dr. Jeff Stanzler uses simulations to engage high school and college students in a powerful study of geo-politics. Dr. Stanzler has seen students develop empathy for the very real people who are embroiled in geo-political conflicts around the world. Host Vicki Davis’ students participate in his Arab-Israeli Conflict Simulations every September - December. Let’s learn more about how simulations work. Listen to Jeff Stanzler - Every Classroom Matters Show #74  Add Jeff Stanzler to your PLN @stanzj Interactive Communications & Simulations at The University of Michigan-Flint and Ann Arbor Jeff Stanzler - Show Notes #74 - How Simulation Games Can Teach Complex Subjects Jeff Stanzler, a faculty member at the University Of Michigan School Of Education, advocates using games and simulations to engage learners in geo-political content.  He teaches about the Arab-Israeli conflict using simulations to stretch students’ minds. High School classrooms form country teams and represent diplomats while at the same time college students are involved in the simulation from a pedagogical perspective. Both high school and college students focus on the political issues, use text for the simulations, and meet online at a webspace. Dr. Stanzler directs the Interactive Communications and Simulations (ICS) group, while teaching in the teacher education department emphasizing learning technologies. He is also on the faculty of the Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies and the Michigan Community Scholars Program. He does find a using a game is a good way to teach about this complex political conflict, cultivating citizens with geo-political empathy. He finds the collaborations between high school students and college students especially valuable for learning. Listen on iTunes Every Classroom Matters is a bi-weekly radio show by Vicki Davis on BAM Radio network with best practices for busy teachers.  Subscribe. Show notes prepared by Lisa Durff, Production Coordinator for Every Classroom Matters. Need help listening to the show? If you’re clicking "Play" on the BAM Radio Site, this often works best in Internet explorer. Or subscribe in a podcatcher. If you need help, use this tutorial. The post How Simulation Games Can Teach Complex Subjects appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

Super-helpful educator Kathy Schrock discusses the importance of curation. Kathy was trained as a librarian who has been curating sources since 1995.  She found that people used her pages for assessment tools and apps the most on her website, which is chock full of curated sources. If you are curating resources, this is a must listen. Our guest today, Kathy Schrock, has been curating teaching resources for almost two decades. In this segment she shares insights, resources and advice for smart curation. Listen to Kathy Schrock talk about curating tools  Add Kathy Schrock  to your PLN @kathyschrock kathyschrock.net Kathy Schrock - Show Notes #57 - Curation Trends: Finding the Best Teaching Apps, Tools and Resources Kathy Schrock is an expert curator. She has been a teacher, a librarian, and a district technology director. She maintains a popular website full of curating sources aimed at helping teachers. She has been working with computers since 1972 and finds that mobile devices, apps, and site design are the current trends now. Kathy feels beginning educators should start find an application that can be used in several content areas. She usually recommends people learn how to screencast first, because that skill can be used for many different lessons. Then she recommends building a PLN (Personal Learning Network) with likeminded educators around the world. Kathy reminds educators to pay it forward and to give back to your PLN as well as being a consumer of sources. Listen on iTunes Every Classroom Matters is a bi-weekly Radio Show by Vicki Davis on BAM Radio network with best practices for busy teachers.  Subscribe. Show notes prepared by Lisa Durff, Production Coordinator for Every Classroom Matters. Need help listening to the show? If you’re clicking "Play" on the BAM Radio Site, this often works best in Internet explorer. Or subscribe in a podcatcher. If you need help, use this tutorial.   The post Finding the Best Teaching Apps, Tools and Resources with @kathyschrock appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

Lisa Durff is an educator who helps others and frequently volunteers for online education causes. Lisa is a kind-hearted servant-leader with a birthday on April 1. (The joke is on me — I logged into Google Plus and it said her birthday was today  October 5- Google Plus is wrong somehow. I’m still not taking this down because she’s amazing - so why not just say thank you anyway — reverse April Fools Joke) You’ll notice Lisa’s name on the Every Classroom Matters’ show notes. If you email me, she’ll probably set the appointment for us to talk. Lisa stepped in a few months a go to help me out. She’s my friend first and foremost. She also has a gift for handling details in ways I struggle. My Productivity Ninja Back in May while working to get more productive, I made a list of those things where I needed help. I read several books on finding a virtual assistant (VA) and interviewed some. But I was wary. A few years back I hired a VA to help me because I had too much email — she quit after 3 days because I had "too much email." As Kip and I talked, it came down to one thing: trust. Was anyone in my life who knows me and my weaknesses (and strengths)? Would he/she help me be better? So, I called my friend Lisa to see if she knew someone who could help me. She wanted to "help me out." Now, four months later- she’s helping me with my blog, email, and schedules appointments. Lisa helps me get more out of my days! Servant Leaders Make Us Better Lisa moderates for online conferences and helps anyone who asks. She’s living an epic life as she earns her PhD in education technology. Never Taking Credit Lisa is one of those rare individuals who never takes credit. She’s always pushing others in the spotlight. Lisa will email me to say "Vicki, you have to get this person on your show." That’s what she does — always pointing out others who deserve credit- never any for herself. Happy Birthday to You, Lisa Durff I just wanted to take this moment to wish her happy birthday. Because, you see, Lisa Durff is my present. She is a gift to me each and every day. First, because she is my friend and she is kind. Second, because she helps me be more professional and be as helpful as possible to as many people as possible. Noticing the Heroes Among Us Connect with Lisa Durff — will you wish her happy birthday? If you don’t know Lisa, will you consider thanking a person like her? Because, you see, that would actually make Lisa happier than if we thank her. That’s who she is. Happy Birthday, Lisa Durff. The world is better because you’re in it! The post Lisa Durff: Happy (Reverse April Fools) Birthday to a Servant Leader Among Us appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

Being a teacher is pretty thankless but if a kind note every comes you way, it just means so much. Very grateful. I will treasure this one and aspire to be helpful and encouraging to an incredible profession who needs to again glimpse their own nobility in the mirror. BAM Radio Network has gone from 67,000 visitors a month to over 600,000 visitors a month just in the past year. That 600,000 is largely  educators. Every Classroom Matters has been part of this network for 18 months and over 100 episodes. This show is a work of heart because the true stars of each show are teachers, students, researchers, professors, and those who are really doing incredible things in the classroom every day. You might not see super-famous people on the show, but that is what makes it so great — real people are doing really awesome things everyday in education. We need to learn from each other. It was a joy to be at this year’s BAMMY awards, both as a 3iTalk speaker (more on that later) and (to my surprise) as a winner in the category of Best Education Talk Show Host on the network. This was an awesome category with four other shows sharing finalist spots. Please take time to listen to these incredible shows! All of these other hosts are my friends and a respected part of my own PLN. Joe Sanfelippo & Tony Sinanis - BrandED show Edtechchat Radio Hosts (Susan Bearden, Sharon Plante, Katrina Stevens, Tom Murray, Alex Podchaski) Don Wettrick - InnovatED Brad Currie, Billy Krakower, Scott Rocco - #satchat radio If you don’t know about Internet radio, I have a quick guide for how to listen. For a list of past shows and guests on Every Classroom Matters, we’ve made a list for you. I would be remiss if I didn’t thank: Errol Smith and Rae Pica - my mentors (Errol is also executive producer of the show) Jeannette Bernstein - my senior producer Lisa Durff - my production coordinator My family and Donna Miller - for tiptoeing around the house when I’m taping "the show" and knowing I was doing it because it was important to me. Every single guest who took their time to tell their story All of you who have made Every Classroom Matters part of your busy day. And a special shout out to a sweet listener who emailed me this week asking if things are OK. The BAMMYs had sidetracked the publishing of a few shows on the site but we’re back up and rolling today. Thanks again friends, for a show without listeners is just data taking up space on a server. The honor to the show is truly mine. I pray it is helpful to as many people as possible. Thank you all for your part in sharing the story of the show. Because every single classroom matters!     The post BAMMY 2014 - Best Talk Show Host Vicki Davis [Video] appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

If you have one technology helping kids learn more than anything else, would you care for it? You bet you would. You’d lock it away. You’d polish it. You’d make sure no one messed with it. You’d take good care of it. Well you have that one thing. Study after study shows that one thing is teachers. Besides the paycheck and the staff meeting "thanks for all you do" — do you take care of them? A game my childhood friends and I played comes to mind. We had this "merry go round spinny thing" (as we called it) and we’d all get on and hold on for dear life. Then, a few ran furiously and pushed as fast as possible until they fell to the ground laughing. Whoever held on amidst the centrifugal force won. Usually we’d sling off like water off a dog’s tail. Sometimes injuries happened but mostly laughter. When school spins like the merry go round - we don’t laugh. We get faster and faster and sling in all directions. We just can’t hold on! The moment. The respite. The kind word. The act of service. These are things that stop the merry go round for a moment so we can catch our breath and hang on for another few spins. A sign left by some quick breakfast foods in our teacher’s lounge. 6 Sweet Ways to Motivate Teachers Motivate Teachers Tip #1 Understand What Teachers Need What I miss most from business is not the challenge - for I’m more challenged in teaching than I ever ways in managing a business. What I miss most about the business world was a) having an executive assistant and b) being able to close the door to get work done. I could DO something. Teachers most often need peace and quiet to get their work done. On work days, plan meetings at the end or the beginning, but let them actually WORK. Don’t let vendors come on campus and interrupt them. Give them a stream of uninterrupted time. Sure, some  teachers won’t "work"  but many will. Once every nine weeks, we have some elementary parents who come and watch classes to give the teachers a working lunch once every nine weeks. We are teachers but even teachers get tired. Motivate Teachers Tip #2: Encourage Teachers to Walk It Out I see Mrs. Adkins in our learning lab — approaching 90 — and I’m not sure how she’s done it. She’s taught longer than I’ve been alive and I just don’t know how. If all you needed was love — I’ve got that. If it is knowledge of my subject - I’ve got that too. It’s the being pulled in a thousand directions every day that is so hard. But I’ll tell you Mrs. Adkins’ secret to longevity and a sharp mind. Time Magazine has an article on it, "The Single Most Proven Way To Get Smarter and Happier." Exercise. Teachers are often up walking around the room or at their desk. Encourage them to get outside and take a walk. Make it acceptable and insist upon it. Two years a go when I had prom on top of everything else, I asked for permission to take a walk during break. That one habit is  kept me from quitting. If your staff is stressing, get them moving, the science is they’ll be happier and think more clearly. Motivate Teachers Tip #3: Realize the Financial Struggle Some ask how I can write this blog AND do everything else but this blog isn’t a burden- it is a necessity. The speaking and freelance writing I do with this blog help me stay in teaching because I have two kids in college. I don’t make enough at my day job to pay for college - so this blog helps me do what I love (encourage teachers) and help those I love get an education. Many teachers have to work outside school.  Many schools discourage this but many don’t realize the nature of the fixed income teachers are on and the need to bring in additional money for their families. For most of us, we work on the side so we can afford to teach. Understand and support this reality or just pay teachers more. (grin) Motivate Teachers Tip #4: Help Them Help Kids Countless students (at all schools) don’t have school supplies. When money is tight it can be frustrating to go buy boxes of pens, highlighters, or markers because the $250 allowance the IRS gives teachers doesn’t nearly cover it. The poorer the kids at the school, the more teachers struggle to buy everything their students need. Replenish the school supplies for teachers. Give them pencils, pens, highlighters, markers, and paper.  It gets more important the closer you get to the end of the year when parents stop thinking about empty backpacks and school supplies. I have a Mom of an ADD kid (who knows he loses everything) buy me a big box of pencils at the beginning of the year. She knows he will lose them-she’s being thoughtful AND helping her child. I’d give him the pencils anyway but I appreciate the thought and acknowledgement. Motivate Teachers Tip #5: Tell Teachers They Are Important Remember the 5 love languages? Teachers who need to hear or read they are important. These words need to be said. In our teacher’s lounge, a parent left a mug of mints with a little sign: "Thanks for being so sweet." Some mysterious person keeps coming by and putting more mints in the cup. Write notes and say inspirational things. Remind them in words of the nobility of their profession and who they are to be as teachers. For those who need to hear and read the words, these are like rain on dry land. When you do little things for teachers, interject inspirational thoughts. Remind them of their nobility and purpose. Little notes do make a difference. Motivate Teachers Tip #6: Acts of Service Our PTO started last year with a meal for us. The parents who put it on went all out - not necessarily in money but in effort they got an A+. They picked flowers from their yards. They wrote notes in their own handwriting. Each made little parts of the meal in the box and then someone assembled the box and tied it with a beautiful ribbon. (Lots of pictures in this post came from that event.) It was a pure, unadulterated act of love. = Do something kind and thoughtful. My Mom bakes muffins and breads and leaves them in the teacher’s lounge. Our PTO bought a Keurig for the teacher’s lounge and keeps it replenished. Yesterday PTO had a "soup day" and it was awesome. I know a person who comes by and writes little fun quotes on our board in the teacher’s lounge just to add a new, encouraging thought to the day. Flowers, a quote, and sometimes food are all a nice thing. (My friend Todd Nesloney had his administrative staff cook pancakes for the teachers one morning.) Being Kind is Always Awesome Sometimes you get through big tough times with little things. The kind word. The laugh. The compliment. Students are vital and important. We love them and want to give our best. But you reach a point — and this is from a teacher who dearly loves my brood — where there’s nothing left to give. And that tiny little push of encouragement is the only thing that keeps us moving forward each day. That tiny bit of encouragement makes a big difference. So, take time today to encourage teachers. If you’re a teacher - you should encourage teachers too. If you work with teachers - please do. (And don’t forget the custodians, lunchroom staff, administrators, and office staff - many people feel this way. Most people need to feel appreciated.) Teachers are reachers, but many of them need encouragement right now. You might be the one thing that keeps them holding on for another spin. The post 6 Ways to Motivate Teachers: Be the Hope appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

Start-ups are good for our country. Most students don’t know what they are. I want to infuse a start-up mentality in my classroom as I help students understand innovation. Creation is good. Inventing is hard. If you’re an independent thinker: hire yourself and create a start-up. Recently my ninth graders connected via Google Hangout with the CEO of Brainscape, Andrew Cohen. What is Brainscape? Brainscape is a scientifically-based flashcard tool that lets students learn faster than traditional flashcard services. (Learn more in the video.) My classes have Brainscape study groups. Connect Your Classroom: Steps to Success As discussed in Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds, students don’t want to talk about the world - they want to talk with the world. Effective 21st century educators connect their students. After Andrew and I set the interview appointment, here is how I prepped my students. (Adapt this to use with politicians, scientists, and any type of job.) Step 1: Introduce the Person’s Job with a Bellringer Activity (10-15 minutes) The day before the interview, we completed a bell ringer asking: What is a start-up? What is the job title of a person who creates a start-up? What are the benefits of creating a start-up? Are there risks of creating a start-up? With your team come up with 3 questions to ask of a person who created a technology start-up? Time taken: 5 minutes in their groups and 10 minutes of discussion Ask questions introducing the topic and role without having a specific company or person named. If they can get their arms around who this person is, they’ll be more excited when you say — we will interview one. (If you tell students who you’re interviewing first — nervousness may stifle the learning.) Step 2: Plan the Interview: Split Students into Questioners and Evaluators After we completed the bell ringer, they discussed their answers. Then, I introduced what they’d be doing today. They split into 2 teams: question creators and evaluators. Good Questions Make a Great Interview The question group worked to formulate questions to ask Andrew based upon what they learned. They looked up information about Andrew (like reading his Twitter) and Brainscape. Give Feedback The other team evaluated Brainscape and compared it to other apps and services they use. This group’s purpose was to offer feedback from real students to Andrew. Students must learn to evaluate websites and apps with an eye for improvement and suggestions. Evaluating is useful for the company you’re connecting to because they are getting feedback on their product. If you take this approach, don’t film or record this segment of the interaction because you want an honest exchange beneficial for both groups. (Students can see how successful people respond to suggestions. I’ve found this fosters a growth mindset of ongoing improvement. Suggestions are not the enemy- they are how we improve.) How Students Planned Students drafted their plan on a Google Document. I provided feedback via commenting. Each team had a PM (project manager) and APM (assistant project manager). They were ready to go by the end of class. Not everyone spoke but everyone had to be involved in  planning. Step 3: The Interview We set aside 30 minutes for the interview. Plan on 10-15 minutes for you to connect with your guest. Technical Aspects of the Interview Can you record? I used Google Hangout linked with my personal account (Google Plus is not enabled with my school account right now.) We live streamed the session and recorded it to YouTube. You don’t have to share it live (although I did). I think recording is important to use the video with other classes. You can’t recreate a magic moment so prepare to capture moments where magic might happen.  For example, I have 2 preps for 9th grade. I don’t want the other class left out. They will watch this recording and take notes. The next time, the other class will conduct the live interview. Note Google Hangout is NOT a video call, if you want to record, you have to set up a live event and create a hangout. I’ve found it to be tricky. (If you can’t find a tutorial, let me know in the comments and I’ll take time to write one.) Check your mic setup You have to check mics and make sure you can hear one another. You’ll notice me sitting near the computer. We turn the mic off an on to prevent feedback from the speakers when Andrew replied to the message. Setup the lower thirds We use the Google Hangout toolbox and do the lower third to show the name and the class information. The recording becomes a permanent part of our class library that other students can access later. Invite parents I invited parents via the school Facebook page and over email. After the interview, I shared the recording. Great Start! Besides a few nerves, (who doesn’t get uptight?) it was a marvelous start! I’m proud of my students! While this was their first interview of the year and many of them were nervous — they did a great job overcoming their nerves. They’ll be pros by the end of the year.  I hope this helps you plan for and integrate this into your classroom. Flatten those walls! Connect and collaborate. Thank you Andrew Cohen from Brainscape for taking the time to connect with my students today. Tip for start-ups: what a great way to interact with students! Thanks Andrew! If you’re creating products they use, give them a voice.  The post How to Connect Your Classroom: Case Study with Andrew Cohen of @Brainscape appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

Don’t ask your students to be you. You are not creating mini-me’s. That is not your goal. The average teacher thinks about talking cessation - the superior teacher cares about inspiring the next generation. Aimless people are Columbus kind of people — when they set sail, they don’t know where they are going. When they get there, they don’t know where they are. When they get back, they have no idea where they’ve been. (heard from a Brian Tracey recording) Be purposeful. Know where you’re heading. Celebrate the accomplishment when you return. Be epic, purposeful, and clearly know what you’re doing. Happy accidents happen sometimes but let your teaching and planning be purposeful adventures in learning. Have a crystal clear vision of what you want your classroom to be. Hold it out and compare it to who you are today. Compete with yourself. Level up a little bit every day. Be you but be a better you everyday. Never settle to just be better than the person next door or down the hall - that is beneath you. Be a better you. Your students deserve to see a lead learner improving upon what you learned yesterday. If you already have your copies made for the next six weeks, take them out back and burn them. We don’t make copies in school - we make originals. When you get too automated, you start making automatons who leave small puddles of spittle on the desk and spitballs in the corner thrown to wake up their friend sleeping in the back. You can do better. If they spit in my classroom it will be in hot debate about things that mean something not dead dates of things done by dead people. Those heroes who have gone before will not be the lifeless bones laying in the grave who did something awesome sometime but will come to life as living, breathing heroes making their decisions in front of the class in all of their heart-rending blood-boiling fervor. History comes alive. Everything comes alive - especially my students. Your mission: to do something wonderful in your classroom. But more than that… Your mission: to find something wonderful in every child and hold it up to the light so they can observe the glistening facets of their own uniqueness. For they are beautiful contributions to the world - more beautiful than diamonds and far harder to shape and encourage unless it be done from the inside out. I am in sales. I’m selling you on yourself. Buy yourself, teacher. For you can have all of the ancillaries and topiaries in the the world and nothing is more exciting than you. Nothing is more pivotal. Nothing is more hopeful. Nothing is more driving. And nothing is more joy-killing either. It is you. Buy yourself. Buy into the fact that your learning, your excitement and your raw determination determine everything about your classroom. You are the one. It starts with you. All of it. The epicness, the excitement, the wonder-full-ness. You. Take out a finger and point it up into the air — high high high into the sky. Then take that finger and point it right back at yourself… at your heart… at your mind… at your hands and your feet. These are your weapons and it isn’t a secret. Great teaching is done by great teachers. Teachers who have bought into themselves and the fact that they can improve their art if they learn. A dwarf standing on a giant’s shoulders can see further than the giant. You don’t have to be the giant, just learn from them. Teaching is a profession — on of the few — where you can rise to the status of almost being a saint - were that possible. Yet, those true saint-teachers aren’t in it for sainthood, they aren’t even in it for any attention. They are in it for the epic challenge of dealing with problems that come with hair on top. Superior teachers don’t see problems, they see possibilities. So teacher, I am asking you this moment. Buy yourself. You’re the greatest thing you could ever bring to your classroom. If your heart is not in your classroom, your students won’t want to be either. You — you’re the greatest thing you can bring to class today. Bring it. Bring you. The post Heart’s Cry to Great Teachers: Bring You appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

Scott McLeod talks with Vicki Davis about teacher’s rights and legal issues to consider when using social media. In this episode of Every Classroom Matters, Scott reminds us educators should be aware that  teachers are representatives of their employers and legally do not have a right to privacy even in their lives outside of school. If this sounds extreme, take a listen so you can understand the legal aspects of a teachers using social media. Listen to Scott McLeod talk about teachers and social media  Listen on iTunes 4/13/14 Add Scott Mcleod to your PLN Twitter: @mcleod Blog: Dangerously Irrelevant Scott McLeod - Show #66 - Teachers’ Rights and Risks on Social Media Scott McLeod reminds us — legally educators have limited free speech when they are employed by public schools. Educators who work for public schools are always representatives of the public schools and can be held responsible for anything they say or do either at work or outside the school environment. (This can apply to any teachers at any school depending upon your contract, however.) Teachers can still feel empowered. Be cautious with words and actions within the social environment and community. Online anonymity is an illusion. US courts set the precedent that public school teachers do not have the same speech rights other people enjoy. Scott prompts us to always be thoughtful in all our words and actions. Every Classroom Matters is a bi-weekly Radio Show by Vicki Davis on BAM Radio network with best practices for busy teachers.  Subscribe. Show notes prepared by Lisa Durff, Production Coordinator for Every Classroom Matters. Need help listening to the show? If you’re clicking "Play" on the BAM Radio Site, this often works best in Internet explorer. Or subscribe in a podcatcher. If you need help, use this tutorial.   The post What Are Teachers’ Rights and Risks on Social Media? appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

Being unpopular and saying things people don’t want to hear isn’t fun. Neither is admitting you’re wrong. Perhaps that is why this 5 minute speech I felt compelled to give was so hard for me. I’m convinced that we’ve isolated students in a world without teachers on social media and every day we are reaping the consequences. We need to rethink this now so we can move forward to a better tomorrow. Sometimes unpopular, uncomfortable things need to be said and positions should be reversed in order to do the right thing. Ultimately, my students said that I needed to give this one. I had at least eight kids who came up to me afterwards who said it was what educators needed to hear. A teary eyed young man moved me most: "My Mom died this year, I had a teacher who helped me get through it. I couldn’t have lived without my teacher. Literally. We students need our teachers and sometimes we need to talk to them on social media. We need a way to do that sometimes." Yep. These kids are worth fighting for and if the only casualty is my own ego in the process, that is indeed a very small price to pay. This is truly an issue where both sides are right. We have to face the truth of the consequences of what we’ve done. We have to come out with some sort of workable answer in the middle. What is my new policy? I tell my students that if they choose to friend me, I will friend them back but they need to know that I’m relating to them as a teacher. Anything they communicate to me is as if I am at school. They can unfriend me at any time and refriend me — just as they wish, no questions asked. If they communicate anything to me, I keep screenshots (with time and date stamps.) Don’t headlong disregard your school policy. I would never ask you to do that. I do ask that you discuss: How would you feel if a student at your school reached out to a stranger because nobody at your school could connect with them? How would you feel if that student got bad advice or was harmed because no one at your school was allowed to help the child? Do you think many bullying incidents and other things happening on social media would be less likely to happen if students thought teachers might be connected? Do you think more incidents would be reported if students could friend and unfriend teachers? What would an educator "certified" or "allowed" to communicate with students via social media look like? Could this be a new role of guidance counselors? What do we need to advocate for from social media companies to allow such interactions to occur safely? Be Somebody Because Nobody Won’t Do Best wishes, I hope you have a great day and I hope you’ll be that somebody for your students. I also hope we’ll consider if we’ve inadvertently isolated kids from those who can help and forced them to chat with strangers because we’ve given them nobody. I think we need a new age and new type of educator at each school and new ways to communicate with a generation who talks differently than we did. Courageously consider if we’ve made mistakes. Discuss and good luck with this one. The post Why I Now Friend My Students on Social Media [Video] appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) helps us design learning to reach every student. Today’s guest, college professor Beth Ritter-Guth teaches us about using UDL in online learning spaces. Whether you’re flipping your classroom, blending learning, or teaching online, every teacher can learn from Beth’s techniques to reach every learner. Beth Ritter-Guth became interested in Universal Design for its potential to increase student success.  She believes if everyone uses UDL in online education then all students will succeed, regardless of ability labels.  Dr. Ritter-Guth is an award-winning professor  at Union College in New Jersey. Listen to this episode of Every Classroom Matters to find out how this award winning professor uses UDL to increase student learning. Listen to Beth Ritter-Guth discuss increasing student e-learning success with UDL  Listen on iTunes 5/20/2014 episode Add @BethRitterGuth to your PLN @BethRitterGuth CollegeEnglishWikispaces Dr. Ritter-Guth’s work with UDL is recognized by the Chronicle of Higher Education, America Online, Wired Magazine, and USA Today. She has received the 2013 Claes Nobel prize, the 2013 Campus Technology Innovation Award, and the 2008 National Association of Independent Schools, Faculty of the Future Award.  She has presented at the NJEdge Conference, the Florida Educational Technology Conference, ISTE, and the Campus Technology Conference in Boston, MA, among many other presentations.  Beth Ritter-Guth - Show Notes #76 - Universal Design in Online Spaces Dr. Ritter-Guth says video with transcription is an example of UDL at work in online learning.  (She tells us how she does it.) Designing lessons to be accessed by all students, despite disability labels, increases student success rates.  She uses UDL in assessments, saying not all assessments need be tests or final papers.  She uses virtual worlds so students can design spaces based on the literature.  Because they are designing in 3D, students read literature deeply. She suggests teachers find tools tied to the standards and your objectives for the course.  Tools should never take over lessons. The literature content should be the focus.  Dr. Ritter-Guth uses gaming to teach literature and find commercial games offer as much storyline as text-based stories.  She finds students are more engaged when using games to learn and hopes to collect data about using UDL to format online courses and student success rates. In one of her classes, Beth teaches her students using a post-apocalyptic virtual world with her college students called Fall Out 3. UDL resources: The National Center for Universal Design. Thank you Dr. Ritter-Guth for teaching us all so much about UDL! Every Classroom Matters is a bi-weekly Radio Show by Vicki Davis on BAM Radio network with best practices for busy teachers.  Subscribe. Show notes prepared by  Lisa Durff, Production Coordinator for Every Classroom Matters. Need help listening to the show? If you’re clicking "Play" on the BAM Radio Site, this often works best in Internet explorer. Or subscribe in a podcatcher. If you need help, use this tutorial.   The post Universal Design (UDL) in Online Spaces with @BethRitterGuth appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

Verena Roberts does a masterful job of telling the story of powerful intergenerational learning through her K12 online Conference presentation: #Gamifi-ED Networked Intergenerational Learning. Can ninth graders and masters students in college have a symbiotic mutually beneficial learning network? Yes! Here’s how. Take time to watch this and all of the other incredible K12 Online Video Presentations. It is a wonderful conference with so many resources!   The post K12 Online: Networked Intergenerational Learning #gamifi-ed #k12online [Video] appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

Minecraft and Common Core Literacy Project: Givercraft starts Nov 17 GiverCraft Weebly October 21, 2014 Minecraft and Common Core Literacy Standards meld in one free project for kids grades 6-12: Givercraft. Click to visit the Givercraft website Dr. Lee Graham of University of Alaska Southeast is at it again. Her masters students combine the Giver and Minecraft to create a powerful 2 week experience called Givercraft starting November 17, 2014. Enroll your class in this free project now! What a great experience with gaming and literature to use around the holidays. The site makes a powerful claim about Minecraft that I also believe: Minecraft brings elements of integration, technology and extreme engagement into the classroom. Students will challenge themselves, take their projects further and demonstrate their knowledge of learning through this project-based course. Givercraft combines Minecraft and literacy standards in a free project for kids grades 6-12. Sign up while there’s still room! Who is sponsoring this project? Dr. Graham’s EDET 698 is designing and running a project for students using what they’ve learned in the course! (Intergenerational learning at its best.) Author’s Note: All college education technology classes can do this sort of thing. See see yesterday’s K12 online presentation by Verena Roberts about how intergenerational learning works. We should all be collaborating and connecting with REAL students and learn together. Learn how in  Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds (I coauthored this book.) Dr. Graham’s model of teaching is a powerful example of intergenerational learning in action. Givercraft Overview This 2-week unit will: Meet new Alaska Literacy Standards or the Common Core Literacy Standards • grades 6th-12th Let students expand on the book with their own thoughts and ideas Encourage students to collaborate and explore Provide teachers with a planned guide for integrating technology Let teachers explore gamification in a safe, guided environment on a private MinecraftEDU server provided through UAS Sign up now Last year my classes collaborated with Dr. Graham’s for Gamifi-Ed. In short, Lee and her students ROCK. Dr. Graham shares her philosophy of innovation in this Every Classroom Matters episode. The post Minecraft and Common Core Literacy Project: Givercraft starts Nov 17 [Link] appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

So many teachers are teaching blogging. I thought it would be helpful to see how I teach blogging to my students. Here’s my in-flip video. Listen to the Every Classroom Matters interview with Jon Bergmann, flipped classroom pioneer if you don’t know about the in-flip method. You’ll also see starting at minute 7 how I teach my students to begin blogging using our private Ning and a glimpse into the Ning. You’ll see the initial skills I teach students. (Titling, embedding, and writing style.) Essential Questions: What is a blog? Why are blogs important? How will we blog? How should blog headlines be written? What type of voice and language do you use in a blog post? What is one way to use elements on the web in your blog post? For blog readers who own a copy of Reinventing Writing — consult Chapter 8 (p 127) for details on how to teach blogging and microblogging. On a technical note, I had a few issues with volume levels on slide 2 and 3 and near the end, so you’ll need to turn up the volume there. I’ll have to re-record but haven’t had a chance yet. The post What is a blog? [Video] appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

Helpful Google Search Modifiers Poster Google Downloads for educators Here’s a handy handout that you can use as you teach Google search modifiers. It is amazing how many don’t know how to search. (See my Search Engine Math video for how I teach this.) Link: Get the PDF Google modifiers handout The post Helpful Google Search Modifiers Poster [Link] appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

Michelangelo defines great art. He carves the human form in marble as if it is caught between breaths. Muscles glisten with sweat. Agony shows on eyebrows as taut fingers curl. Oh to live as a master like Michelangelo! We know from his own words his desire to level up. His prayer: "Lord, grant that I always desire more than I accomplish." If you’re great -good enough is never good enough. The arch enemy of greatness is our own complacency. An insatiable desire to innovate lives in the DNA of the awesome. Do you want to be awesome too? How? 1. Decide to Level Up You’ve heard them: I’m too old. I’m too tired. I’ve done enough. Let the young people do it. I’ve done my fair share. Settlers in the land of complacency. They’ve pitched their tent beside a small stream. The birds used to chirp here. It was a nice spot. Not any more. When you’re green, you’re growing. When you’re ripe, you rot. Never settle in the land of complacency. Success is a journey. Ask yourself: What is one new thing I can learn today? 2. Take Time to Read You are changed by the places you go, the people you meet and the books you read. Brian Tracy claims you can be in the top ten per cent of your field by reading one hour a day. Books can save you time. Books can help you think and improve yourself. Why waste so much time trying to solve a problem when someone has already been there? I know you have grading and work and all this other stuff. But ultimately we do what we decide to do. If this is hard for you, try the mud puddle strategy. Have you ever seen a little boy outside looking at a mud puddle. Once he’s on the edge - HE’S GOING IN! Your physical world should encourage excellent habits. Put a book beside your favorite chair in the den. Anywhere you like to sit is a great place to plop a book or magazine. When you find yourself close to the book or magazine, you’ll find yourself in the book before you know it. Ask yourself: What is the last book I read? Be positive and level up 3. Watch a tutorial Geniuses live among us — AND THEY DO WEBINARS. Oh yes, they do! The Global Education Conference is coming up. The K12 Online Conference finished last week with 38 videos. Awesome teachers like Laura Candler and Richard Byrne do them quite often. (I do them too.) If you’re struggling you can search YouTube. Personally, I don’t take webinars or classes. I take people. If I feel stuck in a rut - I search for people who are awesome. Go to google, type in their name and the word "webinar". Sometimes "online presentation" works. We all know conferences can boost our energy but they are happening all the time. (Steve Hargadon is the king of online conferences. Follow his blog to find them.) Ask yourself: What have I watched lately that inspired me to level up? 4. Seek Inspiration Give yourself a vitamin B shot in your brain! Books. Best quotes. Best Practices. Vitamin B stands for Vitamin BEST. Apply the mudpuddle strategy here too. Where do you look that needs some Vitamin B? In the front of your planner? In Evernote? On your computer screen? (Make a desktop wallpaper.) Make the Best as close as a glance or the flip of a page. Don’t limit inspiration to words. I have a music playlist called "WonderBox." (Hat tip Austin Kleon and Show Your Work!) It is a wonderful box of joy that I open when I feel my heart flagging and start struggling. Music boosts your life, your heart and your mind in ways that are hard to comprehend. It is my vitamin B. Keep a travel bottle of your favorite perfume with you. A favorite lip gloss. A certain kind of coffee. Anything can be vitamin B. Be intentional about it. Ask yourself: Where do I struggle to be inspired? How can I inject Vitamin B there? This thought is for many of you out there.  5. Seek Wise Counsel Build your circle of the wise. "The next best thing to be wise oneself is to live in a circle of those who are." CS Lewis Look for those people who buoy even when the storms of life blow. Look for people who are unflappable and productive in every season of life. Look for achievers. Don’t expect these people to be easily accessible. If you’re lucky enough to have one of these people across the lunch table every day — LEARN. Wise people are sometimes BUSY or INACCESSIBLE. Don’t think they are always famous. Famous doesn’t mean wise. Ask yourself: Who are the wisest people I know? How can I make time to spend with some of them? 3 Rules in Life 6. Ask Awesome People Questions You’ll come across awesome people. This week the joint chiefs of staff happened to drop by my son’s fraternity at Georgia Tech for Homecoming. I asked him — Did you shake their hands? Just being around awesome can be cool. Most of the time we sit there clueless to the greatness around us because we’re too busy talking about ourselves to LISTEN. You uncover awesome by asking questions. Lots of them. No - don’t just stop random strangers on the street. That’s weird. (OK, my Dad has been known to be able to talk to anybody but most of us don’t have this talent.) If you know someone from Twitter and you’re going to be at the same conference - grab coffee. Ask questions. Learn from everyone you meet. Ask yourself: Is there someone I know who has a cool story? What questions could I ask this week to uncover awesome? Be the rainbow in someone else’s cloud.  7. Unplug and focus As I read The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload several things Levitin says jumped out at me: Glenn Wilson shows the "cognitive losses from multitasking are even greater than the cognitive losses from pot smoking. (97) Facebook, Twitter and social media are cognitive addictions. We can make a certain number of decisions per day. All decisions are the same to our brain no matter their level of importance. You are a human being, not a human doing. Those who respond to every notification of their smart phone make us wonder who is controlling who. Levitin also discusses the part of the brain - the insula switch - which switches our attention. He argues that when we think we see someone multitasking that they aren’t - they’re just switching rapidly between tasks. (96) Too much switching burns glucose rapidly and creates mental exhaustion. (And now we know why one day of teaching is more tiring than anything else we do!) You need times of complete unplugging from your devices. You need offline times to get things done. You need vacations where you put your mobile device in a basket as you grab an old fashioned camera and just PLAY. I believe the greatest among us are those who unplug and GET STUFF DONE. Ask yourself: When have I unplugged? Can I have some offline time today? "A rising tide raises all ships." We can be the tide. 8. Do Good to Others, Especially Your Students The unhappiest people are selfish people. Just because you think you’re having a "bad day" it doesn’t give you the right to multiply that "badness" by 80 or 100 or how ever many little ones you have in your care. In fact, multiply kindness, multiply goodness, multiply faith. There are times when kids see you grappling with struggles and your life becomes the lesson. Always take time to be kind. The best way to find your kindness "target" is to stand at the door of your classroom. As students enter the room greet them all by name. They’ll look at you when you do. Look them in the eyes. Their faces can hide things but not the eyes. You’ll see quickly who needs the kindness. When you’re having a rough day, nothing will get you to leave the pity party faster than knowing someone needs you. And guess what — someone always needs you. People are dying for encouragement. Literally dying. Behind the laughter people hide feelings of hurt, failure, and heartbreak. Be the one who looks outside yourself and sees a hurting world desperate for encouragement. Be the light. Be the hope. Be the hand of love lifting others from their despair. As yourself: Who needs my kindness today? Level Up Today Now you know. You’ve read to the end. Begin.   The post 8 Great Ways to Level Up Your Life appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

Ben Rimes talks about connecting technology and Common Core standards.  As a Technology Coordinator in Michigan, Ben is passionate about technology in the classroom, digital storytelling, and social media. Listen to Ben Rimes Add Ben Rimes to your PLN @techsavvyed The Tech Savvy Educator Show Notes: Ben Rimes - #61 - Five Ways to Leverage Technology to Meet the Common Core Standards Ben took every standard related to technology in the Common Core standards and created a word cloud. He found several related words common to standards across content areas. Publishing Online. He talks with Vicki about publishing and collaborating online which is a common standard in all content areas.  He suggests using wikis, blogs, videos, and methods for protecting students’ privacy while still facilitating collaboration. Digital Citizenship and Privacy. He shares how his district protects privacy. They have many ways for students to share their work. When Ben Rimes took every Common Core standard relating to technology and generated a word cloud, this is what he saw. Listen to his observations and how it has him helping teachers use Common Core with technology. Video. Ben is especially passionate about using video for authentic assessments.  He recommends using the technology tools in the learning process and reminds us not to expect perfection from our students all the time. He suggests to prepare potential audiences for viewing the learning process versus the final product. Video and Math. Use Ben’s Video Story Problem Channel to give cool math problems to students. Students can create their own. Technology and Perfection Paralysis. How Ben responds to those who claim that schools should only publish and share perfect work from their students. Ben shares what he said to his school board when they asked just that question about his fourth grade class. Use a wordcloud tool like Wordle to paste your standards in. Use it to discuss overall patterns in the standards with your teachers to get the big picture. What a great technique! Thanks to Ben for sharing it. Listen to Ben Rimes Listen to Ben Rimes (iTunes 3/26/14) Every Classroom Matters is a bi-weekly Radio Show by Vicki Davis on BAM Radio network with best practices for busy teachers.  Subscribe. Show notes prepared by Lisa Durff, Production Coordinator for Every Classroom Matters. Need help listening to the show? If you’re clicking "Play" on the BAM Radio Site, this often works best in Internet Explorer. Or subscribe in a podcatcher. If you need help, use this tutorial. The post 5 Ways to Leverage Technology to Meet Common Core Standards @techsavvyed appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

A big shout out to Jed Dearybury @mrdearybury1 and his second grade students! They debuted their version of "We Will Do Marvelous Things" on YouTube this week. Great job kids! Listen to what Mr. Dearybury tells his students at the beginning of this video! Tips for Teachers Your expectations MEAN EVERYTHING. What do you expect of your students? Could you sing this song with your students? Do you believe it? Let me tell you a secret. If you don’t believe it, you can’t do it. If you can’t see it, you won’t see it. Marvelous things are believed before they are experienced. Set those expectations. Dream those dreams. Marvelous, precious beautiful dreams. Check out Jed Dearybury’s Blog Do Marvelous Things! Have a great week Mr. Dearybury and students! The world is watching! I’m interviewing Jed later today for an upcoming episode of Every Classroom Matters. This video just couldn’t wait.   The post We Will Do Marvelous Things @mrdearybury1 [Video] appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

Students want to understand how ebola works. Can you get sick from ebola if someone in your state has it? How does it spread? Why is it so deadly? This simple to understand video (H/T Laughing Squid)  about the Ebola virus is trending on YouTube. It is a video for science teachers to use to explain viruses. It also helps us understand why we shouldn’t be scared of ebola. "The most infectious thing about ebola is the media hype around it. You could learn something about the immune system, though." says this well made video at the end. Resources to Help Us Teach How Ebola Works  Every hot topic is a topic we can use to teach. If we can teach students to look past news headlines and get educated, we will inherit a better world. As I perused the web, here are four lesson plans you can use for science, current events, reading nonfiction text, and ESL. PBS Ebola Lesson Plan Thinklink Interactive Guide to Ebola - This interactive tool has videos and other embedded information as students learn." If you want students to read nonfiction text - use the article from the New York Times and their related 6 Q’s ABout the News - A New York Times (Great bellringer and way to read nonfiction text) ESL Lesson Plan on Ebola If you can’t find what you need - see Larry Ferlazzo’s "Best Resources for Learning About Ebola" Since posting this video which I found via Laughing Squid on Tumblr, someone let me know on Twitter that Richard Byrne posted this same video last Thursday. So, I guess we both had the same thoughts about it. Great resource. Resources for Schools Concerning Safety and Ebola Ebola travels via transmission of bodily fluids. Pediatric or special needs educators may need some of these resources just to make sure they are aware. Again, we and are students are more at risk from the flu. CDC Information "Resources for Parents, Schools, and Pediatric Healthcare Professionals   The post How Ebola Works: Resources for Teachers [Video] appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

You… you teachers. You are doing amazing things to level up every day. You’re not settling in the land of complacency. You’re innovating. You’re leading. You give me and all these other teachers out here struggling great hope. So, when I asked a simple question on Twitter Thursday night, magic happened. Below is the storify I created as a result of your awesomeness. Have a great week and learn from other teachers. (Follow them too.) One tip: take a second to let the storify load or if you don’t see it, go to my blog website. It is worth it. [View the story "What are you excited about in your classroom?" on Storify] The post What are you excited about in your classroom? appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

When are you going to retire? I love this Stan Lee rant when people ask him this question. I also think some of you awesome educators in your 60’s and beyond need to rant on this one. Our 83 year old Learning Lab Director is Still Going Strong One of the best educators I know is Grace Adkins. She’s well into her 80’s and works full time. She rids 120 miles a week on her bicycle for goodness sakes. We Need Great Teachers to Teach! Come on people. If someone loves teaching and they love the kids and they know their subject - THEY SHOULD BE TEACHING. We have too few people awesome at the craft — we need you. If you’re one of those who people ask this - tell them to go jump in a lake and keep on teaching. If you want to retire, fine. But if not — KEEP ON KEEPING ON. We need you! When Mrs. Adkins walks on our campus every day, I’m thankful we have another day in her awesome presence. She’s a hero to me. Yeah, go ahead and rant. And stop asking awesome educators when they are going to retire and start giving them reasons NOT TO!!!! So, today, why not go up to one of those people of retirement age and say: "Thank you for being here. We love you. We appreciate you. I think you’re awesome." I challenge you. Go ahead! The post So really - you want me to retire? #rant [Video] appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

200 Free Kids Educational Resources: Video Lessons, Apps, Books, Websites & More Open Culture Open Culture shares more than 200 free resources for schools. From free audiobooks, ebooks, and videos to physics comic books and a lovely foreign language collection — this is one of those pages you’ll want to email your teachers. Ask them all to find one thing they can use. Every subject taught in your school pretty much. Enjoy! (H/T Tim Holt for the heads up.) The post 200 Free Kids Educational Resources: Video Lessons, Apps, Books, Websites & More [Link] appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.