Monthly Archives: June 2018

The Dilemma of Being a Teacher Leader

Education

As I sit in my living room, trying to press out the FOMO of #notatISTE18, my mind keeps drifting back to the place I flounder as a leader and classroom teacher. Being a Lead Learner for CUE means I get invited to deliver sessions to educators around California for events that districts and other organizations hold. These are paid gigs that offer me the opportunity to share my successes with other educators, as well as learn new concepts and innovative pedagogy right alongside them. As a classroom teacher, these experiences help other educators, but also facilitate my own growth. Unfortunately, there is no easy way to leave the classroom to do this.

Many educators feel this same push and pull. Tom Rademacher, an author, presenter and classroom teacher, wrote a blog this spring that really hit home with me. I have been thinking about it since and felt it was worth sharing. I see it as a real problem with our current system. Take a moment and read his thoughts in: It’s Damn Near Impossible to Be a Teacher-Leader and Still Teach. Is it possible there is a better way?

Ease the Pain of #NOTATISTE18

EdTech, Education

As most of you know, ISTE (The International Society for Technology in Education) holds a huge conference every year in a different city in the United States. Educators and vendors from all over the world gather and nerd out on the latest in education technology. This year Chicago holds the honor. Unfortunately, most of us have to watch from home, jealous of learning along side great thinkers and deep dish pizza. We hope for any crumbs of innovation that make it on to Twitter. The FOMO isn’t just a fear. It’s real. Those of us at home are missing out and it hurts.

Thankfully, to ease the pain and fill the emptiness, edublogger has put together a great list of ways that you CAN follow along at home. Time to wipe the envious tears and read all the means you can be part of the learning. Plan your virtual trip now! Watch a Cubs game, make an Italian beef sandwich, and get ready. ISTE is only a week away.

Read the blog, written by Kathleen Morris here.

Confessions of a ClipArt Junkie

EdTech, Education

This post originally published at http://blog.cue.org/confessions-of-a-clipart-junkie/

 

 

If you follow Ryan O’Donnell (aka creativeedtech) on Twitter, or around town like I do, small pieces of brilliance seem to drop from the sky. That’s mostly because he has a way of taking new tools or tech ideas and creating practical ways to use them in the classroom. He’s also a pretty tall guy so his ideas tend to fall on normal humans like rain. Lately, O’Donnell has been creating these amazing graphics of listicles. Not only is this idea a great way to disemminate ideas to fellow educators online, it’s also a great template to use with students. Of course, O’Donnell is quite the Jedi Master of templates. Check out his website for some awesome ideas.

A few weeks ago, one of his listicles caught my eye. O’Donnell’s tweet read,

Confessions of a Clip Art junkie: I LOVED clip art. Tried to find the perfect image & even bought those mega-pack CD’s. Finally kicked that habit though. Now it’s all about photos & graphics.

Therefore, on behalf of Ryan O’Donnell, I am here to urge you to stop using clip art! Here are the ways you can shift your addiction to something more contemporary and relevant:

  1. The Noun Project— Icons are the answer for your latest projects and the Noun Project will provide you over a million for free. Simply sign up, search and download as Creative Commons. (Royalty Free requires a membership). I even found some really cool Star Wars icons! Credit is embedded in the icon already. 
  1. Flaticon–Much like the Noun Project, this site is about the icons, but this site groups icons into packs. Therefore, if you are working on a project, you have a set of icons all downloaded that go together. Download for free with attribution, just like Noun Project.
  2. No Backs— This site offers high resolution images in PNG format. No need to sign up. Free to use as long as proper credit and a link to the site is given.
  3. Pixabay–One of my favorite sites for stock photos. Over 1.4 million. Each image designates the licensing. Most are labeled Creative Commons, with no attribution needed.
  4. Freepik–This is a large search engine of free vector designs (which is graphic designer talk for computer images). Not all are free, but many are, only requiring attribution. No sign in required. Just search, find one that’s free and download.
  5. Unsplash–Supported by a large community of photographers, this site allows you to download beautiful images. They ask that you credit the photographers only out of appreciation and for the photographer to gain exposure. Absolutely stunning images!
  6. Pexels–Thousands of free stock photos that are completely licensed as Creative Commons. No attribution required. When you download, they offer ways to say thank you to the photographer: add a link, follow him/her on Instagram, or embed the citation. Another site I could spend hours looking for the perfect picture!

Adding images effective to your projects gets results. Consider using one of these sites. O’Donnell also suggests busting out your camera, or simply taking out your phone and snapping your own pictures. Those are always free.

Now that you have been educated in all the great FREE sites out there, it is time to break up with your clip art. Snip it out of your life. It is far more picturesque on the other side.

 

Coaching is not just for the New Teacher

Education

The traditional model of coaching in education has always focused on supporting new teachers. This assumes, of course, that the rest of us who have been in the classroom for years are not in need of growth and improvement. In this recent article, published by the ASCD, Kim Greene suggests that every teacher deserves a coach. Instructional support should not be focused on deficits, but the idea of growth as an opportunity. The culture of coaching needs to change. Teaching is not something that you master, but something that is constantly evolving. Building relationships with educators of all levels and giving opportunities to reflect and collaborate, coaches can make huge differences. As Jessica Johnson, principal of Dodgeland Elementary School in Juneau, Wisconsin, states, “Sometimes it’s easy to think my best teachers don’t need me in their rooms. But if you want to grow your other teachers to be like your best teachers, you need to get into the minds of your best teachers.”

Isn’t it time to change our culture of coaching? Read this eye opening article here.