But...I want you to know I'm a teacher!

I often wonder if those of you who have "left the classroom" feel as I do, that you are somehow....less a part of the real work of education.

My current job title is "Online Community Manager" with an amazing education non-profit, New Tech Network .  I'm so proud to work with our network, to interact with our schools and absolutely love the work that we all do together, but, when people ask me what I do, I tell them AND, I always always add, but I'm a teacher.

There is a line in "A Few Good Men" where Tom Cruise asks Demi Moore "Why are you always giving me your resume?"

She replies "Because I want you to think I'm a good lawyer"

I do that, I give people my resume...all the time...because I want you to know I'm a teacher.

I love what I do, to put it very simply,  I get to connect people to each other and to resources that they need. I get to tell your education stories, to share those stories and do everything I can to amplify all the great things that are happening in all of your classrooms.  It is a part of my job to learn every day and share that learning, casting as wide a net as possible.

It is a sweet, sweet job sharing the voice of people doing world-changing work. I really do love it!
 ,
I do get to connect with students all over the place via Twitter, these students share such a special place in my heart, they are my virtual classroom. I love to hear from them, listen to their opinions, read their blogs and watch them grow as learners and as people.

Sometimes, I even get to be in classrooms with students or with teachers and teach! I LIVE for those days, I love being a part of an entry event, Skyping in for a workshop, re-tweeting a student who is celebrating an #eduwin or an a-ha moment.

But...I want you to know I'm a teacher! 

There is more than ISTEP in Indiana!

Ever get frustrated by the education headlines about your state? 
I KNOW! Me too!!!!
I can make my laundry list of complaints too, letter grades for schools, funding, ISTEP fails....

BUT I like to count my blessings and I would encourage you to do the same! 
What do you like that is happening in education in your state?

If all you know about Indiana education is what you see in the headlines, I'd like to give you a little different lens.

Do you know about Dennis Stockdale? 
Showing us that rural schools can DO!

Profiled as a "Leader to Learn From" by Edweek.

The most New Tech Network schools in the nation?
23 NTN schools that have "Teaching that Engages, Culture that Empowers & Technology that Enables" with more coming in 2013. 
Proof that PUBLIC school innovation can, and does, work. 
Our  2013 Report of Student Outcomes http://ntnwk.org/fp  

Indiana's Summer of E-Learning?
Our DOE awarded grants all over the state so that educators could share with other educators around student centered learning. There are options, dates and locations to suit everyone! Check out the conference locations.
Each one of them have amazing keynotes that you are likely already following on Twitter because they are definitely PLN leaders! Many are still taking RFP's and most have registration open.

Our awesome #INeLearn Chat?
Each Thursday on Twitter at 8pm EST, we chat about what ever crowd-sourced topic is selected. This is a positive upbeat chat full of sharing, not unlike the many other fantastic education driven chats! It grows each week. I love connecting with educators from elementary, MS & HS environments for this open conversation.

HECC Conference 
Is one of my favorite all time conferences. Filled with a great mix of Tech leaders, administrators and educators. I learn so many new things and about so many new tools each time I attend.

Ivy Tech Community College
Growing by leaps and bounds and not afraid to build actual campus' in small towns, offering major opportunities to adults & HS students alike. They work so hard to give people a leg up, especially 1st generation students. So happy we have a campus in our little town of 8,000 where HS kids can walk over and take college level courses during their school day.


PBL Networks courtesy of CELL
CELL makes their home at the University of Indianapolis and has been a major contributor to innovation in education in Indiana since 2001.  

Our DOE encourages innovation with a variety of grants offered each year, not only do they give MANY grants, but they create groups and connections from these grant winners to build support and communication between these schools. 

Of course there is so much more happening here! 

We want more, we want more, like,  you really like it so you want more...

So Hoosiers (or really everyone)...jump in here and share MORE! 

What is happening in your district, your building, or your classroom! 

Want to be sure you are following IN peeps? Check out THIS list 

 

Would You Starve Your Kids Now, If You Knew if A Famine Was Coming?

So if you knew food would be scarce in a couple of years, would you begin to make your kids know what it was like to be hungry now?  

Of course not.  It is far more likely that you would feed them well, lots of leafy green vegetables, fruits, proteins, make them as strong as they could possibly be so they could weather the tough times!  

We would never have them "practice" being hungry.

That is what I think of every time I am asked the question
"How will PBL students be  prepared to sit in a lecture hall of 300 kids in college?"  

I have kids in their 20's,  all newly in or out of college in the last few years, all three have had to collaborate, communicate, work in groups, present projects, find outside resources and experts, manage an internship,  take responsibility for their own learning and YES, they have had to sit in a lecture hall of 300 or so kids and believe it or not, they didn't need any experience to be able to do that.  The part they needed experience with was how to break down that lecture, apply it to their background knowledge, take and organize notes, find a group to study with, manage their time between work, school and fun, live on a budget, collaborate with others, give presentations, interview, plan for the future and more.

In a recent school tour, middle school students were asked this question about PBL and college, it stumped them a little, college is so far away when you are barely a teenager, their teacher tweeted out the question asking for a little help from project-based learning practitioners on Twitter who use the #PBLChat hashtag.  This crowd-sourced google doc was the result of @RyanSteuer 's tweet.  Feel free to add to that list!

In the meantime....Feed your children well!

(Now that Crosby Stills & Nash song is stuck in my head...Teach, your children well.....)

Building Bridges of Their Own #StudentsareAwesome

Just about a year ago I gave an Ignite Talk at our New Tech Network summer conference called "Bridges & Fences".  

As I rehearsed for this I could never say the ending without choking up, you can hear in my voice at the end that I barely made it through.  I think it makes me emotional because those of us in education know so many students who are surrounded by fences they didn't build but must somehow get over to reach their dreams and goals.  As educators we try to empower them to build a bridge to get over that fence.

A big part of project-based learning and the culture of schools in our network is  is to be connected to each other, to their community and to the world.  A few weeks ago we issued a challenge to students around the country, "How have you been building bridges?".  We received over 60 amazing 2 minute videos from students that , in spite of the fences in their own lives, are busy building bridges to help those around them over fences.

Take a look at this playlist and be inspired by these amazing students who are building bridges of their own!

I Don't Care What Device You Choose, Really, I Don't.

Laptop, iPad, Android, Chromebook, BYOT, what is a school to do?
The implications of each choice can be far reaching, touching teachers, students, budgets, tech departments and more!

I get asked "What device do you think is the best?" almost every day and, here is the deal,
I don't care what device you choose, really, I don't.
I care about what your teachers & students are going to DO WITH IT. 

So let's begin with a one questions quiz:

Why are we moving to 1:1?

A.  All the cool schools are doing it
B.  We got a grant for iPads
C.  The state says we have to prepare for online testing
D. Our mission & vision support transforming the way we support teaching & learning
E. Worksheets look awesome on LCD screens.

I bet you know which one was the correct!
 
As always you gotta know your WHY  (Thank you, Simon Sinek) before you even begin to think about a device.

Because this is much more than a technology decision, be sure you have lots of voices at the table, teachers, parents, students the tech team and more.

Since I tweet out or reply to an email pretty much every week at this point in the school year around this question,  I thought I would just link right here to the resources I routinely share out.

Many of these links help you get to your "why" not just your "what", but there is also good "what" advice, too. 

Implementing a 1:1 Program via Nick Sauers ( @NJSauers )
New Tech Network 's Pinterest Board with BYOD/BYOT resources 
1:1 Essentials Program from Common Sense Media
4 Questions to Ask Before Choosing: iPad or Chromebook via Edudemic
How to Choose the Right Tablet for Your School via @CenterDigitalEd
How to Choose the Best Device for Your School via Adam Webster ( @Cagelessthink)
Project Red
5 School-Worthy Alternatives for Education

In addition to the above articles here are three helpful chats and hashtags.

#1:1techat at 9pm EST on Wednesdays
#BYOTChat 9pm EST on Thursdays
#iPadChat 1pm EST on Wednesdays

I look forward to you sharing resources that you have found helpful on this journey!