Apps, Mobile Devices, Special Services, and PLNs

Mobile devices and apps can make a positive impact on specialized instruction. This can be observed in a myriad of positive interventions in multiple classroom settings. Apps for the iPad are numerous. The individualized Professional Learning Network (aka PLN) for all content areas is something that we must promote with our teachers and administrative teams.The link below directs you to Spectronics' blog article "Integrating iPads Into Your classroom: For learning Support & Special Education". The article provides an endless list of apps and programs that will benefit the Special Services Department and students within our schools. Through the PLN teachers can discover information such as this:
http://www.spectronicsinoz.com/online/resource/integrating-ipads-handout/.

By simply tapping into this rich resource our teachers will discover an entirely new wealth of information and support which is literally at their finger tips. As I scrolled through the article was taken aback by the depth and breadth of the information and technology that was available from this single resource. SO, just imagine what is "out there" if this is indicative of one single article, website, Blog and/or Twitter post. It's just another way for educators to take that next step into discovering new ways to enrich education for our students and themselves alike.

BYOD…meeting the students where they are

           

Green chalkboards, Encyclopedias, Poster Projects, worksheets, and flashcards are all ways we adults learned when we were in school. So needless to say, today we should not be using these “Best Practices” of the 20^th century. As educators we need to begin to “unlearn” many things in order to move forward. By doing this we can then transition into the educational side of Social Media.

Our students “power down” the moment they step off the bus and enter the “school house”. This should not be the case. We must challenge and meet our students where they are, not where we feel the most comfortable. So, with BYOD as an active learning, student engagement piece of the puzzle at my middle school we are seeing the tide turn and students are beginning to tap into social media at school in a way they could never do so before. Going green is just one positive by product of this new venue of education.

Watching the students engage via Skype, Blogging, SchoolTube, Glogster, Edmodo, and Poll Everywhere (just to name a few), it is truly exciting to see them actively engaged as digital natives. Since we are preparing our students for jobs that do not even exist, it is best that we continue to join with them in this technological endeavor so that we can, for now, provide for them an educational atmosphere conducive to their way of learning.

Character Connection Class...Building Relationships in a place to call “Home”

In a time when our students are bombarded with so many choices to make, societal pressures, and instantaneous access to social media, it is important for them to have a “home base” at school; a place to connect with a core group of school peers - a place to slow down the hectic pace of “their world”. Our Character Connection Class (CCC) helps to meet these needs. A multi-grade level class, students are in the same CCC “family” for their three years at Francis Howell Middle. Four days a week CCC kicks off our school day (meeting for approximately 25 minutes), then the students move on to their academic school schedule. During CCC the students and their teachers spend time discussing our Four Core Ethical Values (Respect, Responsibility, Honesty, and Compassion), completing Community Service and Service-Learning Projects, setting academic, attendance, and behavior goals, and forging a bond with other students that may create friendships that last well beyond high school. This time allows the students to build multi-grade level friendships, helps develop their leadership skills, foster service to others, discuss social issues, and promotes student voice.

We have learned that by placing a priority with CCC during our school day we are empowering our students to become positive role models, caring citizens, and students dedicated to making a difference in their community. Purposeful efforts like the CCC will empower students, teachers and the greater community!

Joining the Twitter family

Taking the plunge and jumping into Social Media can be frightening, daunting, exciting, and even exhilarating. How can such an endeavor elicit such diverse emotions? Just like any other undertaking, you experience a wide range of emotions as you move through the process of learning a new skill or fine tuning a talent.

Once you begin the journey, you will soon realize how many resources there are around you to provide support, assistance, and guidance as you chart your course during this expedition. Twitter is an excellent springboard as it will provide a wealth of information right at your fingertips. Providing 24 hour peer assistance from across town or around the world, Twitter  and TweetDeck can help you with every facet of your professional career. Just try it out using your laptop, iPad, iPhone or any other device.

Here are several areas to work with as you begin the journey into Social Media:

·         Blog

·         Evernote

·         Google +1

·         HaikuDeck

·         LiveBinders

·         Poll Everywhere

·         Remind101

·         SlideRocket

·         Socrative http://www.socrative.com/

·         Zite

Building Positive Relationships

We often hear that building relationships is the key to success in all facets of life. In education this is vividly clear. When we develop sincere relationships with our student we find that attendance improves, inappropriate behaviors decline, and achievement scores rise.

However, as a society, we tend to focus on what; “ is wrong”, “ is broken”, or “has failed”. This only leads to a decline in your school’s climate. But how do we combat this cultural norm? One way is to adopt the Whale Done! philosophy.

In short, Ken Blanchard reminds us that it is important to focus on the positive facet of relationships, teamwork, and edification. Therefore it is imperative that we must move...

From:

•      The GOTcha Mentality

–     Catching people doing things wrong!

To:

•      Whale Done!

–     Catching people doing things right.

Whale Done! focuses on the power of positive relationships and there are three keys to make this happen:

•         Building Trust,

•         Accentuating the Positive, and

•         Redirecting Energy when Mistakes Are Made

So the next time you want to redirect a student, staff member, or another colleague, try using the Whale Done! approach. It just might surprise you!

The Snow Day: A double-edged sword

As we prepare for the first Snow Day of the school year, I approach tomorrow with anticipation, and at the same time hesitation. Yes, school administrators and teachers alike look forward to and enjoy Snow Days. My family (my wife and three sons) will be home enjoying the day off from school. On the other hand I will drive into school and spend a quiet day working in my office. Now, it’s not all that bad as I will be able to take care of “spring cleaning” with the stacks of papers that need to filed, planning for upcoming Professional Development activities, thinking about Common Core, preparing for our School Improvement Plan writing day, and or finalizing the details for our upcoming Parent Book Discussion focused on Linda Perlstein’s Not Much Just Chillin’: the hidden lives of middle schoolers.

The downside is that we’ve now added one more day to the end of the school year. Although for now that is far off into the distant future and my school (and my personal) family is not thinking of that right now. They are all pondering how they will spend the next 24 hours free from responsibility with the opportunity to explore their recreational options.

Share your thoughts on “Snow Days”...

Why did it take so long?

I am amazed that with the amount of technology we have at our finger tips, that it took me this long to make the leap into the 21st century with several forward thinking tools. I am jumping into the deep end of the pool and I am ready to make a splash. After attending my first METC conference and participating in my first #MOedchat, I am ready to dive in!!!! Thanks for the encouragement and helping me launch my Blog.

I look forward to learning from my colleagues and sharing my own thoughts as we travel down this road we call the "educational highway".   I am really excited about this new venture and how it will help me become a better leader in my school and district.