"I Choose C"

As I sat this morning working on my description for my SDCUE proposal while tweeting, re-tweeting, and checking email I realized AGAIN how powerful my professional learning community really is. 

In a matter of five minutes I received a text from a teacher in a different district sharing an article, which I in-turn forwarded off to two additional people in my school district, and tweeted it out to my PLN all over the world. This sharing of information and connectedness is something I could not live without. Both, in my professional and personal circles, I rely on getting information through my network and the digital tools that give me access to that network.

I thought about this for a moment and how students are often asked to turn that part of their life off when they enter the classroom door. I am perplexed by this. Why, if we rely so heavily on these tools ourselves, would we ask our students to put them away in order to learn? 

My job as an educator is to prepare my students for their future, not to teach them how to fill in bubbles on a scantron. Now, don't get me wrong, I am the epitome of a data dork. I love data, but I know I can use the data from authentic learning experiences to gauge how well my students are meeting their learning objectives. I can see in the movies they create, the books they publish, and through their interactions on their blogs whether they truly understand and better yet are able to apply their learning to the real world. The more we remove the real world experience from the classroom, the further away we get from truly preparing our students for their future. 

As I wrote this blog I received a text from my sister, a teacher at Helix Charter High School, sharing this video. Funny how she is back to work today, while I am home still on summer break, and a piece of the professional development for her district was able to reach me. Man I love my PLN! 

I laughed several times throughout the video, but the reality is the video is actually a dismal depiction of how ill-prepared many students are for their future. Just another reminder why we must shift our approach when it comes to student learning. 

Focusing on student learning and how to prepare our learners for tomorrow's world is integral in avoiding the outcome demonstrated throughout the video. We must put aside our fears and reluctance and be willing to do whatever it takes, even if it is outside of comfort zone. It won't always look pretty, in fact sometimes it will undoubtedly be a hot mess, but that's life- a road with many highs and lows all for which make your stronger, smarter, and more prepared for the the next bump along the way.

Teacher Driven Change...Grant Provides the Unimaginable!

A few months back, my school was visited by Dean Vogel, the California Teachers Association (CTA) president, and various other board members. One member in particular struck a cord with me. Jim Groth, an elementary educator from Chula-Vista and the District P representative, took the time to visit my 1:1 classroom to see what was happening with my students. 

As my students were strewn all over the floor, hallway, throughout my classroom and the empty room next door, writing scripts and creating iMovies, Jim, Theresa Grace (my principal), and I had an incredible conversation about 21st century learning and the opportunities CTA offers teachers. I learned during that conversation about the Institute for Teaching's mission:

       "The CTA Institute for Teaching mission is to enhance, support, and sustain high quality teaching and high quality public schools for all California students. Through mobilizing teachers, special programs, research, conferences, networking, and community-based coalitions, the CTA Institute for Teaching seeks to advance public education and promote the common good of our students and communities."

Jim encouraged me to apply for an IFT grant and said, "The only thing that could limit us would be our own creativity."  I reflected on that statement as I looked at my classroom filled with creators and began to imagine what my vision might be for a grant proposal. I began to dream up this crazy idea of traveling to see innovative educators using technology and bringing back the ideas and practices to our staff. I quickly emailed the teachers at Mt. Woodson Elementary looking for anyone ready and willing to work on the proposal with me. Within a few days the grant leadership team was established and five of us sat down to determine the vision and write the grant proposal. 

The leadership team comprised of Jennifer McSparran, Cory Gilbreth, Joyce Evans, Barbara Spain, and myself worked to complete the proposal including a timeline and budget. After several weeks of hard work we submitted our proposal. Then, it was weeks of waiting for the email indicating whether we had earned the grant or not. We were skeptical because we were asking for $19,400 to go beyond our district and county walls to visit the "best" teaching all over California, and to hold our own book study with books that WE got to choose. 

This type of request is not something educators are used to seeing come to fruition. In fact, the more I talk with educators all over California about the more I see the need for more of these types of experiences. 

At the very end of June the special email arrived and I have to say, it felt like we had just won the lottery. I Tweeted about it, texted, posted it on Facebook, and called my mom and hubby. Talk about energizing a group of teachers! The months to come will be exciting ones, and as a group we can't wait to share our experiences with our staff, district, and the rest of the world. 

Stay tuned for more grant posts to come.


Below is a small excerpt from our proposal's overview:


Mt. Woodson Elementary School is dedicated to creating a strength-based school culture. The goal of this proposal is to help the Mt. Woodson learning community successfully shift to Common Core Standards and commit to 21st century learning through the use of technology.

This grant will allow us to achieve our goal by teachers implementing the following action steps:

As a result, strength-based principles will intensify at the school site. 

• Visit the most successful schools in California to observe the use of technology to improve student achievement.
• Collaborate with one another and develop curricular units and personalized action plans to create a blended approach for learning to meet the needs of all students.
• Create a teacher led book club to reflect on the most recent research and best practices as they relate to the school-wide technology integration.
• Implement teacher designed and led professional development, based on teacher choice, to improve upon previously established practices and continue moving us forward in our goal of 21st century learning.

Here Goes Nothing!...Or Everything!

As you can see from my blog's archive, up to this point my blogging for professional purposes has been pretty limited, let's be real...almost non-existent. From time to time, I would log in and share my experiences with....(drumroll)...No one! Well, I have decided to take the plunge and try my luck at blogging. Now don't get my wrong, the previous blog post discusses utilizing KidBlog with my students, and that was a huge success. I just have never ventured into the "real" world with my thoughts and experiences. I guess this comes from the fact that I couldn't understand why anyone out in the edtech world would want to read or hear about the things I was doing with students and technology. There are so many "GREATS" out there, why would anyone want hear me?

Well, it is time to practice what I have been preaching to my students and their parents all year long. It is time to step out of my comfort zone and share my knowledge and experiences with those who want to read about them. There are so many reasons as to why my previous thinking was wrong and I am so excited to share my adventures as an educator who is dedicated to lighting the fire for learning in my students through the use of technology.

I hope you enjoy the journey that this passionate educator can bring to the table, and enjoy learning beside me as I work through my own successes and challenges in the years to come.

Blogging with KidBlog

My students are having an amazing experience with blogging in the classroom. Currently they are working on three separate blogs: one about their reading and writing, one about Ancient China and India, and the last one we are just developing is on a topic of their choice. The excitement level has hit on all knew high when it comes to research and writing! I really recommend KidBlog for all elementary teachers to use with their students. It keeps the parents happy with the safety features while introducing the students to publishing their ideas on the web for a wider audience than just me.