#YourEduStory School year reflections

Once again, I transposed weeks so I am backtracking and doing last week's post for this week.

Last week's topic: Most of us are somewhere near the end point of the school year. Reflect on the 2014-15 school year. What went well? What didn't go as well? What changes are you going to make for the 2015-16 school year?

This year, our school board approved the addition of nearly 15 more positions in the instructional technology department where I work. It was a great decision for the district, but it changed my year significantly. Until that point, I split my time between an elementary campus and a high school campus. With the addition of new positions, I was moved to the high school full-time about a week before school started. So, even though I had started many programs at the elementary, I had to abandon them without any notice. It was a bittersweet start for sure.

Because of having to leave some of the programs I enjoyed, I went to the high school with ammo to start secondary versions of the clubs. I was ready to see the same level of enjoyment I had with elementary teachers. I was ready to take on the world. In some ways, I felt invincible. But, I was not.

In many ways, this year was full of changes that forced me to change how I viewed my position and my own goals for my position. I was reminded of baby steps. While you may have intentions of taking on the world, you have to run that idea by the rest of the group. They may not have the same ideas.

Compromise. Smile. Be patient. If I could sum up my year, it would be with those three actions. With every change, you need to compromise. You need to smile. You need to be patient. And, if you can't do all three, smile. Do lots of smiling.

Though I never got our student tech program running in the manner I planned, we did make some small steps. We were able to do professional development, which brought in more teachers into training than we had ever had. The students gave us a new perspective. They moved us away from just being the "IT" office to being a spot where students visited too.

I only had three opportunities for large-scale professional development, which was less than I hoped for. However, all three were more successful than any one previously. They were teacher-driven and allowed for teacher choice. We were able to change technology training away from "how-tos" and more to "whys." Professional development grew.

Several new systems threw in major wrenches into the year. At times, we had to drop everything just to focus on the problems associated with these new systems. And, while I do not wish the havoc those programs caused on any teacher, we did bond as a unit. We learned to improvise. And, we all improvised very well.

This year was not full of earth-shattering events like last year's Google Ninja Academy. However, it was a year of small steps and a year of progression. Last year, we had big events that set into motion many changes. This year, we implemented those changes. This year was more difficult for that reason and the progress was less evident. But, it was there.

Next year, I'll be leaving my current district for a slightly different position with a new set of students and teachers. Once again, I cannot wait to "set the ground on fire." However, I come in with new perspective. As my librarian said: it's not about what you are going to do. You are one person. It's more about what the team will do. So, rather than coming in with a huge set of ideas to change a system I really don't know, I am going to tone down my excitement and "compromise, smile, and be patient." It's a challenge. Many of us in the EdTech field are passionate and we come in with grand ideas, ready to change the world. And, that excitement is needed, but it needs to be put in the context of what the team will do.

What can WE do?

Free images & image marquees for #google #sites!

I love finding ways to make Google Sites more...beautiful (it can be done). So, today, I've added in a list of resources for finding free images as well as how to add marquees to your Website. Check out fennovation.org to find both presentations (Google Sites 1 and Google Sites 2). 

Free images (from John Rampton)

Need Creative Commons or free to use (be sure to cite!) images for your Website? Check out these!

• Pixabay - A large database of public domain images
• New Old Stock - Vintage photos from the public archives
• Unsplash - Graphically pleasing creative commons images
• Foodie's Feed - High-res food images that are free to use (w/o citation) but cannot be sold..
• Death to the Stock Photo - Free to use images for commerical images, but must cite appropriately
• Magdeleine - Great high-res images that are public domain or free to use without attribution

Marquees (from Jedip Verma)

You can also add an image marquee (scrolling bar of images) to any page of your Google Site. Check out how here along with an example.

#geo tools for the elementary class

I love Google's Geo Tools and already have a presentation of some of the resources specific to geo.  But, I decided to make some revisions for the elementary classroom with lesson/class ideas in the speakers' notes at the bottom of each slide. I'll be sharing this at Tech for Tots next week if you plan on attending.

If you know of other Google Geo tools (elementary) that I'm missing, be sure to comment! Check out the presentation here or below.

Enjoy!

Girl Power - empowering girls in education

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to compile all of the resources I had collected on girls in education into one presentation. This year, I have co-sponsored a chapter of Girls Who Code after several of our girls expressed interest in getting more girls into the STEM fields. Since then, I have been on a mission to find more resources to support all ages and all interests. Check out the Girl Power presentation for the full version or, go to Fennovation.org.

Today, I added in:

• Information on Margaret Hamilton, the woman coder who saved the moon landing!
• Amy Poehler's Smart Girls - an organization devoted to imagination and intelligence over fitting in. 
• Check out this EdSurge article on designing STEM for girls. 

#YourEduStory: Why are, or aren't, graduation and promotion ceremonies important?

This week's topic: Why are, or aren't, graduation and promotion ceremonies important?

Or, what is the role/importance of ceremonies in school/society?

I've been involved in competitive sports since I was six years old and it's no surprise to those who know me that I am extremely competitive. As a child, my parents would stay for the awards ceremonies of races that signified an accomplishment. They never put stock in participant awards. When I was cleaning out my room after college, I found a box of certificates for participation and threw them out. They had no meaning to me.

I finished my first 10K when I was eight years old. I trained for three months for it with a local running group, For Kids Only. I did not medal in the race, but my parents surprised me with a trophy. In this case, I did not place, but it was a significant accomplishment for me so my parents rewarded that.

As much as that trophy meant to me, what I remember is not the ceremony, but the sprinklers at the end and the cheering crowd. I remember the journey - not the culmination.

The same can be said about other ceremonies and graduations. Arriving on that graduation stand means a variety of things to people. For me, it was the last final step before I could go to college. It meant very little to me. For my younger brother, though, it was a significant moment. We did not know until he was handed his diploma if he actually graduated. School was a struggle for him. The ceremony was significant to him.

I attended my Bachelor's ceremony only because my close-knit group of UTeach friends were also attending. It was my last chance to see them before we all moved away. By the time I finished my Master's degree, I did not bother to complete the graduation paperwork. And, by the time of my specialist degree, I did not even know when the ceremony was. For me, what was significant had nothing to do with the ceremony. It was about the journey or the next step. Graduation was another "thing" to do. For others, it is a formal way of marking the end of something, a time to say goodbye.

When I think about the students I work with and their graduation ceremonies. They are more of a celebration of something ending. They are a chance to say goodbye. For some, they mark a new beginning and for others, they are a reminder of a less than comforting future. I had a student one time who admitted to failing because he was not found of the world outside of school. He did not want to graduate. To him, a ceremony was a reminder that his safety was over.

While I know I am an exception with my own personal views on ceremonies as I'm not a ceremonial sort of person, they do serve a marker for some, but can be a slap in the face to others. Now, graduation is an important marker of high school. It's almost a rite of passage.

If we think of graduation ceremonies like other sports awards ceremonies, it looks different. The ceremony may mark a significant accomplishment, but it is not the accomplishment. The focus needs to go on the accomplishment. The ceremonies can be what they are - a time to say goodbye, a rite of passage - but the focus needs to shift.

In sports, yes, I wanted to win. However, the ceremony was never as important as the actual win to me. I always wanted the medal/trophy and the win.

What is your focus on? What will your students remember the most in 10 years? 15 years? 50 years? That's where our time and energy need to go.

More Google Geo Tools for your summer! #gafechat

Recently, I found a few Chrome extensions and sites I can't live without anymore. So, I have shared them on the Geosize Your Google World presentation, also found on Fennovation.org.


I just added:

• Love Reading - a Google Map with the greats of literature. 
• Send to Google Maps - Right click on any address to send it to Maps & get info.
• Mini Maps - Open Google Maps from any Web page!
• Tools for Google Maps - This adds in a series of full-service tools for maps.

Enjoy!

More secrets of a Google Ninja #gafechat

After Google's recent announcements, I had to update my secrets of a Google Ninja presentation. There were too many AWESOME projects to keep a secret. You can catch all of the secrets I have been collecting on the newly updated Secrets of a Google Ninja presentation or on Fennovation.org.

Check out these updates!

• Expeditions: Use Google Cardboard to bring virtual reality one step closer to reality
• Disabilities Impact Challenge: Google's challenge to bring equity to disabilities
• Smarty Pins: Another fun geography challenge
• The Evolution of the Web: Check out this interactive timeline to see how the Web has evolved over time

Enjoy!