Day 11: My Blogging Challenge

Welcome to day 11 of my blogging challenge. In case you missed what it's all about, you can read more about it in Day 1.

Challenge: What is your favorite part of the school day and why?

My favorite part of the school day is probably different from most people. Since I work at a high school, students don't start until 9:05AM and teachers don't usually roll in until around 8AM. So, I like to come in early and use that time to get prepped. When I stroll in around 7AM, I have my smoothie in hand and a nice, quiet office to work in. Since the rest of my day is filled with people and non-stop movement, having that hour in the morning to work in quiet with my smoothie is very enjoyable. It helps me get my feet rolling for the day. I'm refreshed and ready to help and assist everyone and everything.

From quotepictures.net

What about you? What's your favorite part of the school day? 

Day 10: My Blogging Challenge

Welcome to day 10 of my blogging challenge. In case you missed what it's all about, you can read more about it in Day 1.

Today's challenge:

Share 5 random facts about yourself:

1. I can't blow up balloons, blow bubbles, or whistle.
2. I'm sensitive to sounds and can't eat in complete silence
3. I have to have my blinds fully open so I can see the world. I LOVE the outdoors
4. I'm missing part of my pinky finger after getting it caught in a door as a child. It's a nice surprise for people when they see me.
5. I'm a perpetual multi-tasker. I thrive on having too much to do; however, I also dream big of having nothing to do.

Share 4 random items from your bucket list:

1. Ride in a hot air balloon over the Swiss Alps - dream big, right?
2. Become a Google Teacher Academy lead learner!!
3. Join the Peace Corps or a similar organization to live abroad and help others.
4. Open my own art business/outdoors store. They combo may sound odd, but the focus would be on art in nature. I love art and I love being outside. It would be a dream to be able to devote my time to both.

Share 3 things you hope for this year - as a person or as an educator:

1. I really would like to spend more time doing PD for teachers and working with student groups to help them build the skills to deliver PD to teachers as well. 
2. I also hope to be able to bring back time to myself - time to do art, hike, and just enjoy the non-working hours.
3. I hope to try to be a positive, influential person each day.

Share 2 things that have made you laugh or cry as an educator:

1. Anytime I get together with my Ninja partners, it's usually a laugh fest with all of the puns. I love time to collaborate without constraints.
2. Losing one of my advisory students during the summer after my first year of teaching was hard and a large dose of reality. He had just graduated high school, was a volunteer fire fighter, and was one week away from his departure date for the U.S. Navy. 

Share 1 thing you wish more people knew about you:

1. I'm very introverted and, though I love time to collaborate and try to be a leader in all situations, I also like time to myself. I'm just also bad about saying "no." Consequently, people call on me for many tasks and, sometimes, it would be nice to be able to sit back and let others lead. That's a goal of mine for the year!

Let's here what you have to share! 

Day 9: My Blogging Challenge

Welcome to Day 9 of my blogging challenge. In case you missed what this is all about, you can read more about it in Day 1.

Challenge: Write about one of your biggest accomplishments in your teaching career that no one knows about (or may not care).

So this one's a difficult one - choosing one that may only have value to me and not to the rest of the world.

Being accepted into the Google Teacher Academy in Chicago 2013 was a huge source of achievement for me. It validated my efforts and it connected me to a group of educators who challenge me daily. However, I can't say that only has value to me or that no one knows about it. I'm pretty sure I told everyone about it. It was one of my top educational experiences of my life. Period.

However, those little things - the things that I get joy out of that I don't tell others or don't mean anything to others...

I can't provide specific examples, but I can be general - right now, it's in getting some reluctant teachers to TRY. That means a ton to me. Today, I just helped a teacher get her iPad (brand new) onto our school's network so that she could use Doceri with her class. This was a teacher who had asked her students to hand in their devices as they entered their class up until two weeks ago. So, in seeing and helping teachers take that plunge and challenge themselves, I feel accomplished. I'm sure I could list many more, but I love those moments.

A final one is being paired with some of the best co-workers. I worked hard to get to a point where I could collaborate with others. Having that opportunity to collaborate because of co-workers who love challenges, is an accomplishment. It probably is not as important to others and I don't brag about it. But, it's one of the main reasons I show up to work each day. Shout outs to +Krista Tyler and +Brandie Cain-Heard .

What are your best-kept secret accomplishments?

From: youngupstarts.com

Day 8: My Blogging Challenge

It's already day 8 of my blogging challenge. In case you missed what it's all about, you can read more in Day 1.

Today's challenge: What's in your desk drawer and what can you infer from these contents?

Well...here's my desk drawer. Or, should I say - lack of a desk drawer!

My desk on October 1, 2014

Of course, I share my Texas pride front and center. Beyond that, though, my motto is less is more. The longer I continue in education, the more clutter I get rid of. This is also similar to my belief on education - strip out the excess and go to the core of what matters: learning, sharing, communicating, creating, critical thinking. I know state tests and other higher-up-mandated policies can get in the way of this motto, but this is the one I strive for daily. I strive for it in my desk as well as in my dealing with teachers and students.

Additionally, I'm anti-excess paper. I rarely print and as a result, I don't have a need for drawers of paper and pencils. As you can see, I have my sticky note pad that I still use to jot down ideas on and place on computers for people. However, I like to mobile. I like that I can go to a teacher's room and have all of the same stuff I have in my office. And, I do this all through Chrome. I can't speak enough praise for Google and Chrome. It has change the way I educate.

There is also a stack of Dell Venues and computers to the side. Another element to my job does include "fix-its" so those often take up residence on my desk.

When I leave and arrive each day, my desk is empty except for my pictures and drawings. It helps with my no-clutter motto and the idea that each day is a fresh start.

What about your desk? What does it look like?

Day 7: My Blogging Challenge

Welcome to day 7 of my blogging challenge. In case you missed what this is all about, you can read more about it in my Day 1 post.

Today's challenge: Who was or is your most inspirational colleague?

As if I could choose just one...

We are all impacted by a variety of forces each day. It's impossible to ever just choose one. Some impact me in ways I don't realize until years later while others impact me instantaneously. Sometimes, it is the experiences we have that bring us down a path. For instance, if I would not have started out at Hallsville R-IV schools where an eMINTS4ALL initiative was beginning, I may not have gone down the edtech path. It was a result of being a first-year teacher thrust into a program focused around project-based learning and 1:1 initiatives. That event changed my career.

Some of my colleagues have inspired me instantly while others have inspired change days, weeks, months, or even years later.

So, here's a rundown of some of my most inspiration colleagues:

• +Krista Tyler - Let's just start with my blogging partner in crime. She's a constant source of positivism. There's no wondering why she's the leader of our fun committee. Within our field, you can't have enough positive attitudes. She makes me smile and I admire the way she gets students and staff to try new things, learn new things, and take risks. 
• +Brandie Cain-Heard  - Brandie is my competitive partner in crime. Since being teamed with Brandie for an Edmodo project two years ago, I have challenged myself more in education that I ever had before. As a result, I feel we can conquer the world. What's a little healthy competition to inspire you?
• +Tracy Clark - Tracy is my EdTech Women partner in crime. She reminds me to keep balance in my field and to always connect my big ideas to curriculum and best practices. Since meeting her last year, I have completely changed the way I do PD. 
• +Kasey Bell - Kasey is a fellow GEG Texas leader. I love the creativity she puts in her trainings and tutorials. Her trainings and tutorials have inspired me to redo the way I have made resources in the past. Now, mine are visual.
• GTACHI - I can't speak enough of how inspirational my entire #gtachi (Google Teacher Academy - Chicago 13) was both in my career and outside of it. Because of my #gtachi crew, I have taken risks and pushed myself, my staff, and my students to challenge the norm.
• +Kristen Fournier - Kristen was my librarian at Forest North. Partnered with her, I learned ways to connect with staff and ways to really make an impact with students. Her creativity, optimism, and leadership is the best in the district. Hands down. 

There are plenty more who inspire me. Some may come as an inspiration days, weeks, or years later. Of course, the greatest motivator is the students and staff I work with. Their needs define my job as an educator. I adapt to fit their needs. 

Who are your inspirations? 

Sorry, +Krista Tyler - mine is not a cool as yours!

Day 6: My Blogging Challenge

It's day six of my blogging challenge. In case you missed what it's all about, you can read more about it in Day 1.

Today's challenge is to: Explain - what does a "good" mentor do?

I have always thought of my job as a mentor. I mentor teachers, administrators, parents, and students along their learning journey. And, each day, I strive to do the following with each

1. Provide support - Know when to step in and when to put them in the driver's seat. When I walk in to assist teachers, many are ready for me to "just do it"; however, it is crucial that I coach them to do it on their own.
2. Listen  - this is perhaps the most important thing I have to do. Sometimes, teachers just want to vent about their frustrations or obstacles
3. Be a helping hand - Be the role of a facilitator, a coach, a guide. Be a helping hand rather than the driving hand. 
4. Be flexible - Be willing to change to better meet someone's needs. 
5. Be open - This is a difficult one. Sometimes, a teacher or student has an issue and I know a way to fix it or I am overly excited for them to try a new solution. However, I have to be open to their ideas. 

These qualities don't stop at being an ITS, but rather, stretch to mentors everywhere. So many of our jobs in education revolve around these five qualities. 

What makes a mentor to you?

Day 5: My Blogging Challenge

It's day five of my blogging challenge. In case you missed what it's all about, you can read more about it in Day 1.

Today's challenge is to post a picture of my classroom - describe what I see and what I'd like to see.

Since I no longer have a classroom, I'll have to adapt this challenge to describe by office that I share with a co-worker.

The stories this office could tell - this is actually by third office on this campus in three years, which brings me to my first wish: a stable location so teachers and students would be able to easily access us and so we would be viewed as a more stable entity on campus (as opposed to the temporary fixture movement implies).

Our office is actually a storage closet (a sticker was put over the word "storage" to reflect our names) which has brought upon several problems: mainly, no A/C. This was fixed about a week ago after two months of Texas heat. Though I'm relatively comfortable in a warm office, the main concern is for the uses of this office. We use it to reimage computers, train teachers and students, and more. However, an office that has no A/C, is uninviting and makes it more difficult to attract teachers and students to come in - one of our main goals.

So, if I could change any two things - it would be to have a stable location and an area more hospitable for training and welcoming in visitors.

My office as of 9/26/14

Here's what I do like:

• It's larger than before - giving us more room to store computers, reimage them, and...invite in teachers. In fact, it's almost large enough to set up a kitchen and cook...bacon. 
• It has a window - never underestimate the power of  a window. My vitamin D levels are up now and I feel more positive toward my staff and students. No kidding.
• It has many, many, many floor-to-ceiling closets to store CPUs, monitors, cabling, and more out of sight. It makes our office seem cleaner and makes me more focused on work.
• It has space to reimage computers in-office - this means faster turnaround for returning computers and fixing issues.

Our office is plain and simple. My goal is to add in elements to make it more welcoming  and to entice teachers and students to stay and learn. We are also in the throws of setting up a projector in the office to provide more on-demand trainings to teachers. Having more space has allowed us to perform small group trainings in our office without fighting for space. 

How do you make your space welcoming while functional for being a technology space?