As I look back on my year I can't believe how much has changed for me. Here is my attempt to recap the journey I have taken professionally in the 2011-2012 school year.
• joined Twitter in July 2011 and now follow over 750 people, have over 775 following me, and have tweeted over 5,500 times not including my direct messaging (tons!)
• started this professional blog as a way to document and share some of my learning
• took part in many twitter educational chats including but not limited to #1stchat, #kinderchat, #edchat, #elemchat #gtchat, #storyappchat, #D5chat
• set up a class blog which ended up with 199 posts, 253 comments, and over 22,000 hits
• set up individual blogs for my grade one students who have now written over 750 posts and received over 1,600 comments
• completely changed my writing program to allow my students more choice with their writing and in the process created genuinely motivated writers
• completely changed my reading program to allow my students more choice with their reading and in the process created genuinely motivated readers
• changed my word work program to all my students more choice with their word work and in the process created self motivated learners
• dropped my traditional "calendar" routines and replaced it with math chat
• used the Mind Up, Fun Friends, and Fin's Friends social emotional programs to better meet my students social emotional needs
• learned and used many web 2.0 tools
• utilized technology to better meet the individual needs of my students, and to connect my class with the world
• set up a class twitter, youtube, and closed class facebook account
• was selected to a part of a special district literacy learning lab utilizing technology with early primary students
• helped write a successful Innovative Learning Design grant application
• created many videos and slide shows
• had my class Skype and Face Time with students in Illinois, Ontario. and Saskatchewan
• Skyped, Google Hung Out, and Face Time'd with teachers in Hong Kong, Illinois, Ontario (several), Saskatchewan, and Florida
• had my class read and comment on class blogs from around the world
• read and commented on many professional blogs from around the world
• participated in three global projects - Quad Blogging, Flat Classroom : Building Bridges K-2 Pilot Project April-May, and Bean Wiki with my class
• attended EdCampDelta, EdCampSurrey, and EdCampKinder in Las Vegas
• visited three schools and had several teachers both from my district and another district visit my classroom to learn and share
• met and connected with several Surrey School District teachers, administrators, and school district leaders ( I am far more known around the district this year than I have in any other time in my career)
• presented professional development workshops for my staff and my school district
• asked to present professional development workshops at three more schools at the beginning of the new school year, as well as for the Surrey Primary Teachers association
• wrote posts on Twitter, Tablet Computer Apps, and Digital Literacy for the International Reading Association
• sparked the use of KidBlog as a blogging platform for students in my school district, and beyond
• participated in webinars
• attended two workshops at Apple Canada Institute
• attended Surrey's Digital Dinner series
• attended two BC Primary teacher's conventions
• attended workshops led by Alec Couros, George Couros, Adrienne Gear (Reading Power), Gail Boushey and Joan Moser (Cafe), and Lilian Katz (Reggio)
• have read (or in the middle of reading) Mind Set by Carol Dweck, Drive by Daniel Pink, No More "I'm Done!" by Jennifer Jacobson, Personal Learning Networks by Richardson and Mancabelli, Teaching with Intention by Debbie Miller, Catching Reader's Before They Fall by Johnson and Keir,In Pictures and In Words by Ray, Writing Power by Adrienne Gear, Reading Power by Adrienne Gear, Reading Power Non Fiction by Adrienne Gear, Choice Words by Peter Johnston, The Daily 5 and The Cafe by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser, Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds by Lindsay and Davis, Math Exchanges by Kassia Omohundro Wedekind, Teaching with Tools Kids Really Use by Susan Brooks-Young, Making Thinking Visible by Ritchhart and Church and Morrison, Number Sense Routines by Jessica Shumway, One to One The Art of Conferring with Young Writers by Calkins and Hartman and White, The Passion-Driven Classroom by Maiers and Sandvold, Play by Lisa Murphy and the list continues...
• successfully completed 20 years of teaching and still love it as much, if not more than ever before
A special thank you to my #1stchat, #kinderchat, #sd36learn, #bclearns, #bced, and #elemchat friends. Without you I wonder how much of this would ever have happened. An extra special thank you to Elisa Carlson (Director of Instruction, Surrey School District) for believing in me. Elisa will never really know how powerful that has been for me and I can't thank her enough. And yes, of course, I need to thank Tia Henriksen, mother of one of my grade one students this year, former vice principal of mine, and friend because it was she who coaxed me into giving twitter a try.
What a year it has been. What have you accomplished this year? I'd love to hear.
Next up, goals for the 2012-2013 school year.
Showing posts with label Surrey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Surrey. Show all posts
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Monday, January 2, 2012
Getting Me Thinking
Last night I read an inspiring blog post written by my school district's Director of Instruction, Elisa Carlson. Elisa has been a huge fan of what I've been doing with my grade one class this year and I can't thank her enough for her support. While I am a very self motivated person having her support has meant more to me than she will ever realize.
Elisa's post got me thinking about why I do what I do. I've always been one to do my own thing but the longer I'm in the profession the more confident I am with the reasons for my choices. As I've said several times before I'm on a constant search to improve my teaching. I am loving Twitter so much because it has linked me up with like minded individuals.
To many I'm a total learning geek but I truly love what I do. I love that challenges that each day brings me. I love that my job is not always easy. I love that I am making a difference in not only my life, but in the lives of those I teach. Being so "out there" with this blog and my tweets on twitter has been a bit scary for me, but it has given me a place to use my voice.
Another blog that got me thinking today is one written by Jonah Salsich. He talks about how many educators are afraid to do exactly what we are teaching our students to do - take a risk, try something new, change our thinking. He talked about how professional development as we know it isn't really working. I added to the conversation with the following comment.
I’ve just stumbled onto your blog via twitter and this blog post really reasonates with me. Why do you think that some of us are self motivated enough to truly put ourselves out there and take risks to learn new things while others are so afraid to make a change? I don’t believe that the professional development we have with people talking to us works. We all come in with are own agendas of things we want to learn. For me Twitter has been the best professional development I’ve discovered. I often feel as though I am learning from truly brilliant people. But I am a self motivated learner and I thrive on learning new things so for me it’s been a no brainer. What we really need to do is find a way to make others self motivated too, both our students and our staff. I feel I do a lot to make my students thrive on intrinsic motivation but it’s a lot tougher with my colleagues. You’ve certainly got me thinking and I thank you for that.
As I get ready to start my second term with my class I am thinking not only about things I can do for my students but how I can also help motivate my colleagues too. I appreciate reading posts that make my head spin and I want to thank both Elisa and Jonah for that. There are a lot of exciting things in store for me in 2012.
Elisa's post got me thinking about why I do what I do. I've always been one to do my own thing but the longer I'm in the profession the more confident I am with the reasons for my choices. As I've said several times before I'm on a constant search to improve my teaching. I am loving Twitter so much because it has linked me up with like minded individuals.
To many I'm a total learning geek but I truly love what I do. I love that challenges that each day brings me. I love that my job is not always easy. I love that I am making a difference in not only my life, but in the lives of those I teach. Being so "out there" with this blog and my tweets on twitter has been a bit scary for me, but it has given me a place to use my voice.
Another blog that got me thinking today is one written by Jonah Salsich. He talks about how many educators are afraid to do exactly what we are teaching our students to do - take a risk, try something new, change our thinking. He talked about how professional development as we know it isn't really working. I added to the conversation with the following comment.
I’ve just stumbled onto your blog via twitter and this blog post really reasonates with me. Why do you think that some of us are self motivated enough to truly put ourselves out there and take risks to learn new things while others are so afraid to make a change? I don’t believe that the professional development we have with people talking to us works. We all come in with are own agendas of things we want to learn. For me Twitter has been the best professional development I’ve discovered. I often feel as though I am learning from truly brilliant people. But I am a self motivated learner and I thrive on learning new things so for me it’s been a no brainer. What we really need to do is find a way to make others self motivated too, both our students and our staff. I feel I do a lot to make my students thrive on intrinsic motivation but it’s a lot tougher with my colleagues. You’ve certainly got me thinking and I thank you for that.
As I get ready to start my second term with my class I am thinking not only about things I can do for my students but how I can also help motivate my colleagues too. I appreciate reading posts that make my head spin and I want to thank both Elisa and Jonah for that. There are a lot of exciting things in store for me in 2012.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Engaging the Digital Learner - a Look Back
On Thursday Sept 29th, I had the privilege of attending a workshop put on by my school district entitled "Engaging the Digital Learner". The key speaker was Chris Kennedy of the West Vancouver School District. Chris inspired all of us with his stories of what is happening in his school district. He talked about how every staff member is receiving digital training, how all his principals are blogging, and how every student has a platform to write and share with others. It was truly inspiring.
During the session we had to turn and talk with our table about how we are doing with digital literacy. I was happy to report that I was feeling pretty comfortable with it. I shared how I've started blogging with my grade one classroom, and how my grade one students have their own individual blogs as well. I think I surprised my table - mainly upper intermediate teachers with their administration - with what I was doing with my grade one students. I was trying to show them that the age of the child is irrelevant, we all can be digital learners. Of course as comfortable as I am with what I'm doing now, there is still so much more I could be doing.
To attend this workshop I needed to sign up with a buddy. I'm really glad I went with my good friend and work colleague. However, I really wish one of my administrators was able to join me too. I am super charged to use technology as a tool for learning with my grade one students and I'm doing everything I can to charge the rest of my staff. But it's not easy. Having an administrator as equally charged as I am would go a long way.
There are still four more sessions and I can't wait to attend them. In the mean time I will continue to share what I'm doing in my classroom with anyone that will listen. I will continue to support those on my staff. I will (and have) arranged to get more technology into my school - even if it's just on a short term loan - to hopefully (fingers crossed) inspire more people to help me convert more staff members to the benefit of technology in our classrooms. My ultimate goal is convert everyone on staff to the benefits of using technology for learning, because really that's where the world is heading.
Until the next session, I'll keep learning and sharing.
During the session we had to turn and talk with our table about how we are doing with digital literacy. I was happy to report that I was feeling pretty comfortable with it. I shared how I've started blogging with my grade one classroom, and how my grade one students have their own individual blogs as well. I think I surprised my table - mainly upper intermediate teachers with their administration - with what I was doing with my grade one students. I was trying to show them that the age of the child is irrelevant, we all can be digital learners. Of course as comfortable as I am with what I'm doing now, there is still so much more I could be doing.
To attend this workshop I needed to sign up with a buddy. I'm really glad I went with my good friend and work colleague. However, I really wish one of my administrators was able to join me too. I am super charged to use technology as a tool for learning with my grade one students and I'm doing everything I can to charge the rest of my staff. But it's not easy. Having an administrator as equally charged as I am would go a long way.
There are still four more sessions and I can't wait to attend them. In the mean time I will continue to share what I'm doing in my classroom with anyone that will listen. I will continue to support those on my staff. I will (and have) arranged to get more technology into my school - even if it's just on a short term loan - to hopefully (fingers crossed) inspire more people to help me convert more staff members to the benefit of technology in our classrooms. My ultimate goal is convert everyone on staff to the benefits of using technology for learning, because really that's where the world is heading.
Until the next session, I'll keep learning and sharing.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
September: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Now that September is finally over (yes, I said finally as I find it one of the hardest teaching months of the year) here's a look back at September's good, bad, and ugly.
THE GOOD:
My Class
Late August every year I start to wonder and worry about who will be in my class. It's not that I don't think I can handle any student that walks into my room, it's just that I'm curious about the challenges I'm going to take on for the year. Last year the kindergarten teachers at my school grumbled a little more than usual as they dealt with several challenging issues. I don't know if it's just that the children are a year older, or those that caused the grumbling moved away, but I'm really loving my class.
My class does have its issues but I feel I can handle what I'm dealing with. One issue that is more prevalent this year than in the past is anxiety. I have a few (far more than usual) students that suffer from anxiety but I am doing my very best to help ease their fears. We are using a chime several times a day to calm us and help us focus on our breathing. I have also begun using the Fun Friends social emotional program which I was trained in last year. In addition I'll be using the Mind Up and Vancouver Canucks Fin's Friends programs. All three work well together and will hopefully (fingers crossed) give all my students more tools to deal with life.
I am going to have a great year with my class this year.
My Class Blog
I'm really happy to report that I have my first ever class blog up and running. I've sent my parents some information about the blog, and most have signed permission slips to allow me to post their children's work on the blog. We are starting to get comments on our blog and my class is super excited to respond to the comments. We are even starting to check out other class blogs and I think my class thinks it's pretty cool that other classes are doing what we are doing.
Just this past week I introduced my class to their individual blogs. While we have spent some time writing on our individual blogs, nothing has been submitted to be published yet, although I know that it's coming. I've sent home the children's individual passwords too and I'm encouraging them to blog from home.
I'm really happy to be blogging with my class.
My Personal Learning Network (PLN)
I am so thankful for the people I've "met" on Twitter. If there is something I'm curious to know about I just ask and the answers come to me. I'm still working hard at reading professional blogs written by others, and commenting too. One of my favourite blogs is written by a fellow primary teacher Aviva Dunsiger. She teaches a few provinces over from me but what she says resonates with me. What I like about what she's doing, is that she's pushing the boundaries of what primary students should be able to do with technology. I love it. I totally thought of her when I was at a Digital Literacy dinner session with other educators. The table I was sitting at was surprised that I was attempting blogging with my grade one class, and that my students had their own individual blogs. I explained what I was doing, and why always keeping what Aviva does in my mind.
I'm also thankful for #1stchat - the grade one chat on Twitter. Every Sunday afternoon (5 pm Vancouver time) I read and learn from fellow grade one educators. I really appreciate what the "regulars" have to say. We all come from different school systems so we are able to share what works well, and not so well for us. The chat also allows me to really think about what I do and why. It always surprises me when something I say is retweeted by others. I really look forward to this chat each week.
I am a different, hopefully better, teacher because of my PLN.
THE BAD:
Job Action
All the public school teachers in my province are in phase one of job action. I don't like job action. I don't like that our contract talks have gotten us here either. Without having a political debate on my blog I hope that all parties involved could figure out what is truly right for the people involved in educating students, and what is truly right for students. It makes me so angry that politics gets in the way of true progress.
THE UGLY:
Postcard Project
Okay, I love the postcard project. We've only been back at work for one month and already we have received three post cards. So why have I posted this in the ugly? Well.... (as she drops her head down in shame) we haven't written anyone yet! I'm hoping I can blame it on the fact that we have only been together for one month, and really we've only been a class for two weeks. I'm still trying to figure out where my students are at, and I'm still training my students. I'm also on the hunt for postcards from Surrey because if I can't find any everyone will be getting postcards from Vancouver, the closest major city. Surrey is a city in Greater Vancouver, but it isn't Vancouver. I'm quite certain my students will want their postcards to come from Surrey, not Vancouver.
So, those are the good, the bad, and the ugly from the my month of September. What are yours?
THE GOOD:
My Class
Late August every year I start to wonder and worry about who will be in my class. It's not that I don't think I can handle any student that walks into my room, it's just that I'm curious about the challenges I'm going to take on for the year. Last year the kindergarten teachers at my school grumbled a little more than usual as they dealt with several challenging issues. I don't know if it's just that the children are a year older, or those that caused the grumbling moved away, but I'm really loving my class.
My class does have its issues but I feel I can handle what I'm dealing with. One issue that is more prevalent this year than in the past is anxiety. I have a few (far more than usual) students that suffer from anxiety but I am doing my very best to help ease their fears. We are using a chime several times a day to calm us and help us focus on our breathing. I have also begun using the Fun Friends social emotional program which I was trained in last year. In addition I'll be using the Mind Up and Vancouver Canucks Fin's Friends programs. All three work well together and will hopefully (fingers crossed) give all my students more tools to deal with life.
I am going to have a great year with my class this year.
My Class Blog
I'm really happy to report that I have my first ever class blog up and running. I've sent my parents some information about the blog, and most have signed permission slips to allow me to post their children's work on the blog. We are starting to get comments on our blog and my class is super excited to respond to the comments. We are even starting to check out other class blogs and I think my class thinks it's pretty cool that other classes are doing what we are doing.
Just this past week I introduced my class to their individual blogs. While we have spent some time writing on our individual blogs, nothing has been submitted to be published yet, although I know that it's coming. I've sent home the children's individual passwords too and I'm encouraging them to blog from home.
I'm really happy to be blogging with my class.
My Personal Learning Network (PLN)
I am so thankful for the people I've "met" on Twitter. If there is something I'm curious to know about I just ask and the answers come to me. I'm still working hard at reading professional blogs written by others, and commenting too. One of my favourite blogs is written by a fellow primary teacher Aviva Dunsiger. She teaches a few provinces over from me but what she says resonates with me. What I like about what she's doing, is that she's pushing the boundaries of what primary students should be able to do with technology. I love it. I totally thought of her when I was at a Digital Literacy dinner session with other educators. The table I was sitting at was surprised that I was attempting blogging with my grade one class, and that my students had their own individual blogs. I explained what I was doing, and why always keeping what Aviva does in my mind.
I'm also thankful for #1stchat - the grade one chat on Twitter. Every Sunday afternoon (5 pm Vancouver time) I read and learn from fellow grade one educators. I really appreciate what the "regulars" have to say. We all come from different school systems so we are able to share what works well, and not so well for us. The chat also allows me to really think about what I do and why. It always surprises me when something I say is retweeted by others. I really look forward to this chat each week.
I am a different, hopefully better, teacher because of my PLN.
THE BAD:
Job Action
All the public school teachers in my province are in phase one of job action. I don't like job action. I don't like that our contract talks have gotten us here either. Without having a political debate on my blog I hope that all parties involved could figure out what is truly right for the people involved in educating students, and what is truly right for students. It makes me so angry that politics gets in the way of true progress.
THE UGLY:
Postcard Project
Okay, I love the postcard project. We've only been back at work for one month and already we have received three post cards. So why have I posted this in the ugly? Well.... (as she drops her head down in shame) we haven't written anyone yet! I'm hoping I can blame it on the fact that we have only been together for one month, and really we've only been a class for two weeks. I'm still trying to figure out where my students are at, and I'm still training my students. I'm also on the hunt for postcards from Surrey because if I can't find any everyone will be getting postcards from Vancouver, the closest major city. Surrey is a city in Greater Vancouver, but it isn't Vancouver. I'm quite certain my students will want their postcards to come from Surrey, not Vancouver.
So, those are the good, the bad, and the ugly from the my month of September. What are yours?
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