Teaching with Technology

Using educational technology to enhance the learning environment and increase student engagement!

Thank you, Google Classroom!

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Happy Friday, all! I’m home today with two sick kiddos – pneumonia is no joke! While they’re napping, I’m making some updates to my blog, and I realized that I haven’t shared with you the newest update to Google Classroom!!

When Google unveiled topics in Classroom and more of the “folder” design on the Stream, I was totally pumped! UNTIL I realized that the newest items added in Classroom were sent to the bottom of the Stream AND, in order to move the content to the top of the page, I had to click “Move to Top” until the assignment arrived at the desired destination. THIS DROVE ME CRAZY – CRAZY, I tell you! At least once a week I clicked on the feedback button on Classroom and kindly requested the ability to “close” the topics, similar to how you can open a folder to see the contents and then close the folder, or at least be able to drag contents around on the Stream without having to click “Move to Top” until my eyes crossed.

 

Our prayers were answered, folks! Check out this GIF for a visual!

 

To circumvent the issue that was caused by new assignments automatically being posted to the bottom of the Classwork page, my students started using the Stream page as like a notification page and located assignments from that page. Did your students do something like this?

I am SUPER excited about this new feature in Classroom and can’t wait to see what they add next!

On a side note — did you know I started a podcast?! Be sure to check out Try This Tomorrow on Anchor, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, and SOON Apple Podcasts. You can also find all of the episodes – only one so far! – right here on Teaching with Technology!

Thanks for reading 🙂

Teaching with Technology January Mystery Post

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Happy Sunday! I’m writing to you today on my second cup of coffee, hoping and praying we can milk another snow day out of the 5-ish inches of snow we got on Friday. I love my job, friends. I love my students, I love teaching, I love forming relationships, but, by golly, sometimes I just need an extra day in comfy leggings and a hoodie, and that doesn’t make me any less of a great teacher! On to the topic of this month’s Teaching with Technology mystery post … hmmm … what will it be???

DRUMROLL, PLEASE …

The topic of the January mystery post is … SELF-CARE!

Yup, that’s right! Nothing edtech related today, folks. Teacher self-care is hugely important and unfortunately, VASTLY underappreciated. As a mom and a teacher, I sometimes feel like I have to “do all the things” for everyone and do them perfectly. My husband’s job keeps him late into the evening hours which leaves me to run our daughters all over God’s creation nearly every day, bouncing back and forth between ballet, tap, jazz, piano lessons, sports practices, and make sure everyone has eaten a nutritious dinner, finished homework, had fun, and most importantly, that my daughters had a “snugglefest” with Mommy before bedtime. I feel like I’m running around like a crazy person most evenings and feel like I’m juggling dozens of balls and if I drop one, the whole order of life will crumble around me.

Sound familiar?

I know I’m not alone, friends. Notice that I didn’t once mention all that goes into teaching in the responsibilities I shared above? While teaching is an amazing, challenging, rewarding profession – it is HARD! It’s hard striving to be innovative and creative in designing learning experiences that encourage our students to think critically and stimulate their creativity. Teaching is hard, and we need to remember to take care of ourselves so we can be the best we can possibly be for all of the people who are counting on us. Hence the topic of this mystery post!

With the new year always comes new resolutions or, if you’re like me and many people on Twitter, words to help us stay focused and motivated throughout the year. A resolution for every teacher should be self-care, which looks different for everyone.

For me, self-care is carving time out of my busy day for exercise because, goodness gracious, I’m a happier person once I’ve pushed myself to the point of exhaustion, whether that be from a run or a great workout program. It helps me focus my thoughts, clears my mind, and gives me a few minutes (30-50 minutes) of “me” time. Time when I can put on an episode of Outlander or Once Upon a Time, hop on my treadmill, and challenge myself to beat my previous 3-mile time. Time when I can lift weights and sweat myself into a puddle while working to transform myself into a healthier Bethany.

Self-care is also crashing on my couch on a Sunday afternoon to take a glorious nap in an effort to bank sleep that I’m sure to lose over the course of the week ahead.

Self-care is playing a game of Pictopia or Rummy with my daughters and husband.

Self-care is reading a book in my recliner, with a HUGE cup of coffee.

Self-care is spending a few minutes in my Bible, writing my favorite verses in my planner.

What does self-care look like to you? Will you join me in an effort to make time for self-care this year? I’ll be launching a Facebook group tomorrow for teachers looking for motivation, camaraderie, and accountability in finding time for self-care this year. Complete this form to be added to the group!

Thanks for reading 🙂

 

Happy 2019! #OneWord Challenge

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Happy New Year! Did you make until midnight last night? I didn’t even TRY! After knocking out a 3 mile run and a workout from A Little More Obsessed, I was ready for bed at about 10. Since having kids, my husband and I don’t make it until midnight, but neither do our kids! We played some new games, watched some of their favorite shows, and then they were ready for bed! Last year, I decided to forego the typical “resolution” because I never seem to be able to keep a resolution and feel crummy about myself when I eventually drop the ball … get it? Drop the ball! Like the ball in Times Square?! Don’t worry, I’m grabbing another cup of coffee 😀 Instead of a resolution, I decided to choose a word that would motivate and help me focus on making the most of the year ahead. In 2018, the word I chose was BETTER. What will be #OneWord be for 2019?

DRUMROLL, PLEASE …….

My #OneWord for 2019 is …. GRIT.

If you look up grit, the second definition includes “courage and resolve; strength of character,” and synonyms like determination, perseverance, tenacity, spirit, and oddly enough, RESOLUTION!

Why did I choose grit as my focus for 2019? I feel like it encompasses what I want for myself in 2019. I want to be tenacious in all aspects of my life — my faith, motherhood, wifehood (is that a word?), my career, speaking engagements, workshops, seminars, writing, sharing my book with the world, etc. Like all of you, my life is a constant balancing act – and I plan to tackle it with determination, perseverance, tenacity, spirit –> GRIT.

What’s your #OneWord for 2019?

Thanks for reading, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2018 Year-in-Review Reflections

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Welcome to the last Saturday of 2018! I hope you’re enjoying your holiday breaks like my family is. We’re sleeping late, taking naps, staying in jammies, playing with Christmas presents, eating goodies (waaaaay too many!), and enjoying our time off together. I’ve officially hit the point in my Christmas break when I really don’t know what day it is, but I do know I need to lay off the sweets and get back into my healthy eating routine! WOWZERS! While my kids are playing with a new toy, it’s a perfect time for me to sit down in my recliner, down my umpteenth cup of coffee, and reflect with you on 2018!

 

#ONEWORD – 2018
In January of this year, I decided to choose a word to focus on and help me stay motivated throughout 2018 – that word was BETTER. I wanted to focus on being a BETTER mommy to my girls and wife to my husband. I wanted to be BETTER in my workout/healthy eating lifestyle which would help me be BETTER in other areas of my life. I wanted to be BETTER in my daily devotional life and be a BETTER teacher. Notice, I didn’t focus on the negative in my #oneword goal for 2018 … while these areas of my life are great, they can always be BETTER!

I’m happy to report that my #ONEWORD for 2018 was definitely a good choice for me. I became a BETTER version of me by losing twenty pounds and twenty inches, which has helped me not only feel awesome but also has given me more energy and confidence, contributing to an overall happier Bethany. When I’m in a workout/nutrition program, I feel like I have a better handle on other areas of my life … which is super helpful as I attempt to balance my hectic life on a daily basis 🙂 I’ve become better at carving out time during my day for me and God – whether that’s in the morning when I’m getting dressed, during my planning period or lunch, or while I’m waiting for my daughters at one of their MANY after school activities. One of the ways I’ve focused on being a BETTER teacher is by continuing to seek out new strategies to positively impact student learning. Check back for a series on using technology with Hattie’s research on learning!

ILLUMINATE! 
I still can’t believe that my book, Illuminate, was published in 2018. I feel so fortunate to have been able to work with the awesome people at EdTechTeam to share the message of “it’s not about the tech; it’s how you use it!” with the world through my book. Technology use in the classroom can be so amazing when used intentionally to enhance student learning. I feel like teachers are so swamped with requirements and standards and objectives and extra duties and EVERYTHING else that comes with being a teacher, that technology integration can be just one more “thing” that they have to “do” in their classroom. That doesn’t have to be true! Intentional and meaningful technology integration can have a powerful impact on student learning!

Most Popular Posts of 2018
As promised, here are the 5 most popular posts from 2018! I absolutely love blogging and am so blessed to be able to use my blog to reflect upon teaching practices and share ideas, strategies, and tools with the world. Thank you so very much for reading Teaching with Technology! I’ll be celebrating my FIVE YEAR blogging anniversary in mid-January – I CANNOT BELIEVE IT!

HyperDocs for Social Studies

Creating a Class Blog with Google Classroom

Resources for Creating a Digital BreakoutEDU

Essential Smartphone Apps for Teachers

Hashtags through History – They’re #Awesome

 

As always, thanks for reading 🙂

Try this Tomorrow: Talks with Teachers Podcast

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Merry Christmas Eve, friends! My family and I just got home from Christmas Eve Church after our second Christmas celebration in as many days. We spend Christmas Adam, or Christmas Eve Eve (Friends is probably my favorite TV show of all time!) with my husband’s side of the family, Christmas Eve with my Mom’s brothers and my cousins at one of their homes in St. Louis, and then spend Christmas Day at my parents’ house with my Dad’s sister and my cousins. The day after Christmas has also become a quasi-holiday in our family because we go “Day After Christmas Shopping” with our stocking money from my parents. Yes, my sister and I, along with our husbands still get money in our stockings from my parents – we’re very spoiled and very thankful. This brief post is the beginning of my Christmas present to you – a new podcast for teachers!

That’s right! My new podcast, Try this Tomorrow: Talks with Teachers, will debut in January of 2019 which, in case you’re like me and have totally lost track of December, is in just a few days! The goal of my new podcast, just as with my book, Illuminate, is to provide teachers with actionable and practical tips that they can use in their classroom to enhance student learning. Yes, there will be technology tips (the title of my podcast comes from the end of each chapter from my book!) but the Try this Tomorrow won’t be limited only to technology integration. Each episode will also feature fun stories from the trenches, tips for juggling the busy lives that teachers lead, favorite resources for teachers, and of course, teaching tips that teachers can implement in their classrooms immediately.

I hope you’ll join me and my guests on this super-fun podcast! All of the episodes will be available here along with an outline that highlights the main points from the discussion. You’ll also be able to listen to Try this Tomorrow: Talks with Teachers wherever you get your podcasts.

Check back soon for more information!! I’m SUPER excited to dive into the world of podcasting in 2019! What new adventures will you begin?

Thanks for reading 🙂