Teaching with Technology

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

F.I.E.R.C.E. Teacher Series – Excited and Energetic Teaching

by Leave a Comment

Hello, friends! I’m writing to you this morning, refreshed and exhausted at the same time after coming back from our week-long beach vacation in Destin. The sand and water were fantastic! I probably could have used a bit more sunscreen … but, oh well. I’m pumped to continue my F.I.E.R.C.E. Teacher Series with the first of the “Es” … let’s talk about being an excited and energetic teacher!

EXCITED
I’m generally an excited person, both inside and outside the classroom. If you’ve ever been to one of my presentations or workshops, you know that I always introduce myself and then give attendees a fair warning that, whenever I talk about something that I really like, I get super excited and start talking really fast. It happens! That’s just how I roll, friends! I’m pretty much the same in my classroom, and it helps that I’m a huge geek about my content area. I realized, however, toward the beginning of my teaching career that everyone doesn’t get quite as hyped about the functions of the branches of government, Constitutional Amendments, and landmark Supreme Court cases as me – weird, right?! 😉 So, in order to engage my students in our content, I need to be excited about the content. Can you imagine walking into a class that you’re not particularly pleased about taking and the teacher is dry, boring, and clearly NOT excited about teaching you? How horrible would that be? So, even on the days that I’m not 100% excited to be out of my jammies and my recliner, I’m making it my mission to be excited about not only what I’m teaching, but the fact that I get to teach – sit back and think about the fact that we GET TO TEACH. We GET to have a direct impact on the future. How cool is that?! In what other professions could we have this kind of influence? Get excited! We get to teach!

ENERGETIC
My students often say that they have no idea how I have so much energy. My daughters are 5 and 7 and still don’t sleep through the night. When they wake up for milk or a trip to the bathroom, they don’t wake up their dad, but instead, insist on having Mommy help. I’ve asked them why they don’t wake up my husband, and they both reply, “Mommy, Daddy is asleep.” Ohhhh, he has them trained! Being an energetic teacher is hard, especially when we’re tired, don’t feel well, or when the kids don’t want to let us go when we take them to school or the babysitter in the morning. However, I’d much rather be excited about what I teach and energetic in my classroom than, for lack of a better word, “blah.” My students can expect me to “drop mad beats” and “spit bars” about our content if they need help remembering the concept of federalism or the difference between dual and cooperative federalism. They can expect me to stand on tables to make review a bit more fun and do toe touches for moral support before they take a test. How can we be energetic about teaching, even when we aren’t? That’s a million dollar question, isn’t it? As for me, I try to take a “when my feet hit the floor in the morning, it’s go-time” attitude. And God and coffee. Lots of both.

Check back soon for the “Rs” of the F.I.E.R.C.E. Teacher Series! I hope you’re having a fantastic summer!

Thanks for reading 🙂

Hey, Siri! Asking questions and getting answers with technology

by Leave a Comment

Hello, all and happy Friday! We’re preparing for our week-long beach vacation today and are getting REALLY excited to dip our toes in the ocean on Sunday! As our vacation has been getting closer, our oldest daughter, Hanna, has been really concerned about and interested in the weather in Destin, Florida – our vacation spot. She’s been asking to check my phone to see the weather in Destin which means I’ve had to add Destin to the “places” on my weather app. I noticed yesterday, though, that instead of checking the weather app to see if it’s raining in Destin (her worst nightmare!) she’s been asking Siri to tell her what the weather is like in Destin. We’ve also been asking Siri to tell us what the heat index is in our hometown to help us determine whether or not playing outside is the best idea – it is HOT in Missouri! Our youngest daughter, Molly, was curious yesterday about how to say “ouch” in Spanish. She didn’t even hesitate to yell out, “Hey, Siri! How do you say ouch in Spanish?” It’s so neat to watch my daughters, ages 5 and 7, effectively utilize technology in a positive way, which led me to think about how my classroom has changed (and needs to continually change) to become an environment in which students utilize the available technology in a positive way.

A few weeks ago, I attended and presented at CORE Academy at my alma mater, Southeast Missouri State University, and was able to meet some pretty amazing educators. One of them, Alice Keeler, delivered a keynote that really resonated with me – she discussed how technology like Siri or Alexa has changed the way our kids find information. Alice mentioned that her kids ask Alexa questions daily and that they know that they can “shout questions to the universe” and get an answer. As I was listening, I began to think about the questions that I ask in my classroom – verbal questions, assessment questions, formative assessment questions, etc. – and began assessing myself…are the questions I ask of my students, “Googleable” questions? Are they questions that my students can “shout to the universe” and get the “correct” response? Or, are they questions that make my students think about the content that they’ve learned and apply that knowledge to form a deeper understanding of the topic?

I, like you, am aiming for the latter type of question. I don’t want to focus on “Googleable” questions and answers because they are just that, “Googleable.” In Illuminate, I discuss how the ability to simply recall information, such as the date that the Bill of Rights was ratified, really doesn’t provide students with a deep understanding of the Bill of Rights. Assessing them on when these extremely important amendments were added to the Bill of Rights is not really that important. What is important is that our students understand the rights that they are guaranteed by these amendments and how they have been interpreted throughout our country’s history.

As I’m revamping my curriculum this summer, I’m working on incorporating “application” questions into assessments – both formative and summative. I want my students to think about our content at a deeper level rather than just memorizing facts and dates that, let’s face it, they can ask the universe and get the correct answer.

Thanks for reading 🙂

#ISTE18 — Reflections and Tips from an ISTE First-Timer

by Leave a Comment

Happy Sunday morning, friends! I’m coming to you today half-way through my second cup of coffee, downing my Vegan Chocolate Shakeology, and still trying to process all of the awesomeness from ISTE18. Though I was only able to attend ISTE on Tuesday, it was such a fabulous experience that I can’t wait to repeat next year, especially since ISTE19 is in Philadelphia — a history nerd’s DREAM! Here are a few reflections and tips from my first ISTE experience – hope you find them helpful!

PLAN, PLAN, PLAN! 
As an ISTE newbie, I really had no idea what to expect walking into the convention center Tuesday morning – including where in the convention center I was supposed to be!  Fortunately, a kind fellow ISTE attendee recognized my confused expression and, not only showed me the way to registration but also directed me to a Starbucks with a small line! SCORE! When searching for sessions you hope to attend, pay attention to any registration information – for example, attendees for ADE sessions were lined up outside of the session room at least 30 minutes prior to the beginning of the session! Also, sessions I attended did not allow people to sit on the floor or stand if there were no more seats. I wasn’t expecting this at all! Other conferences I’ve attended allowed participants to stand or sit on the floor if needed – lesson learned!

BOOK IN ADVANCE! 
I live about 5.5 hours away from Chicago and had every intention of hopping a plane or a train to get to ISTE. I planned to fly from Lambert St. Louis to Chicago Midway which, in all honesty, is an hour flight – tops. I did not, however, realize that flights become more expensive the closer you get to your travel dates! I know — rookie mistake. I don’t fly very often, and when I do, my husband takes care of booking the flight! I’m also very fortunate that my district paid for my hotel and registration, so I didn’t have to worry about getting (and paying for) a hotel room! Since the conference is in Philadelphia next year (and I’m totally stoked about going to a city so PACKED with history!), I’ll be taking my Momma’s advice and planning WAY in advance!

WEAR COMFORTABLE SHOES! 
Yes, I’ve gone to conferences before. Yes, I know that I walk a lot at conferences, but HOLY MOLY I was not expecting the crazy amount of walking that was going to happen just inside expo hall! I literally walked for an hour and did not pass the same booth twice. It was an amazing experience to be able to connect with so many great people that I felt like I already knew through Twitter. Let’s just say this — it takes A LOT of walking/exercise to make my legs feel tired and/or sore and I was SORE after ISTE! The fact that I hopped in a car and drove for 7.5 hours (yes, I know I said we were only 5.5 hours away from Chicago, but I traveled with my mom and two young daughters!) didn’t help much. I wore flip flops, like I typically do, to ISTE — next year, I’m wearing Converse or Toms!

I’d love to hear about your ISTE and/or other conference experiences! Be sure to jump in our Twitter chat on Thursday night and share what you’ve learned this summer!

Thanks for reading 🙂

F.I.E.R.C.E. Teacher Series – Innovative and Intentional

by Leave a Comment

Happy Friday! I hope you’ve had a fabulous week and are preparing to enjoy the weekend! After coming back from ISTE earlier this week, and wrapping up one of my summer school classes, I’m starting to embrace the wonderful feeling that comes with not having to set an alarm clock before bed. AHHHHHHH! I hope you’re ready for the second installment in the “F.I.E.R.C.E. Teacher” series because it’s HERE!

 

Like you, I have many goals as a teacher – heck, as a person – that I not only want to accomplish, but also want to embody for my students, young daughters, and others who may look to me as an example – talk about pressure! Let’s talk about being innovative and intentional in our classrooms!

INNOVATIVE 
We hear the word innovative all over the world of education, but what does being “innovative” mean? According to Webster’s dictionary, the term innovative is defined as,

  • introducing or using new ideas or methods

  • having new ideas about how something can be done

I like to think that I’m at least approaching the level of “innovative” in my classroom. I’m constantly seeking out new ways to engage my students in our content, enhance the learning environment, and make learning memorable. However, the definition of innovative includes “introducing or using new ideas or methods” and “having new ideas about how something can be done.” The definition itself implies that, to be innovative, we’re always looking for a new method or strategy to use in circumstances to make something better. Therefore, to achieve my goal of being an innovative educator, I’ll continue to constantly learn about, search for, and attempt to create new and, forgive me, “innovative” ways to make my students’ learning experience awesome. Sometimes, new ideas and strategies may work, while others may be an absolute flop. Part of being innovative is knowing that when you do something a different way, it may not work, which means it’s time to try something else. The point is to continue to try new strategies with the best interest of my students in mind.

INTENTIONAL 
We have such a limited amount of time with our students during a given school year. As a high school teacher, I see my students 50 minutes per day, 5 days a week … most of the time. There are plenty of interruptions that subtract from my instructional time – assemblies, class meetings, field trips, sporting events, and the list goes on. Therefore, it’s my goal to be intentional about our valuable face-to-face time as a class. How do we accomplish the goal of limiting distractions as much as possible in the classroom?

Flipping my classroom has helped me to become more intentional with my class time while reducing the amount of time I stand in front of my classroom talking “at” my students. Through my in-class flip, I’m able to effectively and efficiently deliver necessary content to my students while providing more individualized instruction AND preserving precious face-to-face time. My flip forces me to be intentional when I’m delivering content; intentional when I’m providing help and feedback; intentional when I’m designing lessons. I hope this message also resonates with my students –> I want them to know what is expected in Petty Wap’s class, where they’re going with their learning, and how to get there.

I’d love to hear how you push yourself to be innovative and intentional in your classroom!

Thanks for reading 🙂

 

New Color and Font Options in Google Forms

by Leave a Comment

Hello, all! We got back from ISTE last night/early this morning (7.5-hour drive from Chicago to my house which included only one stop for my daughters!) and I just finished administering a final for a summer class. I am EXHAUS

TED! I never drive more than an hour and a half one way and just drove about 15 hours over a two day period. Thank goodness my husband drives when we go on long family vacations! Earlier this month, Google announced that additional options would be available in Forms, including customized colors and more fonts. I opened up Forms this morning and *POOF* the new color palette options were there!

Check out this video to view the additional options and how to find them.

While additional colors and fonts are great – I was hoping to see more of the Google Fonts that are available in other GSuite tools. Maybe that’s coming next!

As I opened Classroom this morning, I was met with this message which sounds super-exciting! When you open Classroom, you’ll see this message and an option to “learn more.” Click that hyperlink and you’ll be directed to a beta testing form for Google Classroom. Woohoo!

More soon from the F.I.E.R.C.E. teaching series!

Thanks for reading 🙂

F.I.E.R.C.E Teaching Series – Fun, Fearless, and Flexible

by Leave a Comment

Welcome to the first post of the six-part blog series I’m calling, “F.I.E.R.C.E Teaching.” F.I.E.R.C.E, as you may have guessed, is an acronym that I hope to use to share my goals as a teacher and encourage others to continue being awesome for our students. Without further adieu, welcome to F.I.E.R.C.E Teaching!

We were on our way home from our family weekend getaway a few days ago, and I was using the time on the road – with a dead Macbook – to brainstorm ideas for my keynote next month. I kept bouncing around the idea of being a “fearless” teacher, but wanted to come up with an acronym to make my message “sticky.” Fearless just didn’t work as a focus word because, let’s face it, there are too many letters. My oldest daughter plays on two soccer teams, one of which is called Fierce – her team name popped into my head and F.I.E.R.C.E was born! What does it mean to be a F.I.E.R.C.E teacher? Let’s start with “F”

FUN 
Think back to your favorite or least favorite class while you were a student. What made this class your favorite? What didn’t you like about this class? Most likely, your opinion of the class was, at least in part, crafted (probably unintentionally) by the teacher you had. If your teacher was happy and excited to be teaching their content, your experience was probably positive. If your teacher seemed as though they hated their job and trudged through their day, you probably hated the class. If your teacher made great efforts to make the classroom learning environment fun and engaging, you probably had a great learning experience. If teachers are excited about the content they teach and the fact that they are teaching students, their students will probably enjoy learning. See what happens? If you have fun teaching, your students will feel that in your classroom and have a better learning experience. You probably didn’t become a teacher because you don’t like your content or the concept of teaching. Encourage your students to have fun learning in your classroom by having fun in your classroom – seems simple, right?!

FEARLESS 
I make a point in my classroom to try new strategies, apps, tools, and ideas to create an engaging learning environment for my students. But, sometimes it’s downright scary to try new things, especially if you’re on your own. When I decided to flip my classroom a few years ago, I was the only teacher in my building experimenting with this strategy. I got pushback from many people about this new strategy. I could have easily said, “you know what, I’m too intimidated by the fact that I’m on my own with this strategy … I’ll go back to the old way.” Thankfully, I didn’t. I embraced the fear I felt because I feel that trying something new and different (as long as it’s in the best interest of my students) is going to be scary – but it just may be awesome. It’s been my goal to be fearless in trying to be innovative in my classroom because it’s not about me and my fear of something going wrong – it’s about how these changes positively impact my students.

FLEXIBLE 
The biggest lesson that I’ve learned as a teacher is that we must be flexible in our classroom learning strategies. Everyone is not going to learn the same way, at the same speed, during the same class period. When I started teaching ten years ago, I resorted to teaching how I had been taught. I stood in front of my class, talked at my students for 50 minutes, and saw any sign of talking or questioning as a reflection of my classroom management skills. YIKES!  Flipping my classroom has allowed me to be more flexible and adapt to the needs of individual learners. Maybe a student doesn’t quite grasp the concept I’m teaching the first time they’re exposed to the material – they can view it again. Maybe the way I explain the concept in the video just isn’t sticking – we can create a song about the concept as a class. Maybe they like to write an essay to show what they’ve learned – go for it. Maybe they’d rather create a graphic organizer, game, or screencast to demonstrate their knowledge – I can’t wait to see it!

Having fun, being fearless and flexible in the classroom are a few goals that I have for myself as a teacher. Check back soon for the rest of the F.I.E.R.C.E teaching series!

Thanks for reading 🙂

Using Technology to Reach an Authentic Audience

by 2 Comments

Hello, friends! I hope you’re having a fantastic summer and are finding time for some much needed and well-deserved R&R! My family and I have just returned from a weekend of fun and family time in Branson, MO and we’re prepping for the week ahead. On our four hour ride home through the Ozark Mountains (thank you, Lord, for Dramamine!) we talked about setting goals for the week. Our conversation focused around what we want to learn or accomplish throughout the next week, and a comment from my oldest daughter really had me thinking about how teachers – and parents – can leverage the power of technology to reach an authentic audience.

A little background – my oldest daughter, Hanna, will be entering 2nd grade this fall. She’s brilliant and beautiful and wonderful and amazing – the list goes on and on – but she isn’t a huge fan of reading. She’s a fantastic reader, don’t get me wrong. The kid is reading almost two grade levels ahead of her age, but she just doesn’t love reading. As a reader, it hurts my heart that she hasn’t been bitten by the reading bug. But, we’re working on it. Last summer, when Hanna struggled with wanting to read, I asked her if she wanted to create a blog about the books that she reads (check out Illuminate for ideas on how to get started with book blogging for kids!) and, after hearing her goals for the week, I think we’re going to build upon that idea this summer.

I asked Hanna if she wanted to add book reviews to her blog about the books that she reads. After explaining what a book review is to her – and then calling my mom (an upper elementary/middle school ELA teacher) to figure out a different way to explain the concept, because she wasn’t quite getting it – I saw a gleam in her eye. She’s excited about adding to her blog this summer!

The component of the book review idea that really sparked Hanna’s interest was that the not only gets to use Mommy’s flair pens to create a poster but that she gets to put her reviews on YouTube. When she blogs about the books that she reads, I also record her reading her book and put it on YouTube — I add her videos in “private” mode. When we talked about adding book reviews to her site, she said, “can you put it on YouTube so I can find it? I want to see how many thumbs up I get.” That comment really put into perspective the great motivator that authentic audiences provide for our students. Hanna is going to create the best product she can and use technology to share her work with her authentic audience. She’s a 7-year-old who wants to share her work with the world. How cool is that?

I’ll be sharing Hanna’s reviews with you soon — be sure to give her a “thumbs up” on YouTube when you see it 🙂

What about my youngest daughter, you ask? Molly’s goal for the week is to “learn to read,” so I said we would start with some sight words and build from there. Molly said, “ok, so my ‘scores’ for the week are to learn to read and work on sight words.” She’s a soccer sister 🙂

Check back next week for a new series I’m working on — the F.I.E.R.C.E teacher series.

Thanks for reading 🙂

3 Reasons to Join Twitter Chats this Summer

by Leave a Comment

Good morning, friends! I hope you’re all having a fabulous week. Monday was quite busy for me – I launched the first Illuminate digital book study (it’s seriously only day 3, but I’m having a BLAST!), started teaching my online educational technology course, continuing my summer school dual credit Social Studies class, and starting round 2 of my favorite workout program! I’m so thankful for all of these opportunities! One of my many summer “vacation” goals is always to learn from and expand my professional learning network (PLN) through social media, and a great way to do that is to join Twitter chats! If you’ve never joined a Twitter chat before, don’t know what a chat is, or haven’t “chatted” in some time, here are 3 reasons to join Twitter chats this summer!

Connections, Connections, Connections! 
Twitter chats give teachers a great opportunity to make invaluable connections with educators all over the world. I hopped into the #EduGladiators chat this past Saturday and added so many great voices to my PLN – voices I would not have been able to hear if I had not joined the chat! #EduGladiators last week focused on blended learning, a subject near and dear to my heart! It was so great to hear descriptions and definitions of what exactly blended learning is and how it can benefit students. Every time I join a Twitter chat, I learn something. It’s fabulous!

Content and Instructional Strategies! 
As a high school Social Studies teacher, I often have difficulty finding conferences and/or workshops that are designed specifically for my content. Social Studies is a core content area, but let’s face it, it’s not any of the “big three” – English, Math, or Science. Social Studies sometimes gets pushed to the backburner – and that shouldn’t be! Since finding Twitter chats, I’ve been able to connect, share, and learn with other Social Studies teachers around the world. The collegiality that I feel when I take part in something like #sschat or #sstlap is so great. My fellow Social Studies teachers and I share different ways to present our invaluable content, instructional strategies in Social Studies (I love geeking out about my in-class flip), fun and engaging activities, etc. It’s like a giant Social Studies department meeting that you’ll leave feeling excited about what you teach and how you teach it!

Encouragement! 
I was at an EdCamp last year, and a participant mentioned that sometimes teachers can feel like they’re the only freaks on their island. Especially if you’re trying new and innovating instructional methods in your classroom, you can feel like a loner – almost as if everyone is eyeing you and your classroom with skepticism. This can make you second-guess your new ideas for your classroom. Join a Twitter chat and you’ll see that there are plenty of freaks on the island with you! Connect with them on Twitter!

Now that you’re excited about jumping into a Twitter chat – where can you find chats that interest you? Check out Participate for a calendar of Twitter chats that you can join directly from their website, or through Twitter by searching the appropriate hashtag. Here are two tips to help you jump on the Twitter chat bandwagon:

—>> Follow this scheme when responding to questions: for Q1 (question 1) begin your response with A1

—>> Be sure to include the chat hashtag somewhere in your response ( I normally add it at the end)

Bonus tip –> use Tweetdeck! Tweetdeck is a free tool (I have it almost constantly open on my Mac) that allows you to create different columns for each hashtag or user you want to follow. It’s awesome!

#IlluminateED officially starts tonight! Be sure to join us on Twitter at 8PM CST to talk about engaging and exploring with tech! Also, like this Facebook page to join our FREE book study!

Thanks for reading 🙂

Pre-Test and Post-Test for every unit

by Leave a Comment

Happy Monday morning, friends! I’m still in reflection mode and I’m thinking about how using pre-tests and post-tests can help my students. I’ve mentioned in another post that my district is heavily studying the work of John Hattie, focusing on what we can do as teachers to have a meaningful impact on student learning. One of the practices I’m exploring is how to develop Assessment Capable Learners, and a component of this I hope to implement in my Government classes next year is utilizing pre-tests and post-tests to “illuminate” learning — get ready for ALL the puns that involve the title of my book!

I typically start the year by giving the US Civics and Naturalization test to my students as a pre-test, but now that a Civics test is a requirement for students in the state of Missouri, I’ll be switching that up a bit.

Prior to beginning our Missouri Constitution and Federalism unit, I gave my students a pre-test for the unit. This pre-test included multiple choice questions –> as a response option, I added “I don’t know, yet” and encouraged my students to choose this option if they really didn’t know the answer to the question.

Then, we had a conversation about the word, “yet.” I shared with them that it was perfectly acceptable to choose the “I don’t know” option, as long as they recognized that “yet” was part of the response. “I don’t know” and “don’t know, yet” are two very different phrases that communicate very different perspectives on learning. The first sends the message that the fact that students don’t know something is finite and won’t be changed. The second indicates that students may not have enough information at that time to answer the question, but that they will learn the information.

After completing their pre-test, my students were astounded at their “grade.” Keep in mind I didn’t assign points to the pre-test, but they were able to see how many they missed and how many they answered correctly. My students had never been exposed to this information, so as you can imagine, they scored poorly. To keep their spirits up, I told them that this was not going to be recorded in the grade book and would serve as great information for both me and them so we knew what we needed to focus on during instruction. I also told them that they would be super proud when they compared their pre-test and post-test grades.

When the post-test came around, my students were SO happy! They were able to see the growth that they had made throughout the unit and, even if their post-test score wasn’t a home run, they were able to actually view the leaps and bounds they had made from the beginning of the unit. I heard, “wow! I did lots better!” And, “what’s the percentage difference in my pre-test and post-test, Mrs. Petty?”

As I typically do when I try a new strategy or idea, I asked my students if they thought I should continue doing pre-tests next year. The result – “YES!” Students appreciate knowing “where they are, where they’re going, and how to get there,” just as adults do. I’ll chalk using a pre-test and post-test up as a positive and will be implementing them next year!

Thanks for reading 🙂

Creating a Class Blog with Padlet

by Leave a Comment

Two posts in two days?! That never happens! I’m brainstorming ideas for next year, and one of the extension opportunities that I want to expand on during the next school year is the class bonus blog. I had previously used Google Classroom for the bonus blog and added students who were interested. However, I think I’m going to give this activity a try with Padlet next year.

Padlet’s format really makes creating a blog environment a breeze. I plan to use the “Shelf” template on our class blog because it will allow me to easily set a topic and students can post their thoughts on that topic in the column. This will make reading and keeping the posts organized so much easier – and will also allow me to quickly see who completed the post so I can more efficiently award bonus XP 🙂

Padlet added a commenting option to their superb platform a year or so ago, which will also be an awesome feature of our class blog. Students can respond to each other’s posts on the Padlet, ask questions, etc., all in one spot.

I’m brainstorming a few topics for the class blog for the beginning of the school year … 

I’m excited to hear how you use Padlet in your classroom!

Don’t forget to sign up for the Illuminate Summer Book Study! The party starts on Monday, and I am SO EXCITED to learn with each of you!

Thanks for reading 🙂