Proud Teaching Moments

One of my former, amazing principals used to say this to us all of the time.  He was master at recognizing even the small contributions of his staff.  I have also been blessed with several co-workers that are masters at the skill of recognizing not just major successes, but the small contributions to the greater good.  My current principal starts every faculty meeting with "Celebrations," a time for educators to recognize other educators. It has been a long time since I have worked in a corporate job, but I don't remember experiencing the kind of "lifting others up" as I have in education.

When I reflect on my proudest teaching moments, a theme of recognition emerges. The thank yous from former and current learners that tell me how I or my class inspired them and how they still use the skills learned in my class years later fills my heart and motivates me to try even harder to reach every learner in my classroom. Seeing my learners win awards or be recognized for projects they completed under my supervision makes me ridiculously giddy and encourages me to seek out more competition experiences for my them. From having grants approved and being nominated for Teacher of the Year and Great Educators Matter awards to the simple compliments from a colleague praising my leadership, a lesson, or my ability to connect with learners, it is surprising how these things have given me the confidence to grow and take risks.

NASSP and NJHS National Service Project Award

Multimedia Service Learning Project

Receiving a GEM Award

Before I took the time to reflect with this post, I didn't think recognition was really an important value to me. I wanted to think of myself as a humble servant and cheerleader to others who had a mature enough self-confidence to not need the praises of others, but deep inside, I think most of us can benefit from the courage a little bit of recognition can give us. I am personally making an effort this year to recognize the greatness in others and challenge you to also find ways to lift up your colleagues and learners daily, because the world already has enough critics.

Leave a comment below with the special ways you recognize learners and colleagues. 

State Video Contest Finalist Voting

Natalie Adams' Take Care of Texas Video has been selected as one of the top six in the state and has made it to round two of voting!  Winners from this round will be chosen by public voting.  Please visit this link and cast your vote for Natalie, 8th grade.

Teacher Tech Tools in Under Two Minutes #3

A few educators have asked me what tool I used to make my Teacher Tech Tools in Under Two Minutes tutorial videos. I have used several different screencasting programs personally and with my learners. Up until very recently, QuickTime was my favorite. That was until my savvy digital learning coach, Trisha Goins, turned me on to a Google Chrome extension called OpenVid. I like the personal touch of the front facing camera. If you are interested in a simple way to screencast with or for your learners, take less than two minutes to watch my short tutorial.  When you are ready to add the OpenVid extension, please use my referral link, to help me get unlimited video access.  

Teacher Tech Tools in Under Two Minutes video series is not the only way I use screencasting.  My learners love to screencast.  We have used it to teach each other technical skills within our Multimedia classes and to create  how-to videos that are informational and entertaining for the entire school.

Please comment below with your favorite screencasting tools and how you use screencasting in your classroom learning experiences.

The Passion Project: A CBL Reflection Part 1

The Passion Project: A CBL Reflection Part 1

By Monica Champagne

“Definition of passion: a strong feeling of enthusiasm or excitement for something or about doing something”-Merriam-Webster. Isn’t that how every teacher wants their learners to feel when they walk in the classroom?

The concept goes by many names, Passion Project, Independent Study, or Genius Hour and I’ve used them all. This year, I added a new title to our Passion project, Challenge-Based Learning. I must say, when this new initiative was proposed to our staff this year, it took me a while to wrap my brain around the idea. However, I love a good challenge and trying new things in my classes in hopes to inspire greatness in my learners.

Our Passion Project assignment has looked different from year to year and subject to subject, but never have I left it as open-ended and learner-led as it will be this year. I simply proposed the Big Idea of “Passion” to my learners and really have no preconceived expectations of where they will take it from there. Let me tell you, as an educator, that can be a scary place to be. Randy Pausch said it best,  “You obviously don't know where the bar should be, and you're only going to do a disservice by putting it anywhere”. With his motivation leading the charge, so begins our adventure. You can view the lesson here. This lesson is a collaboration of many CISD educators including Sunny Richardson, Blended Learning Specialist and Science Instructional Coach, Nicky Fryman, Teen Leadership, and iExplore educators, Katrina Messer, Kim Goodman, and Lisa Pehl.

At this point, we are only about half way through with this year-long exploration journey. Keep following to see how this lesson evolves and learner solutions to the challenge they created.

In what ways has Genius Hour encouraged creativity in your classroom? Leave a comment below.

Teacher Tech Tools in Under Two Minutes #2

Making Your Updates Stand Out in Schoology

Written by: Monica Champagne

Just as I have learned so much from my colleagues, I am often asked technology questions that I can answer in just a few minutes to make life easier for other educators.  This week's Teacher Tech Tools in Under Two Minutes shows you how to make your updates stand out by pinning them to the top of your learners windows.

Here is Teacher Tech Tools in Under Two Minutes Lesson #2-  Fun Schoology Announcement Features

Teacher Tech Tools in Under Two Minutes #1

Creating Grading Groups in Schoology to Differentiate Learning
Written by Monica Champagne

I know it can sometimes be hard to find time to participate in PD, even as much as educators love learning. However, I have learned as much from collaborating with my colleagues over the years as I have from formal professional development sessions. The quote above really hit home for me and has inspired me to give back to others during this holiday season. This post is dedicated to my weekly teacher tech tips video series. Each of these videos will teach you something new to use with your classes in less than two minutes! My first series will highlight some of the lesser known Schoology gems.

Here is Teacher Tech Tools in Under Two Minutes Lesson #1- Creating Grading Groups in Schoology to Differentiate Learning.

Room 319 Happenings Oct. - Nov. 2016

Hitting the Ground Running
Written by Natalie Adams

A famous quote by Calvin Coolidge reads, “All growth depends upon activity. There is no development physically or intellectually without effort, and effort means work.” This marking period, both Media A and B have progressed amazingly in preparation for our first show of WESTV.

This year, our school administration has introduced “challenge-based learning,” essentially allowing students to create assignments and lessons for themselves. When first proposed with this idea, many students (including myself) were confused as to how CBL could be incorporated into a Multimedia class without changing our curriculum completely; but after much discussion, we came to a conclusion: we can academically challenge ourselves and weave CBL into our segments by having themed shows.

The first themed show of the year, cooperation, has already been put into action. Media A kids have mastered the art of script writing, storyboarding, and complex Adobe Premiere Pro skills, like using green screens, cut-aways, and lower thirds. Media B has been hard at work at creating their segments, whilst also completing their Take Care of Texas contest submissions (which were finally mailed last week!). Although Media B has grown used to the WESTV process, we are continuing to grow and improve it, as we grow and improve as people and multimedia students.
Our first show will be aired on November 30th, and attached to the next blog post. Stay tuned to find out more about what the Media kids are up to!

Watch Take Care of Texas Videos Below: