10 Weeks of #NerdySpaces

It has been 10 weeks since I started my #NerdySpaces and I thought it would be the perfect time to reflect on how things have been going for me. 

Adventures in No Desk World

The biggest concern for me when I was thinking about changing my room around, was wondering if I could function without a desk. The standard teacher desk has been a part of professional career since I started. I wanted to make more space for my students and getting rid of my desk was one of the ways to do it. I have to say that I do not miss it. It is crazy how much we think we need things until we are forced to be without them. I made the changes and adjusted certain workflows and I do not think twice about it. I have everything I need on a mobile podium. I can move around the room and keep all of my devices and books with me. 

I was always a mover when I taught, but I am more mobile than ever. Since I was able to get rid of the desks, I was able to create larger tables for the student desks which opened up the entire center of my classroom. I can now freely move around from table to table and connect with students. I'm no longer awkwardly maneuvering around students and bumping into them with my hips or butt as I go from student to student. It was weird for everyone, but something that could not be avoided when you have a class jammed with 33 students. 

The best feedback I received about this change of teacher desk and then the student desks came from former students. Students from previous years always stop by to say hello and talk for a bit. When they saw the new class design, they were impressed and a bit jealous. They loved the larger tables and recognized that the extra room would be helpful. Current students like the layout as well. One student said it felt more open and connected, like a community. That made me smile because that is what I was going for in the long run. 

Two Screens Are Better Than One

This is just a huge bonus for me and I know that it is not possible for many teachers, but it is something I wanted to try. I was very lucky to receive a new Smart Board. It is an interactive flat panel that is awesome! The 6065 is a beautiful screen that makes every image crystal clear. It connects to my Mac and my Chromebook. It is HD, so my Chromecast and/or Apple TV are also in play for the device. It only has one HDMI input, so I bought an HDMI splitter so I could connect more than one device and just flip between them when needed. It is on a stand so I can wheel it around the stage front and back if I need it. I use it every day!

The 6065 is awesome to write on and I do not experience any lag. It really is the software that makes the board so awesome. Notebook has been in our district for many years and I many of my lessons saved there. Going over essay writing with my students is much easier when notes can be carried over from class to class and when students can get up and interact with the text on the screen. Annotating has never been easier for my kids. I can't wait to try out amp from Smart. That is going to take collaboration to the next level. 

One of the issues I had with the new desk/table alignment in my classroom was that some students were not facing the front of the room where the original Smart Board was installed. I had students half turned and craning their neck to see the notes. I also did not want a "front of the room" in my classroom. I wanted to create an environment where it didn't matter where students were looking. What I was able to do was connect my laptop to the 6065 and then mirror that to the computer at the front of the room. Now, the students could see what was going on no matter where they looked. From my mobile podium, I would use my wireless mouse and keyboard to add notes from anywhere in the room, or I could go up to the board and take notes on the screen. 

Another great use has been for showing the class backchannel. I used this with my Freshmen and it worked very well. I liked having the running stream of the thoughts from students and using that to enhance the discussion. This idea could work just as well in a single screen classroom. The second screen provided me a spot to collect the ideas shared in Smart Notebook. TodaysMeet has been perfect for my classroom for creating a backchannel. Here is a shot of the 6065 and TodaysMeet. This was before class. I forgot to take a picture of it during class because discussion was going so well. It's a good problem to have. 

I'm sorry that his sounds like and ad for Smart and Today'sMeet, but those are the tools that have helped me make my #NerdySpaces possible. These things can be done without them, but I want to spotlight the tools that have made the first 10 weeks of this crazy experiment possible. The thing I hope that people take away from this is that it is worth taking risks in the classroom. It doesn't always have to be lesson based. Changing the class environment can be huge and I have seen it in the first part of the school year. I look forward to trying new things with different tools to see if I can get the most out of my space and my students. 

If you have any suggestions, please leave them in the comments section below. 

The @BlackboardK12 BITS Learning Sessions #10 #BbK12Live

I've partnered with BlackboardK12 to share out the awesome sessions they are having this Fall. Educators can sign up to attend and share with other great educators what they have learned. I'll feature the session and the description on my blog each week and on my Twitter account. If you have questions, feel free to shoot a tweet to @BlackboardK12. Have fun learning and sharing!

School-University Partnership for Preparing and Supporting K-12 Online Teachers

The North Carolina Virtual Public School and Lenoir-Rhyne University have developed a school-university partnership designed to invest in building capacity for K-12 online teachers. This partnership contributes to the field of online learning in critical areas, including quality preparation of K-12 online teachers and research into effective practices for preparing and supporting K-12 online teachers. In this session, a representative from each institution will share their efforts to develop and sustain this collaborative partnership. Specifically, presenters will highlight the joint online teaching practicum and share findings from research into effective methods for preparing and supporting K-12 online teachers.

Leslie Fetzer & Leslie White

Leslie Fetzer is a Professional Learning Coordinator at the North Carolina Virtual Public School. As the 2012 National Online Teacher of the Year, Leslie made over 70 appearances speaking at conferences, webinars, leading workshops, etc. Her hope is to dispel myths about online education; to show how all students can succeed with personalized, differentiated online instruction; and to empower teachers to teach online and to “blend” learning in their classrooms.

Leslie White teaches OCS American History for North Carolina Virtual Public School and serves as an Instructional Leader for its Teachers in Training & Practicum Program. She has been teaching for 10 years, 6 years in the classroom and 4 years online. She lives in Cary, NC with her husband and 2 daughters.

Twitter: @lafetz00

When: Monday, November 3, 2014 3:30PM EST

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Don't forget to check out the Blackboard Live App. It has all of the sessions you might have missed and much much more.

Here is the playlist where you can watch this recorded session and other sessions you might have missed.

Yes! @GoSwivl is out of Beta with new features. #edchat

I've been a fan of Swivl since I was able to try one out last school year. A social studies teacher really wanted to try it out and is now using it to record lectures and share with students. This year, we have ordered more Swivls because we have a student who is out due to medical issues and teachers want to make lessons available why they are gone. Swivl has been the perfect solution to this issue. I will have a guest post later in November from a teacher using Swivl to support this student. 

Now, let me share with you all of the cool things that Swivl has announced now they are out of Beta. 

Unlimited uploading with content staging

2x faster uploading speeds

Cloud exporting of produced slide+video files to your computer or YouTube.

This is an awesome bonus for those teachers using Swivl in their classroom. Swivl reports that 10,000 teachers are using Swivl. Hours upon hours of video are being saved and uploaded to support students. The other nice aspect of Swivl is that it is not available for Android users as well. 

Swivl is an easy way for teachers to record their lessons and share them with their students. This could be done in class with the students or done at a different time to support the flipped classroom model of learning. Whichever one the teacher uses, students benefit from having lessons they can watch as many times as they need to understand the material. No tool is going to be the silver bullet that saves education, but Swivl is another options for teachers looking for another way to help students. 

Take a moment and check out Swivl and get one for your school. You will see how awesome it is on your own. 

Missed Reflections #NerdyCast #EdChat

I've been working on reflection this year in an effort to be a better teacher. As part of that, I have been doing weekly video reflections on my YouTube channel. This past week, I missed my deadline to reflect. I was bummed, but told myself that I could just do it during the week and do another one a few days later. Well, like most failures, I learned from my mistake. I sat and tried to remember last week and all of the things that I did and the interactions I had with my students and I couldn't get much meaning out of it. I know we covered some cool things and I know we had some great discussions, but my brain has emptied out that info and started to replace it with the new info from this week. It was really crazy. No matter how hard I tried, I could not focus on anything from last week.

Reflection is such an important part of what we do and this missed week reminded me of how important it is to keep reflecting and not to let a week slip by. A missed week of reflection is a missed opportunity to grow. That is something I will focus on for the coming weeks.

Here is a playlist of the different reflection videos I have made this year. I am going to do one for every week of the year. I would love to see others start to do the same.

The @BlackboardK12 BITS Learning Sessions #9 #BbK12Live

I've partnered with BlackboardK12 to share out the awesome sessions they are having this Fall. Educators can sign up to attend and share with other great educators what they have learned. I'll feature the session and the description on my blog each week and on my Twitter account. If you have questions, feel free to shoot a tweet to @BlackboardK12. Have fun learning and sharing!

The Flipped Classroom: Growing Student Engagement in Elementary Instrumental Music

Learn how I use Blackboard to flip my elementary beginning and intermediate strings classes. My flipped classroom facilitates logistics, builds community and makes it possible for my students to find class materials with the click of a button. In these music classes, my students and parents have all materials such as handouts, videos, photos, sheet music and lessons available 24/7 on their computers and smart phones. The flipped classroom lets me get more done during class because “homework” experiences are focused and tailored to the students’ learning and my lesson planning

Kristin Gomez. MS, Orchestra Teacher, Arlington Public Schools, VA

Kristin Gomez is currently Director of Suzuki in the Schools at Abingdon Elementary, Director of the Junior Honors Orchestra of Arlington Public Schools and strings teacher at Ashlawn Elementary School. In her 20 year teaching career she has taught Middle and High School French, Guitar and Orchestra. She is also a busy freelance viola player in the Washington, DC area.

Twitter: @stringsteacher

When: Monday, October 27, 2014 3:30PM EST

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Don't forget to check out the Blackboard Live App. It has all of the sessions you might have missed and much much more.

Here is the playlist where you can watch this recorded session and other sessions you might have missed.

The @BlackboardK12 BITS Learning Sessions #8 #BbK12Live

I've partnered with BlackboardK12 to share out the awesome sessions they are having this Fall. Educators can sign up to attend and share with other great educators what they have learned. I'll feature the session and the description on my blog each week and on my Twitter account. If you have questions, feel free to shoot a tweet to @BlackboardK12. Have fun learning and sharing!

Making the Most of Your Technology Initiative: How to effectively leverage technology in a 1:1 classroom

This presentation will describe how teachers in the Piedmont City School District have gradually transformed pedagogy through their 1:1 laptop initiative. Learn how to effectively incorporate 21st century skills while still teaching state mandated standards in both an elementary and a high school classroom. Also, learn ways to apply the SAMR model for technology integration while using blended learning to personalize instruction.

Brandi Todd, Fifth Grade Teacher Piedmont Elementary & Leighann Ford, Instructional Technology Coach Piedmont High School

Mrs. Leighann Ford is a ninth grade history teacher and instructional technology coach at Piedmont High School. She earned National Board Certification in 2011 and has been teaching since 1998. Mrs. Ford has presented at the Council for Leaders in Alabama Schools, JSU CORE Academy, Mooresville Summer Connection, Alabama Educational Technology Conference, and BbWorld 2014.

Mrs. Brandi Todd is a fifth grade teacher at Piedmont Elementary School. During her fourteen year career, she has gained National Board Certification in 2011 and Jacksonville State University’s Cooperating Teacher of the Year Award in 2012. Mrs. Todd has presented at the Council for Leaders in Alabama Schools, JSU CORE Academy, the Alabama Educational Technology Conference, the School Superintendents of Alabama Conference, the National School Board Association Conference, and BbWorld 2014.

Twitter: @brandiatodd79 & @lford8

When: 3:30PM EST Monday, October 20, 2014

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Don't forget to check out the Blackboard Live App. It has all of the sessions you might have missed and much much more.

Here is the playlist where you can watch this recorded session and other sessions you might have missed.

The @BlackboardK12 BITS Learning Sessions #7 #BbK12Live

I've partnered with BlackboardK12 to share out the awesome sessions they are having this Fall. Educators can sign up to attend and share with other great educators what they have learned. I'll feature the session and the description on my blog each week and on my Twitter account. If you have questions, feel free to shoot a tweet to @BlackboardK12. Have fun learning and sharing!

Lunch & Learn: Kick it Up a Notch! Badges & Personalized Learning

Do you want to increase student engagement and achievement in your blended or online learning K-12 classroom?  Are you looking for ways to spice up your Blackboard class?  Learn how to kick it up a notch with badges and personalized learning.  This session will focus on the use of Achievements and Adaptive Release in your Blackboard Learn class.

Katie Gallagher - Senior Product Marketing Manager

Katie Gallagher is a Senior Product Marketing Manager for Blackboard's teaching and learning products (Learn, Moodlerooms, ANGEL, xpLor, & Collaborate) for K-12. She has served as an instructional designer, teacher, and lead teacher in K-12 blended and online programs for seventeen years at Cathedral High School, Indiana Online Academy, and Johns Hopkins University CTY Distance education program. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame and earned her MS in Educational Technology at Indiana University. Katie was honored with a Golden Apple Award in 2007. Before moving to product marketing, Katie served as a Senior Solutions Engineer for Blackboard Learn K-12 as was the K-12 SE of the year at Blackboard in 2009 and 2011.

Twitter: @1katiegallagher

When: 12:00 PM EST Friday October 17, 2014

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Don't forget to check out the Blackboard Live App. It has all of the sessions you might have missed and much much more.

Here is the playlist where you can watch this recorded session and other sessions you might have missed.

Failing Loud and Proud #EdChat

I've written plenty of times about failure over the years, but I I feel there is always plenty to say since I still fail and learn from that failure.

The other day, I was trying to show students how to submit assignments using Google Classroom. I have not used it before and I am learning how to use it on the fly. I thought I had turning in a assignments figured out and I was wrong. I wasn't just wrong, I was wrong in front of a class of 32 honors students. My students were working in groups to create a Student Declaration of Independence and I wanted them to submit their work to Classroom. I thought anyone in the group could do it, but it turns out it needs to be the owner of the originally shared document that has to submit the work. All of my students looked funny at me as my attempts to have one of them submit the work and it kept failing. I took a minute collected my thoughts and did a quick search and found the solution. I told the kids that this was all still a work in progress and I appreciate them taking the time to learn with me.

I feel that some teachers are too resistant to making mistakes in front of students. Teachers are not perfect beings and we need to stop presenting ourselves to students (and other teachers) as being perfect people with no examples of failure. We want to push our students to take chances, but we might not be willing to take the same chance in front of students. I'm not saying that teachers should be unprepared for class and do things on the fly. I'm saying that teachers should own their mistakes in front of the class, show how it is a moment for us to learn, and encourage kids to take the same chances.

Students need to feel comfortable making mistakes and trying something new. Teachers need to model this behavior and own mistakes proudly. I will need to remind myself of this and not let the embarrassment of failure be the guiding force in my lesson plans or day to day interaction with students and staff.

How have you failed in class lately? 

The @BlackboardK12 BITS Learning Sessions #6 #BbK12Live

I've partnered with BlackboardK12 to share out the awesome sessions they are having this Fall. Educators can sign up to attend and share with other great educators what they have learned. I'll feature the session and the description on my blog each week and on my Twitter account. If you have questions, feel free to shoot a tweet to @BlackboardK12. Have fun learning and sharing!

Tim Gwynn Presentation!

Tim is going to talk about the awesomeness that is educational technology.

Tim Gwynn - Instructional Technology Specialist - EduBro

Tim is an Instructional Technology Specialist in North Carolina by way of Arizona. His transcontinental experience gives him the unique ability to not only appreciate a well made glass of sweet tea, but also spell the plural form of cactus without hesitation. He currently works at a K-5 school and is passionate about Educational Technology. When not in school, you can find him playing flanker on the rugby pitch.

Twitter: @tgwynn

When: Monday, October 12, 2014 4:00PM EST

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What Does A Smile Cost? #EdChat

I like to present myself as a pretty happy guy. Even on days where I find myself mired in non-happy feelings, I still try to keep on a happy face. One of the ways I do that is by getting out into the hallways during passing time and just standing there smiling at the students I make eye contact with and saying hello to the current and former students that walk past. The other day, a student asked my why I'm smiling all of the time, and I was not sure exactly how to answer, but I told them I was happy to be here at school. It received a slight smile in return and a fair amount of disbelief. The real answer is actually pretty simple.

I smile to all of the students because I know that, for some of them, it will be the only friendly smile they will receive all day.

I think teachers can find themselves so busy in the day, that the simplest gestures can be lost and forgotten. Giving my students a warm smile as they walk the hallways could be a difference maker in their day. Some might think that is a stretch, but I feel that many of us have had those students who only made it day to day because they received that warm smile. I like that the students can count on me to be in the hallway or hanging in my classroom before school starts. I want to create an environment where students feel welcome all day, not just when they are in my class to learn.

A smile is something that will not cost you or the district you work for any money. They can be shared freely and, sometimes, they will even be returned to make your day a little bit better. I hope people will read this post and will go out and spread smiles around their school. Smile at students you know. Smile at students you do not know. Hell, smile at anyone at any time. These little acts of kindness are great way to remind people they are notices and they are important. As my friend Angela Maiers says, "You Matter".

Smile!

Nick

Wired Keyboard for iOS Devices by @GriffinTech #EdTech #EdChat

I've had a class set of iPads for a few years now, and one of the questions I get from people has to do with the students using the keyboard. Overall, this is not an issue for the majority of my students. However, there are some students who need a physical keyboard to use with their iPad. I have found one that has worked great with my students. 

The Griffin Wired Keyboard for iOS Devices is a great addition to the iPad for people who need a physical keyboard to get their work done. 

The keyboard comes with the older dock connector or the newer lightening connector. I was worried that it might not be compatible with the iPad 2, but it worked great. My students have been able to use these keyboards with their iPads without a problem. For the note taking students do on Evernote, the keyboard has been very important for the students who really needed them. 

Some people do not like the wired aspect of keyboards and prefer the Bluetooth connections, but those will drain your battery and will sometimes have connection problems. The wired keyboard from Griffin is a perfect solution for my classroom because I do not have to worry about batteries or connections. Students come in, grab their iPad, grab a keyboard, and get to work. After a couple of weeks, the only problem I have seen is that I do not have enough of the keyboards for the class. 

The device is a traditional keyboard with all of the buttons in the right spot and it feels like any other keyboard. I have been able to type very quickly and move around the keyboard like I would on my desktop. Sometimes smaller keyboards will have buttons that are too close together for my fat fingers, but everything feels just right on this board.

At $59.99 for a keyboard, it might be a bit pricey for a class set, but for a few in a classroom where some students will need one, it is an excellent investment. Check them out here if you are interested in getting one for you and/or your classroom.

The @BlackboardK12 BITS Learning Sessions #5 #BbK12Live

I've partnered with BlackboardK12 to share out the awesome sessions they are having this Fall. Educators can sign up to attend and share with other great educators what they have learned. I'll feature the session and the description on my blog each week and on my Twitter account. If you have questions, feel free to shoot a tweet to @BlackboardK12. Have fun learning and sharing!

Blackboard Skills to Pay the Bills

Idaho Digital Learning has implemented a rubric to help assess teacher quality in each course. In this session we will demonstrate different tools and features of the Blackboard LMS that enable teachers to meet expectations in each rubric category.

Jeff Simmons, Instructional Manager, Idaho Digital Learning & Lisa Berry, Curriculum Manager, Idaho Digital Learning

Jeff Simmons is the Instructional Manager for Idaho Digital Learning. Jeff has served as a teacher and administrator in the field of online learning since 2002. Prior to working full-time at IDLA, Jeff taught Social Studies and English at two different alternative high schools. He has a B.A. in Social Studies and English Education from Northwest Nazarene University and an M.A. in Education Leadership from the University of Idaho. Jeff lives in Nampa, Idaho with his wife, son, three dogs, and one cranky cat.

Lisa Berry is the Curriculum Manager for Idaho Digital Learning Academy. She has been in online education since 2005. She has also worked as an adjunct instructor for Boise State University (teaching both face-to-face and blended formats) and a middle school mathematics and computer applications teacher. She has a BA in mathematics from Linfield College, an MS in Instructional and Performance Technology from Boise State University and is currently working toward her Ed.D. in Educational Technology in Boise State University.

Twitter: @idlajeff

When: Monday, October 6, 2014 3:30PM EST

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Here is the playlist where you can watch this recorded session and other sessions you might have missed.