Empty

I'm sitting in the classroom and the gauge is on E. I'm not the only one though.

Being "on" all the time is simply exhausting. For those of us that expend every ounce of energy we have to be there for our students, the end of the year is tough. It's just trying to squeeze a few more miles out of a bone dry gas tank. 

I've been away from Social Media for the past few weeks. I've just been too tired to be active. There are so many awesome things going on in my classroom, but I can't find the energy to write about them. I'm just on empty. 

I've built a Makerspace for my school and have put together over 60K in grants and donations for it. I helped put together a video to make a sick student smile. I've set up TEDxGPSHS so students can share their stories. I've been a shoulder for many students to use as the burden of their lives gets too much to bare. Even though I know I'm not alone in these stories, it doesn't make feeling empty any better.

Is all of the energy expended during the year worth it if I'm a shell at the end? Am I "Highly Effective" if I crawl to the finish line? Should striving to be the best require so much that there is nothing left? 

I wish I knew the answer to these questions. 

Maybe I do. 

I mean, I always come back for more. 

The @BlackboardK12 BITS Learning Sessions #37 #BbK12Live

The @BlackboardK12 BITS Learning Sessions #37 #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 featurae 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!

iReach: Incorporating Blackboard as a Cornerstone for Digital Conversion

Maryville City Schools, a small, public Tennessee school district of 5000 students, will be sharing their first year implementation story of using Blackboard as a cornerstone product for the district’s digital conversion model, iReach. Presenters will focus on sharing information about the preparation and training for a successful implementation in grades K-12. In addition, details will be highlighted regarding our development of a 3-year plan, building instructional capacity, and establishing a strong communication system with our stakeholders.

Amy Vagnier, Principal, Foothills Elementary School
Andy Lombardo, Instructional Technology Coach/ Technology Coordinator, Maryville Junior High School
Jodi Eanes, STEM Teacher/ Technology Coordinator
John Sevier Elementary School; Maryville Public Schools

Amy Vagnier has served as principal at Foothills Elementary School (Maryville, TN) since 2006. In addition to her responsibilities as principal, she also serves as iREACH leader for the 1:1 digital conversion in the Maryville City school district. In this role, Mrs. Vagnier is working with instructional, technical, and communication teams to implement a phased transition to the utilization of 1:1 devices in 2015. In addition to her leadership roles, Amy’s classroom experience includes teaching in grades 1, 4, and 5. Mrs. Vagnier has also worked in gifted education, as a technology coordinator, and as a writing instructor for teachers at the state level. She holds an Ed.S. in Administration and Supervision and a Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction.

Andy Lombardo is an Instructional Coach/Technology Coordinator for Maryville Junior High School and a Blackboard Coordinator for Maryville City Schools. In his eleven years in education, he has worked primarily as an English teacher who worked to incorporate science and technology into the core curriculum. He has previously served as an Educator Intern at the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont as a researcher for Discover Life in America and the All-Taxa Biodiversity Inventory, in the Education Department at the Knoxville Zoological Gardens, was selected as a participant in the Toyota International Teacher Program to Galapagos, and completed an EarthWatch research fellowship monitoring mammals in Costa Rica.

Jodi Eanes is a STEM Teacher/Technology Coordinator for John Sevier Elementary School. Jodi has a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction. She has been in education for 17 years with experience teaching first grade, technology for second-fourth grades, and currently STEM for second-third grades. In addition to her classroom responsibilities, she provides professional development and support for teachers implementing technology into their classrooms. Jodi is currently working to implement a 1:1 digital conversion in Prekindergarten through third grade using tablet devices.

Twitter:

Amy Vagnier
Twitter: @aevagnier

Andy Lombardo
School twitter handle is @mjhsrebels and personal twitter is @andylombardo

Jodi Eanes
@jodieanes

When: Monday, June 1, 2015 3:30 PM 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 #36 #BbK12Live

The @BlackboardK12 BITS Learning Sessions #36 #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 featurae 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!

What do you mean “Stress Free Teaching”?

Imagine feeling like you have created an individual education plan for every student without all the work! Personalized learning, engagement, and less stress are just a few of the benefits I have experienced through implementing blended learning. Join me as I share a journey that leaves students asking to skip recess and me leaving one sentence sub notes that say "the kids know what to do"!

Diana Bailey, Fifth Grade Teacher, Deerfield Elementary, Lawrence Public Schools

Raised in Lawrence Kansas, Diana Bailey has taught elementary students for 11 years. Two years ago she began to utilize the blended learning model for 21st century learners. During this time she has won the Unusually Excellent Educator Award and the Lawrence School District Teacher of the Year for 2014. As regional semi-finalist for the state of Kansas teacher of the year, her peers seek her out as a role model, for collaboration, and blended learning practices to implement in their own classrooms. Her love of the outdoors, excersise, travel, and humor keep her in touch with the youth of today and constantly seeking out ways to improve her teaching strategies.

Twitter: @krizmandiana

When: Monday, May 18, 2015 3:30 PM 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.

Pen, Paper… Robot? Exciting Webinar from Intel

Pen, Paper… Robot? Ask Intel’s Futurist what the classroom of 2025 will look like.

A futurist?

You read that correctly. It’s Brian David Johnson’s job to study and make predictions about the future, for governments, militaries, trade organizations, and corporations. When he’s not researching, his articles appear in Scientific American, Forbes, and Popular Science, and he makes the occasional appearance on PBS and the Discovery Channel.

On May 20, Brian will take on the future of education. Have you wondered how to best prepare yourself for tomorrow’s classroom, or how to prepare your students for their future education? Technology alone, Johnson says, won’t make our kids smarter. So, what force will power education’s future?

Well, sign up for Intel Education’s free webinar, and you’ll have the opportunity to ask a real futurist such questions yourself.

Intel is also giving away a WowWee MiP Robot RC Robot for those that are in attendance. 

I have my question ready: When will Skynet become sentient and what I can do to prepare for this event to happily meet my robotic overlords?

What’s yours? I hope to hear your questions next Wednesday, May 20, 2:00 PM PT. Sign up here. After all, how often do you get the chance to talk ask a professional futurist anything? See you there.

This is a sponsored post from Intel, but talking about the future is still really cool.

The @BlackboardK12 BITS Learning Sessions #35 #BbK12Live

The @BlackboardK12 BITS Learning Sessions #35 #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 featurae 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!

Blending: A Recipe for Engaging in Rigorous Math Instruction

Blended Learning is helping math teachers engage students with rigorous math instruction, while supporting the Common Core Standards. Join us as we share a few strategies and techniques that we are using in our classrooms.

Danira Fernandez-Flores, Teacher on Special Assignment – Math 6-12, Foreign Language
Philip Thies, Teacher on Special Assignment – Math K-5, Lawrence Public Schools

Danira Fernandez-Flores is a veteran Mathematics and Spanish teacher in the Lawrence Public Schools. She has taught 10 years at the junior high level and 9 years at the high school level, where she served as Mathematics Department Chair. The last two years she has brought her leadership skills to the position of Teacher on Special Assignment. Danira has taught Mathematics in the blended model, she has supported teachers with the blended model, and created professional learning opportunities for teacher using the blended model. Danira focuses her work towards empowering teachers in designing curricular and instructional environments that promote authentic engagement and learning for all students.

Philip Thies is proud to be a Teacher on Special Assignment with Lawrence Public Schools. Philip partners with teachers, parents, and administrators to design digital curriculum that supports blended learning classrooms and professional learning opportunities, while establishing an atmosphere of personalized learning for all. His passion for education inspires others, creating an environment where individuals exceed expectations.

Twitter: @daniralflores and @philipthies

When: Monday, May 11, 2015 3:30 PM EST

Sign Up

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 #34 #BbK12Live

The @BlackboardK12 BITS Learning Sessions #34 #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 featurae 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!

Breaking the mold: Blending PD with Blackboard Learn

Blended learning and personalization are two extremely popular buzzwords currently cycling through the realm of education. Many teachers have experienced Blackboard Learn as a student in an undergraduate or graduate level, online course. They have often been exposed to a few of the basic Learn tools, but often have not worked with many of Blackboards features. In order to help provide ideas and inspiration for teachers to use Blackboard learn in a K-12 “blended environment”, the session will focus on “breaking the mold” of traditional sit and get tech training to a more flexible, modeling of blended models and strategies using Blackboard Learn. These blended trainings can help teachers not only learn how to build in Blackboard Learn, but model effective blended strategies in the process.

Jason Bihler, Instructional Designer (High Schools)

After completing his bachelor’s degree in Anthropology, Mr. Jason Bihler began his fourteen year teaching career in the Mississippi Delta at Shaw High School in Shaw, Mississippi. After two years, he moved to Nashville to take a social studies position at Antioch High School and has spent the last twelve years developing instruction that utilizes technology to push the boundaries of the traditional classroom.

In striving to make connections with his students and to foster higher levels of learning, he began to infuse his classroom with lessons that integrated technology in a variety of innovative ways. Among his pursuits, digital storytelling, back-channeling, and creating his own blended learning environments have enabled him to challenge his students and extend the learning environment. He moved from a single computer classroom with tape recorders and a video camera to the use of digital document cameras, webcams, mobile computer labs, a cart of iPads and student mobile devices. By creating his own web pages, utilizing the Exploring Minds Network, developing Historically Speaking… (a five year blended experiment with Ning), and incorporating Blackboard©, Jason has worked to develop a classroom that is conducive to collaboration, creativity, and communication, while meeting the challenges of the 21st century classroom.

He is an award winning teacher being selected twice as the Teacher of the Year at Antioch and was last year awarded as the General Education Teacher of the Year at the Academies of Nashville Awards. He has facilitated professional development concerning the innovative use of technology in the classroom at both the school and district level.
Twitter: @idesignlt

When: Monday, May 4, 2015 3:30 PM EST

Sign Up

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.