Just keep swimming....Just keep swimming

Just like Dory from "Finding Nemo" we need to just keep swimming. Time is flying by right now and I didn't realize how long it has been since I last posted. Things in my world are going amazingly well.  Usually the time between Thanksgiving and Winter Break drag on, but this year even the kids mentioned how quickly the time is going. Last month, OETC was looking for pictures of students using technology. Of course I shared pictures of my students working on various projects. It was so cool to see my students on Pinterest and their Facebook page. I love sharing what my students are doing in the classroom.

Students have been busy using the book creator app to create the How To Book's using one of the apps on their iPads. Now we are getting ready for a Cookies, Coco and Coding Festival next week. I have my students creating games using their iPad. I can't wait to show off what they have created. It all started with the "Hour of Code" initiative. Being that I teach a technology based course and see the benefits of technology with my students with special needs, I felt it was important to set aside the time in my room to make this happen. They students started out with researching the idea behind the hour of code, explaining why it is important and then they began to work on their coding for their games. I can't wait for my preview day to see what they create.

I need to remember just like Dory to "Keep Swimming" because the world of IEP writing is ever changing. This past week we received notification about the changes to the read aloud accommodation for my students. I'm baffled and confused about some of the information out there and don't know how to change things for my students. I will continue to do what is best for my students because after all this they are students and not just test scores.

Going from hitting the brick wall to backing away from it

Technology has been an amazing part of my classroom. Aside from the iPad classes, I also teach 3 resource room classes. Each resource room has 2 different grade levels at the same time. So looking at the schedule I may only “teach” 5 classes but 3 of the classes have 2 grades in them. I typically loop with my students at least part of their middle school experience. I love watching them grow, getting to know their personalities and also their families. The first time I get my kiddos it is often a rough go for the first few weeks, usually I have a lot of faith in being able to get them where they need to be but for some reason early this year, I didn’t have the usual confidence.

I finally came to the conclusion that I was spoiled for the past 3 years. They made AMAZING growth. By the time they left me in 8th grade, the state of Ohio saw them as proficient on their OAA. Some of them made 20 points worth of growth, others made closer to 50 points growth. Last year we were reading Edgar Allen Poe and the reality was that I would not be able to do it with this group of students. I was crushed as I felt last year was amazing, we read and understood text that I never thought I could do in the resource room.

This year started and I would ask questions, the kiddos looked at me like I had 6 heads. I felt that I was knocking my head against a brick wall (and some days I actually was) I realized that the issue was not with the kids but with me. I was still wishing and hoping that I would be able to use the same short stories and have the same levels of understanding. Once I realized that we needed to change, I had to set the wheels in motion.

I have one individual who can do the short stories and have the same understanding, but the rest of them should be met individually or in partner groups. Two of the young ladies might have the abilities but really lack the confidence to speak out loud in class or look people in the eye. Before I can even start to “teach” reading I need to boost their confidence.

I decided to teach them individually. Luckily I have only 4 students in the class and I learned how to make a mastery unit with Schoology. Between Schoology and Google Slides, I was able to converse and build a presentation with one young lady on point of view in writing. She has even begun to preview the short story “Charles” by Shirley Jackson. She is going to be my pilot student on the mastery folders. If they work well (and I think they would) I have a few other ideas. Might take me all year but I think this should work well for the kiddos. After all they are the reason I’m there.

Being in a resource room I love seeing any success that we can get from a student. I wished the state would see the students through my eyes and not just as a test score. With all the changes to evaluations and testing, it becomes harder and harder to see even the smallest success in a positive light, in my mind I have to refuse this as sometimes this is where my students land and they have worked their hardest to get there.

Stepping outside of our comfort zones

As a teacher my intentions are to prepare students for the future. Yes I care about the test scores but more importantly I want them to be prepared for real life. Not only do I make them research apps, brainstorm activities, self evaluate, peer evaluate, take risks and attempt to show their creative side, I also make them present to their peers on a weekly basis (GASP! HOW DARE SHE!) Some of the presentations are very short, others longer but they have to present their findings and what they created. Here is the issue...I dislike being in front of a crowd of my peers. Give me a class full of students and I do fine, but my peers are another story. In order to not be a "Do as I say, not as a I do" type of teacher, I have started to branch out of my comfort zone.

Last spring, I presented at a small mobile learning symposium at Bowling Green State University. The experience was not that bad so I decided to start looking for more opportunities. What I found was a very limited number of presentations on students with special needs and the incorporation of technology into their classes. I found my niche!  I spent this morning presenting two different sessions one being a paper"less" classroom and the other was meeting the needs of all students in the digital age. The feedback I received was positive and by the end of the morning I was more comfortable. Last week I submitted a proposal to present at OETC in February.  I should know more in a few weeks if I have the opportunity. Either way I plan on attending.

Things are trucking along in my classroom. In my absence I gave my students an experience with app dice. We have been talking about digital citizenship and internet safety for the past few weeks. Students were choosing a random item from a bag and roll an app die (Thanks Tony Vincent) to see what app they would be using to create a visual explanation of the item. I was really excited about this project. I hope they were also. Too often we get stuck in the apps we like and are afraid to go outside of our comfort zone. This activity required the students (and adults) to go outside of their comfort zone.

Whirlwind of a start

I can't believe that we are halfway through the first marking period. We had midterms earlier this week and it was eye opening to both some students and parents. Middle school is a little different than elementary school and the expectations have moved the bar up just a bit. Overall, I think the transition for most kids went very well.

Classes are going well. The resource rooms are going slower than I would like but we will speed up at some point. I have found that one day worth of lesson plans in those classes last me two or more days. But, the kids are showing growth. Even though we are 1 to 1 with an iPad for each student, I put into place a interactive math book. In the book, we have the typical table of contents, but I have also included their "I Can" statements complete with a place to show they that they can solve the problems. In addition, I have started to add a QR Code that links to a You Tube Video on how to do the skill. Sometimes we all need a little help remember what we did in class.

I am still loving my iPad classes. I can count more days when everything is working and going well. Although this week was another story. Everything went wrong. The projector bulb is quickly dying, my Activboard wouldn't work, the laptop was stuck at the loading Windows screen and then went black, and then the Internet wasn't working. Days like that make me want to cry and I feel like a failure to my students. I have to remember to take a step back and realize there are so many amazing things that the kids are creating. We just finished creating Snap Guides which are how to guides. I saw everything from how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to how to put a saddle a horse. My 7th graders were more willing to take risks with this. They loved eating all the things that people created in class. The 6th graders kept it a little safer. It was amazing to see a student type on a braille typewriter and the confidence that they showed. Typically we don't always see the confidence in kids, but this project brought it out.

There are always a ton of ideas swirling around in my head in relation to the iPad and student creations. Some of them work, others are HUGE failures.  Still a learning experience for all of us,

Summer vacation!

Schools out for the summer!

June flew by so quickly. Once school gets out I usually take a few weeks to relax and decompress before I start working on things. I love to plan and work on things during the summer. It allows me to work at a relaxed paced, be creative and think things through. It helps that I am usually on there back deck in the sun while planning.

June also brings to me a great deal of anxiety. Towards the end of the month I can see my students test scores. Being a special education teacher I constantly worry about my students doing their best on the test but the fact remains that there are things beyond my control. One student and his parent decided that he no longer needed to be on meds about a month before the test. This child had been on meds most of his life so going off of them was a big deal, he couldn't handle it. After chatting with mom she had him take his meds for testing. Another student should have been on meds but isn't. My heart breaks for her as she realizes that there are things she can't control. Keeping her calm and giving her space to walk around during testing is huge. Our amazing PTO brings bagels in on testing days, this young lady does not like bagels, so I made blueberry muffins. She worked so hard and it showed. I dislike the fact that part of my evaluations are based on student test scores. We have test anxiety and at times don't do well on things we know we have to perform at. I am beyond excited with my student test results this year. Out of my 7 resource room students, all 7 scored 400 or above on the reading OAA. A score of 400 means they are reading on grade level. Amazing for a group of students, some who have never passed the reading test in their lives. Math has always been a struggle. I don't enjoy teaching it but I try my best. Students gained anywhere from 4 to 31 points, but yet we just missed the mark on the math OAA.

I think there were a few different factors went into our success this year.
1. Student engagement: I was super excited about using the iPads and made sure the excitement was contagious.
2. Annotating text: We started to annotate everything we read. I saw students doing this on their OAA test passages.
3. Looping: I have been with the kiddos since they were in 6th grade. I know them personally and they know me. They aren't afraid to come up to me in the grocery store. At times I think their parents wished I knew a little less.

My goals for the upcoming school year is to continue to have my kiddos annotate their text,I have the relationships built but not the looping, and I am still super excited about the technology we have been given. I'm still working on things for my math class, not sure where I want to go but I know I want to increase their math scores.

Things I Have Learned This Year

This was our first year of being 1:1 with iPad in grades K-8, our high school went to laptops. I had no clue how much of an impact the iPad would have on me both as a parent, as the teacher and also as the learner. Now that the school year is over and I have had 4 days to decompression (read 4 romance novels, and sit outside) I am ready to reflect on the year. Below are the top 5 things I learned this year.

1. It is hard to be an early adaptor. I loved the idea of 1:1, but I thought the bugs would be worked out before the school year started. I was wrong. I spent most of the first marking period crying at home since I was not able to show students what I was doing on my iPad. I feel that I failed my first grading period iPad class. Of course this had all of my special needs students in there. My amazing husband (and support system) bought me an adaptor to play my ipad. Once that happened, we got Apple TV in the classroom. Things turned around.

2. Nothing will go as planned. Every update that came with the iPad brought new challenges and headaches. I would decide to show an app and the students were not able to download it because wifi was down, or they don't have iTunes accounts. By the end I knew what questions to ask on the first day of every 9 week session to work through some of them. In the end, students were instrumental in helping develop a list of apps that can be used instead of just about anything.

3. Students in school right now might be digital natives but they are not tech savvy. They play games, they face time, they Instagram but when you ask them to problem solve or be creative their are crippled with fear. By the end of the marking period, students were starting to take responsibility for their devices and work with their peers to problem solve. By the time they would come to me they would start the conversation with "I already tried ...." Students were taking risks by asking teachers if they can do something different with a project. It was a quiet victory dance when I would hear that.

4. I expect more from others than others do. As a parent, I wanted the teachers to be using the iPad in class. I was sad when my kids came home with 97% of their battery life. I thought others would be as excited as I was having these devices but they weren't. People complained and I grew tired of hearing it. I felt so bad for the tech coaches. I expected our administration to model what they wanted us using the devices for.

5. It is more than ok to give up control in the classroom. I'm not talking behavior management type of control, more along the lines of letting the students teach me or I'm there to facilitate and encourage. Towards the end of the year, my 8th grade students were working on an assignment where they had to use the plot map to write a script for a stop motion movie. They needed scenery and all that jazz. I looked around the room, they were working collaboratively and I was there to facilitate, to offer suggestions and to be there for them to bounce ideas off of.  When I meet the kiddos in 6th grade, I would never thought we would get to that point.

With all of this realized I am in a place where I am looking forward. I can not change how others feel about the technology gift we have been given, instead I am going to use it to my students benefit. Let them become empowered, have the independence and ability to create amazing things.  I will continue to search out exciting ideas and assignments that force my students to grow their thinking. I will share my ideas with others that want to learn from it. I will not apologize when I step on people's toes by using the technology or when the students ask their teacher if they can do something different.  I hope that at some point others will become excited about these ideas and start to use them in the classroom because the students deserve a change.

The end is near...

Now that we are finished with our state testing (OAA) although I still have Friday to do, I have started to reflect on the school year. It has been an amazing year. There is so much to reflect on both the good, the bad and the UGLY.

By nature I try to maintain a positive classroom environment. I want the room to be someplace where the kids feel like it is their 2nd home. I want it to be a place where I want to spend my time. My typical day has me at school by 7:10 and leaving at 3:30. For the better part of my day, I am in my classroom. I love the color combination, all of my storage, how organized my teacher bookcase is. What I don't like it my table layout. I go from a class of 25 where were are moving and using the iPads to a class of 6 with small group instruction. Currently I have 6 tables. Figuring out how to place them has been an issue all year long. We have been testing out different set ups.

I have to say I love being a resource room teacher. This group of kids I have now, have been with me since 6th grade. When I had some of them in 6th grade, I didn't think we would make it to 8th grade. The amount of growth and maturity they have shown is utterly amazing. It gets me every year. They have allowed me to treat our classroom as a trial and error lab with the 1:1 devices. They have been brutally honest on what works and what does not. One of my kiddos said "Mrs. S. if we can figure it out, then everyone else that is smarter should be able to figure it out." While I agree with him, I don't like him feeling that he isn't as smart as everyone else. He is an amazing kid who can teach you anything about nature. I really am going to miss them once they go on to the high school. I know I prepared them when I am not inundated with emails from them at the beginning of the year.

I have become very tech dependent. It is a part of every lesson that I teach. In my classroom, the students do not see this as only a device to play games, but a device to create. This past week we have experienced "strained" internet issues or apps just disappearing (that was an honest mistake) but it made me realize that I have changed my teaching. We are using the iPad to take notes, record information, and synthesize information. My 8th grade students read 3 different articles on tips for the transition from middle school to high school, they then are creating games with that information.

Right now as a tech committee we are struggling with the thoughts of keeping the App Store on or turning it off in the future. I can see both sides of the coin on this one, but in my specific learning environment, it would hinder the educational process. I challenge my students to find things that work for them. I have banned powerpoint from my classroom, so I now have a list of at least 5 different presentation apps that kids can use.

I am beginning to look ahead at the future. Presenting went so well last week that I want to present again. I have already submitted a proposal to present the same information in October, now I want to add how to become a paperless classroom and manage all of those things. Would that be a session you would want to hear? Especially if I include student perspective?

Procrastination

Honestly I have a ton of things I should be doing. I need to finish my presentation for the Mobile Learning Symposium, lesson plans are only written for Monday, grades need to be put into the grade book and all of my home things. Nothing is motivating me to do these things. I know how my kids are starting to feel.

We start OAA testing this week. Thursday my students will take the Reading OAA. We will start the morning with yummy Panera Bagels thanks to our PTO and while the kids work I think I will show them Let It Go Testing Parody. These teachers did an amazing job of saying what I would to my middle school students. Goofy yes, but they expect it from my class and me. I started getting everything ready for Thursday. Huge bag of mints, canister of bubble gum, water bottles, erasers, just need to hit the dollar store for some cheap headphones/earbuds since they listen to the questions. I know the growth that they have made, I just hope that it translates to the testing situations.

I did my final observation for the year, I had my principal come in to watch the 6th grade iPad class present what they did for App Smashing. I saw some amazing work from them. I was overly nervous because we had been having some tech issues with the Apple TV (and this is a HIGH group of students (I'm used to the other end of the spectrum.) My principal remarked that he "never thought he would see kids combining apps, creating an imovie about it, then present and share all within one class period." I guess he liked it because he came back and did a walk through for 20 minutes a week later in that same class. The best part of all this won't come until next year. For the 2014-2015 school year I will teach 2 different 1:1 iPad classes. The incoming 6th graders and the 7th graders. My wheels are already turning for the 7th graders. I would love for them to create an app to solve a problem that we have within the district or building. In addition, they might have to create their own stylus that can be made with household materials and also functional to use on the iPad. Let me know if you have any other suggestions on what to do with the kiddos.

I wrote about sending challenges to my former students and I had one student take me up on the challenge. Here is the video she created iPad Class. She is a great young lady who really came out of her shell in the iPad class. I plan to continue posting challenges for the kids knowing that one student is continuing her education outside of my classroom and the school building.

Ready to Wind Down The Year

So hard to believe that there are less an 8 weeks left to the school year. Last year at this time I was still working on IEP's and trying to think about how we were going to be a 1 to 1 school. This year it seems to different.

All of my IEP's and ETR's have been done since the end of March. I had my 2nd OTES evaluation today. I originally completed my first OTES evaluation early in the year. In my mind it went well overall. I was fortunate enough to have data about my kiddos since I looped with them since 6th grade. It was a safe bet as it was also my reading class. We had been doing amazing things in reading and I wanted to showcase them.

This time around I went outside of my comfort zone and had my principal observe me in a general education setting. I haven't been observed in a general education classroom since my 2nd year of teaching. To complicate things even more, I wanted to showcase the use of technology within the school and most of the class had OAA scored above 430 (talk about the other end of the spectrum.) Being 1 to 1 this year has caused a great deal of headaches, we learned a great deal and I wanted to showcase. So my students app smashed and made them into iMovie trailers. I was proud of the kids who presented today, they only had a few days to complete the assignment and had to present to the entire class and the school principal. Aside from some little blips (not enough space and Apple TV not allowing us on) I think it went well. The kids have already asked "What are we going to do next?"

About this time of year, I start thinking about the next school year. I know I shouldn't rush it but I use my summers to front load my plans. I might not have everything written out but I have an idea of what I want to do. It makes my life more enjoyable. Today I started a quest to find new tables for my classroom. I'm thinking round ones and a little birdy told me there might be some in storage. Now to just convince the powers that be to allow me to use them in my room.

I guess I should focus on my upcoming presentation at BGSU Mobile Learning Symposium first...

Challenge Number 1

Spring break was not long enough. I only accomplished about 5 things on my to-do list. Granted one of them was because my husband was not too keen on me painting the kitchen island green. It was a really pretty green that I picked out. I did get the two books I ordered, one has been pushed to my summer reading basket, the other one I need to be able to focus and learn from it. 

What I did accomplish was coming up with my first challenge for my former iPad class. Here is the challenge 

"Your challenge should you choose to accept it, is to make a qr code linking to an imovie trailer about the iPad class. What are the benefits, your favorite parts, least favorite parts, how can you use the the things you learned in other classes. Send me the qr code in an email or try and figure out how to link it to Schoology. Challenge 1 is due April 11. You can see me during AA if you need anything. Have fun."

I had kids emailing me and sending messages via Schoology on when I would have one up and running for them. I love that they want to continue learning on their iPads even though I don't have them for class any more. I have to be careful. I have them next year for iPad class. I hope that I will be able to show the powers that be what kind of amazing work the kids do when they are left to their own devices.

Now I have to go back to writing my lesson plan for my 2nd OTES observation :(  This one is not going to be in my normal resource room. I decided to branch out and see how I can do in my general education technology class. Should be interesting.

Ideas for student challenges

At the end of the last marking period, my students did not want to end. Of course it was the marking period that had the most delays and cancellations. This was also the first group that I used @Schoology with the entire time. When I told them that since the marking period was over, the course would be closing. They begged for me to keep it open to communicate with them and asked if I would post challenges to them.

I love that learning is not stopping even though the course is over. I told them to give me until after spring break (about 2 weeks) to get ideas together. The questions started coming in asking when the challenges would begin, to be honest I never thought they would want it. It looks like I will be spending some time looking for challenges that they can do and submit to me for their iPad. Maybe being the day of spring break at 3 PM isn't the best time to think of some but I don't know what to do. Any ideas or suggestions?

Being that I had testing last week, this was the first week that I have seen my iPad class. I decided that when we start a class each marking period, I am also going to bring the laptop cart into my room. It is so much easier to get +Schoology set up, change their pictures, and link their Google Drive all in one place. It took only 1 class period to get that all done. Pretty impressed with them.

Now to enjoy my Spring Break and think about these challenges.

I love shiny things.

For Valentine's Day my husband bought me an amazing gift. It was a cord that allowed me to show what it on my iPad on my activboard. He was tired of me complaining about the air server dropping when I was trying to teach class. I love that cord, the kids loved it and we were using it every day. Today I was so excited to see our tech coach walk into my room with a little box in her hands. She brought me an Apple TV.

I feel so spoiled with all the technology in my classroom. My Promethean Board is still my hub, the iPads are where kids create and now with the Apple TV we will be sharing. Up until today, kids were sharing their youtube videos in a link to my email. Now my inbox thanks my tech person.

Right now the kids are sharing movies that they created on Cyber Bullying/Bullying. They knocked my socks off this morning. I saw true, emotional movies about the effects of bullying, sincere talks as to where students can turn if they are being bullied, best of all it was all student driven content. Being that this is delicate information, I am going to share their movies using QR codes on the bulletin board. Almost like a virtual film festival.

So little time lately

I have been knee deep in IEP season for me. Love that it is early, but with all of the delays and closings I am a little behind. My bulletin board is neglected, the blog (which is mainly for me) hasn't been touched, lesson planning is on a day by day basis. Stuff like that. Now I'm hoping for some point of a normal life. Only 3 more IEP meetings to go, district testing, and state testing, preparing a presentation and bio for BGSU Mobile Learning Symposium. Oh and an impending snow storm!

Now that we are about 3/4 of the way done with our year 1 of being 1 to 1, my students had a couple if interesting things to say
Pro's
1. Like them it makes it easier to have everything with you
2. You don't lose papers...less ZAP's
3.Keeps you organized
5. I like them but want to stick with paper and pencil, so that I can have more things open at once.
6. Allows you to personalize your iPad. Lock screen stays the same but you can change the background
7. No more papers falling out of binders or loosing papers
8. More direct help such as spelling words

Cons:
1. Using Progressbook, we have trouble naming the files. It makes it hard to figure out which ones are which in PDF expert
2. Some teachers won't print papers anymore.
3. Kids forget about doing their homework
4. Sometimes it freezes up (but easy to turn off and on)
5. Each teacher is doing something different for turn in.

As a teacher we don't have an LMS. We are trying different things. In my classes, two of my classes are using schoology, one is using google drive and PDF Expert and the last group is using email. My kids are really easy going and willing to try, but then again I have had them for 3 years. One of my kiddos said to me "If we can figure out the stuff (LMS) then everyone else can."  This year has been filled with trials and tribulations. I have a feeling we are not done with the tears and stress.

Apps of the week

I have been trying to highlight an app each week with my resource room and also my iPad class. I love getting some new ideas as to how to use the app in the educational setting. Some of the kids are not afraid to take a risk and share some ideas, while some are a little timid. This marking period I have not done an app review of the week. There are a few reasons:

1. the weather has been crazy. We have stopped, started and stopped again. The past 4 days that I have seen my class are the longest stretch we have gone. 
2. the kids were mainly looking for games. While I know there is a place for the games, some of the teachers around me are frustrated that the iPads are being used that way. 
3. We haven't had time.  (Yes I know this is the same as #1)

Last week we highlighted Haiku Deck and the kids loved it. I love the backgrounds, pictures and limited space for writing. My students tend to want to put everything they need to say onto a power point slide. The nice thing about Haiku Deck is that it limits their words and forces them to speak more. On a rating scale of 1 to 5 stars, my students gave it a 4 star rating. They felt it was easy to use and loved the on screen tutorials. My lowest reader said those were the most helpful.

This week in the iPad class I am introducing Snap Guide. They will be making a "how to book" of their choice. Right now I am at a crossroads as to deciding if I should make it a certain number of images, etc. But I really want to give them the freedom to write about what they want.  I am also toying with the idea of having the kids participate in a "how to" fair. They would share their Snap Guide and their finished project with their teachers, other students, tech people and administration. Just not sure they would think it was a good project or just goofy. I shared this app with the gym teacher, they can use it to design their own exercise program, or for the younger kids, they can design an obstacle course as one of their Blizzard Bags. I can even see them using this in reading. When they read a book such as The Hunger Games, why not make a survival guide from Castniss' point of view. Just another way to use the amazing technology we have been given. My goal is to show this to my resource room students so they can help me write the review and give it the star ratings. 

Last week I said that I was submitting a proposal to present at Bowling Green's M Learning Symposium in May. Well I found out that I was accepted to present. I will be presenting on making mobile learning work within the resource room. I am very excited.

I often use my class as test subjects with things that relate to technology. This year is no exception as we went to one to one devices. Once we started the year (and overcame some of our hurdles), the tech committee realized we needed something better than just Google to give and get papers and assignments to our students. One of the apps/sites we have been testing is Schoology (@ schoology.com). Both my 8th grade math class (small class with only 7 kiddos) and my iPad class (23 kids) are using schoology. Saturday afternoon I was sitting around playing with it and putting some upcoming assignments into their iPad course. I had three different students on schoology at the same time. One asked a question in response to my discussion question, two others submitted an assignment. So even though it was the weekend, learning was still happening. The iPad class has only met about a half dozen times as of last week. Last Monday was the first day I introduced them to schoology. Tuesday I was asked to speak to the elementary tech committee on using this LMS, so I left the kids a video to watch with a question to respond to and another assignment using an app on their iPad. While I was presenting, my students were still learning and I was getting notifications that the kids were responding to my questions and also submitting their assignments. I was impressed.

Our next test is with virtual classroom via progressbook. I am planning on showing my reading class this feature tomorrow.

Professional Development

Now that I have been bitten by the technology bug I am having a hard time with my own professional development. I want meetings to be flipped, my classroom to be blended and most of all I want to learn more. Most of the sessions that I went to at OETC were amazing, there were a few that did nothing for me and then there were few that made me think about presenting. Problem is that I become very nervous in front of my peers. What happens is that my NY accent comes out along with the NY speed. That being said, I only typically present to my peers within the building. The last time I presented in a larger group was at the Ohio Special Education Conference but I had a couple of co-presenters with me.

But being at OETC has me seriously thinking about presenting. My students are doing some amazing things in my classroom (I can take partial credit for that) and the world (or at least the state of Ohio) needs to be shown what they can do. I shared my desire to present with my educational cheerleader (thanks Laura @mrs._ldavis ) and she sends me the information for Bowling Green's M-Learning Symposium in May. Last night I submitted a proposal to present a 45 minute session on one to one in the resource room.

I have the opportunity to share what I have found out about schoology (@schoology) to the elementary technology committee on Tuesday morning. I am excited about it as one of my students said "if you can have us use it, then anyone can use it." I told him it was not entirely true but I understood where he was coming from. I guess this can be the stepping stone I need.

On the classroom front, I designed a new interactive bulletin board for the hallway. It will have an app of the week, with a QR code to get to it, plus reviews and hopefully a summary from the kids that use it. In addition, I am hoping to have guest bloggers on my school blog about technology. As we grow I would love to turn over those responsibilities to students. Being in middle school with some digital natives, I have started to plan and ask for a "genius hour". Having the students take more responsibility in teaching their peers, supporting the teachers and furthering the technology goals we have. Allowing some of the unconventional students a time to shine.

Digital Learning Day

Today was Digital Learning Day and in Ohio we had a snow day. So much for being able to be digital all day at school. But that is ok...every day in my classroom can be digital learning day. Earlier this week we had to make blizzard bags for our students. In math class, my students were going to use the ShowMe app with their iPad to record themselves solving equations. Not bad for a group of kids who in 6th grade struggle with adding and subtracting. Other classes had similar projects where I forced them to create.

When I came back from OETC I decided that the bulletin board in my hallway was BORING. It is in the process of being transformed into an interactive digital bulletin board. The plan is to highlight an app (either one on our devices currently or a new one) complete with a QR code link to it in the itunes store. This week was ShowMe and the reviews are the ones from my actual students. I also started a sister blog to this one, where I plan to have guests (students) blog about something technology based. Last week I put 5 QR codes on the wall for my iPad class, a few different presentation tools. I didn't have a chance to take them down between periods, what I noticed is that others students were coming up and grabbing the codes. I hope that the teachers in the building see some amazing presentations because of this.

And just like that I am back

Since January started I have 7 days where there were no classes, 8 days of delays where I do not see my iPad class and a total of 6 NORMAL DAYS. Looking at that it is no wonder I haven't gotten anything done.

I spent three amazing days at OETC 14 (Ohio educational technology conference) and it was wonderful. Granted not all of the sessions were wonderful, but a majority of them had very useful content. I was able to take 9 pages worth of electronic notes and then a page of ideas that I have moving around in my head. I really needed a secretary to take notes as I was driving home yesterday. My biggest take away from all of the sessions was to allow students to create and explain in order to show their personal understanding AND then I hit reality this morning.

I am in an amazing situation. In our building we have 2 computer labs (not always working), 3 mobile laptop carts, 5 thin client computers in my room and the kids are 1 to 1 with iPads. Every teacher has an iPad and also a laptop. Our laptops are primarily hooked up to the Promethean boards so I know I use my iPad. The fact is even though we have all of this technology at out fingertips, it is not being used. We have some issues with being able to do certain things such as a class twitter account for exit tickets or general information, being able to read educational blogs due to content blocked but these are minor when compared to the bigger issue of... as a school we are not using what we have been given. My 6th grade iPad class met for the 2nd time today. I wanted them to make a presentation of some sort about them. I told them they can even use power point on the iPad (I was desperate) and they don't even know how to open it. By now the kids have had their iPads since August about 20 weeks and they don't know what to do. We are doing a HUGE disservice to kids.

Off to OETC

I am so excited. I leave tomorrow morning to head to Columbus Ohio for 3 days of everything technology. Of course it doesn't hurt that I'm hanging out with best friend Learning to Lead @mrs_ldavis. Lots of brainstorming to come.

What's on our iPads

Teaching students with special needs I love using the iPad. I love the independence it gives some of my students and allows them to use resources they would never think of. Some of the people that I work with only think that kids play games on them all day long or they don't see the potential since they haven't made changes to their lesson plans in years.

So what do we do with our iPad?
- Textbooks: Some of my students have the newest version of PDF Expert which allows their textbooks to be read to them. Great for my auditory learners.
- Create math review videos using YouTube. Kind of modeled after the Khan academy videos, I have the students create their own video where they show the steps of their work.
-  In our building every classroom has an interactive white board. I tend to send my students the flipcharts for them to take their own notes and examples. I no longer need to send a study guide, just let them know what specific materials they need.
- Google Drive and Google Docs: We take all of our notes on these programs. Students currently are making their own presentations on the similarities and differences of similes and metaphors. They love when I comment as they are working on the page.
- Educreations, Screen Chomp and Doodle Buddy: I can put a problem on the board to be solved, they solve it on their flipchart page of notes and then show us the answer. I can scan the room to see who does not have the correct answer.
- Qrafter: We are just starting to use QR codes to check our answers and get to the exact page or app that I need them to.
- Schoology: Just started to use this for the 2nd semester. Friday was the first time I had kids log into it and get/complete an assignment. Comments from them "This is so easy."

I am pretty sure that as we explore and listen to the kids, what we have on their iPad will evolve. Am I always using the iPad to the best of our ability? Probably not but that it why I continue to try new things with my kids.

Our 5 Favorite Things to Accomplish on an iPad

We are so new to one to one iPad technology that we don't have overall building or grade level goals as to what we want the kids to be able to do. I am in the process of learning with them and trying to provide options on creating and analyzing instead of taking in information passively.

Middle schoolers are an interesting group. I never thought I would land here but I have been in this magical world for the past 13 years. After being home for 3 days last week due to weather and then 2 days worth of delays, I asked my students what their favorite academic things to do on the iPad were. In no special order here they are with their reasoning.

doodlebuddy/skecthes: solve math problems and then share with everyone in the class like an whiteboard.

youtube: both creating and watching movies. I had one student tell me that he watched his own video of how to solve equations before his quiz as a review. He got a 95% on his quiz.

PDF Expert: "we don't have to worry about not bringing our textbooks home." I have a select few students who have the latest version of PDF Expert 5 on their iPads. The love that it will read their history book to them. No more relying on someone to read it to them.

SIRI: "Mrs. S. it spelled the word for me." Again another sense of independence. Hard to be in 8th grade and have trouble spelling words.

Google Drive/Email/Quick Office: Access from any computer. They share folders with me and I can leave comments for them. I have kids that will check for comments during lunch and then come and talk to me during academic assist. I have kids that email me pictures of their new nephew because they wanted to share, drawings that they did while home for snow days and others that just check in.

One of my favorite apps

From an early age I realized I can not have things in file folders or in a file cabinet. That is the black hole of my stuff. So I have binders...lots and lots of binders. Always the same kinds...white with a view sleeve for labeling. But there are too many of them and I am running out of room. Now that all of my students have an iPad, I love being a paperless classroom. I don't remember the last time I collected a stack of papers from my kids. When I had a sub recently, they needed to make videos of them completing the work. I no longer bring home a full book bag or a milk crate full of "stuff". My chiropractor loves this also. It is very freeing to leave school with my purse (with my iPad) and my lunch bag.

Since going one to one seemed to be a thrown together plan, we really never looked at the management standpoint. We are still looking at what works and I can't wait to see what I find at the OETC conference at the end of the month. But for now I am using PDF Expert and Google Drive. Once all of the accounts are linked together they work nicely. Sometimes there is a lag between putting something into your Google drive and it showing up in PDF Expert but I'm not sure if that is an infrastructure issue, a Google issue or a PDF Expert issue.

In each of my classes, the kids have shared folders with me. All of their work goes in the subject folder and then I grade it with PDF Expert and place it in a graded folder. I think I got the best of some of my students one day when they were quietly working on a writing prompt. I was adding comments to their page as they were typing. Now they expect to see me in their writing and it keeps some of them on task without me calling them out. My smallest class has 6 kids in it, so they tend to know when someone is not working. It also forces my largest class of 23 to keep working. In that class I have had students write me a note in their writing knowing that I can answer what they call a "stupid question."

If you give a student an iPad...

they ask their teachers to use them...We are at the point in the year when the students know more about the iPad then some of their teachers. It is sad when we as teachers do not welcome students to teach us. I try in each of my iPad class lessons to show students how they can use an app within the classroom either for a project, help them study, better utilize their time and make it more relevant to their lives. Sometimes the students ask to use them in class but from what I am hearing from the kids, they are just using them without asking. Now to get the teachers using the iPad and to think outside of the box...

This marking period the students have created commercials to go along with their app evaluations. And some of them were amazing. I haven't taught them how to use imovie (still learning it myself) but they have taken the initiative to figure it out themselves and share their knowledge. I even had some kids spend time making a commercial for our iPad class. For everything that went wrong the first marking period....everything is moving along better for the 2nd marking period. We still have some issues with airserve but that is beyond my control.

My next project is starting a student technology task force. Since the students are the ones who are "digital natives" then we need to be learning from them. I would love to create a task force that gives students an opportunity to share their knowledge not only with their peers but also their teachers. I think we might be able to tap into some of our more creative, less main stream students.