Holy cow. I think the last time I blogged the Star Wars movie was still a rumor (new trailer: amazing). Pluto might still have been not-a-planet (because it is now again; almost). And I only dreamed of hosting a running podcast that has 350 hits a week (brag; sorry). But I digress.

Well, kind of.

I'm back here because I heard something today that made me think I'm 100% on the right path:

Sharing what we're doing isn't bragging, it's helping others learn. @adambellow #NETA15
— Rob Lindquist (@swift360) April 23, 2015

That's right. I'm at NETA for the first time. The Nebraska Educational Technology Association conference "exists for the purpose of providing leadership and promoting the application of technology to the educational process." In short, it's an EdTech conference drawing in people from all over the midwest. And so far, it's pretty dang sweet. 

You can find out more about NETA (by the way, they now have free membership) in the website link above. But my paraphrasing of today's keynote speaker is something I've tried to mention in this blog before. So I'm back. 

I think teachers that have the ability to share what their doing - whether it's in the classroom, in PD, in the wee-hours of the night planning a kick-ass lesson - don't always do so because they are only doing what their particular students need. Guess what. I'd bet other students might need the same thing. Or at least something similar. 

Today I met three people at NETA that made me do a little re-thinking.

The first was my NETA Match (random card with random number, find your match attendee number and you could win a prize) and we talked about being a media specialist that gave free hot cocoa to students if they checked out a book from the library. Circulation was up over 50% in the first quarter they tried it! Thanks to @TriciaBuell for being my NETA Match. *Make it a coffee and not only will students be there, but teachers would have stacks of books checked out!

The second and third people I met were presenters that had an idea to reinforce digital literacy implementation. Heather Callihan and Patty Wolfe came up with and refined a StopIt Program for students that violate the internet usage agreements at school; and instead of just a detention or other punishment, the student would be required to take a class (happens only once a month) about being a good digital citizen. The info in the link above is free for downloading, revising, and sharing (per the presenters). 

Now, maybe what I've said will help you. Maybe not. I know the StopIt Program is something I could use as I immediately got feedback online from a few people in my district (and I mentioned it to my Dist. Tech Specialist the next time I saw him). In fact, (toot toot) I'm working on a presentation/eBook on building a social media brand for your classroom; and StopIt will now be a part of it. 

Oh - maybe this will be something you'll try too:



http://www.starwars.com/games-apps/star-wars-crawl-creator/?5539ab56e4b06f9ab84d7e50

First, either I'm sorry or you're welcome for not posting in a while.

Yesterday was an odd experience for me. As a teacher, I like to let my students try things. Sometimes I know the outcome, sometimes I don't. I'm okay with kids failing as long as they don't do it more than once (for the same reason). I like when kids test limits and question things; it means they're thinking. But yesterday I put my foot down and said, "no."

Not so much as no as hey, I'm not going to let you do this.

My kids were ornery this week (the week before our holiday break). And I was gone on Wednesday. And my broadcasting kids did exactly what I told them not to do (something I've said all year): they interrupted classrooms. Generally, it's pretty harmless. But this week is our "funny holiday" show, which has become a sort-of prank show. Again, I'm okay with the idea ... if they do it appropriately. Unfortunately, I reflect and see I didn't do a good enough job explaining this and we had some issues.

So, I said this episode was cancelled.

Oh, I'm trying pull-quotes too.

At first, I expected a lot of fight from my kids. But in reality, they realized that what they did was not right. I heard from some teachers that they were disappointed in not having a show, but understood why (I sent an email to staff and CC'ed my kids).

And I feel this actually will be very beneficial to my kids in refocusing after our break and getting a broadcast show out better than we have in a while.

More good news....

I finally have some students interested in radio broadcasting. Well, as much as I am. And I've had kids before be interested, so we tried some broadcasting. But this time I have some kids that I felt confident enough to buy some new equipment:

Yesssssss!!!! I even drilled a hole in the table. I'm a nerd.

So far, the only bad news about it is my mixer was defective, so I sent it back. Oh, and I might not be able to have a single phone line (for callers), but I might be able to make Google Voice work.

Maybe.

Anyway, it was like Christmas came early:
I gave the naughty kids coal but earned some respect, and I gave the nice kids new radio equipment for podcasting, and earned some street cred.

Have a happy holiday, and hopefully I'll get a new post to you soon.

This is my second post in a series of posts for the "#CBCSD Blogging Challenge" in our district. 

The Challenge: During the month of November, teachers, administrators, counselors, superintendents, curriculum directors, janitors, activities directors, coaches... everyone, is invited to participate in a blogging challenge. We want to create a culture in Council Bluffs that emphasizes and honors being reflective and sharing. And, we want to use the tools at our disposal to model for our students and our community what a modern reflective professional, thinker, and life-long learner looks like.

My favorite EdTech tool is video, and this is how I use it:
- Writing prompts
- Informational
- Professional Development
- Introduction to a topic
- Animation
 - Presentations (think PowerPoint, but with video)

In the day of technology that we're in, especially in education, some tend to forget that a moving picture can capture the interest of a student in the way other media can't.

One of my favorite writing prompt starters when we work on Opinion Articles in Intro to Journalism.

And if you use video correctly, students tend to have a greater understanding of your content.

One of the points I make in my presentation "Effective Use of Video in the Classroom" at area conferences, is that planning is important. (Hey, that sounds familiar.) Here are some ideas when planning to use a video in your classroom:

• Preview the video
• Just a few seconds can spark your whole discussion

• Start a KWL before video

• Have students fill out a Google Form while watching

You can even do work during the video depending on the students you have, and the intended purpose of the video.

If you want more information, tips, or tricks from my presentation - of course, it's not everything because you should never read directly from a presentation ;) - I have linked to it here:

Effective Use of Video in the Classroom

Let me know in the comments if you have video ideas you've used that work and you'd like to share!

In the last two hours I have seen some things online that I said, "Crap, why didn't I think of posting that?"

Seriously?!

Exhibit A: A screenshot that sold for $90k
Exhibit B: A baby being soothed by Katy Perry's "Dark Horse"

Both of those things happen in my house... actually a lot. And there are a million (probably exaggerating a bit) other things that happen and I don't post or share online (you're welcome).

But, this experience of the last two hours reminded me: sometimes what you think is "normal" or "obvious" isn't to everyone.

Specifically, in the world of education and EdTech, I know some teachers personally that have a lot of knowledge, but are timid about putting it out there because "everybody knows that."

So, I've come up with two short lists. The first is where or how you can share your ideas (hint: you're reading one). The second list is why you should share.

Where and How to Share your ideas:
1) Blogging: Free form flow of ideas. Can also lead into links that share others' ideas. Traditional methods suggest Blogger or Wordpress. There are a lot of new and different ways to blog now too, like photoblogs through places like Tumblr and Instagram. You can even create your own website and just start sharing your ideas there.

2) Twitter: specifically #hashchats (is that a term? If not, I'm claiming it now. Editor's note: it's already out there. Darn). Your PLN is probably already doing a #hashchat on Twitter right now. They usually have specific times where users interact through questions and prompts. Try your state's abbreviation with ...edchat to see when your next meeting is (e.g. #iaedchat)

3) Other social media. I won't go into all of the details, but Google Plus and Facebook are obvious places to share. Just remember your intended audience with your pages. You might create specific pages to share info for your PLN and personal posts.

Why you should share:
1) Because it's important! And super easy. Obviously, you know a lot. You're educated. And not everybody knows what you know. So share things.

2) Perspective. You're reading this as a learner. I'm typing it as an educator (not just a classroom teacher, but someone sharing their knowledge in the hopes of you retaining some of it). But you're also an expert in whatever field you're specifically in; elementary ed in a low income, large school district, a district tech coordinator for a tiny rural school of 120 kids, or "your average teacher in the middle of Nowhere, USA."

You might be thinking, "What should I share?"

You're the only one that's had the experiences, both good and bad, that can help others (both the new and experienced) along the way. Whatever you decide to share will probably impact somebody in a big way.

Oh, and this screenshot is for sale. Make me an offer!



Do you have something to add? Or did I just simply miss something so obvious you need to vilify me? Share with me in the comments!

UPDATES ADDED AT BOTTOM OF POST:

Our district Tech Integration guy, @dschoening, told the ModelTech team to watch for/ sign up for the Google Classroom experiment. So I did, as a good minion would.

Here is the Google Classroom website for some background (you can request an invite here too).

So far, it seems like a mashup of what our district tried out for the past two years (Hapara Teacher Dashboard) and Google+. We are getting away from the Teacher Dashboard, from what I understand.

Easy interface for anyone with social media site experience.

Within a matter of minutes I created a class, added a cover photo, added an assignment with a link, and posted a welcome message. Any experience with any social media site will make this process pretty intuitive.

While that was easy to do, I was struggling with adding students. You can have students go to classroom.google.com and enter a code given to the teacher; or the teacher can just add by email (importing a list would be nice, but not quite available). I tried to do it both ways, yet it didn't ever seem to load (30 minutes of the loading page for one email, so I gave up). So, without being able to test turning in assignments or anything with students, I'll have to stop this review and come back with a followup later.


Pros: Simple. Easy to use interface. Connects to Google Drive for easy file sharing and organization.

Cons: Was not able to add students (obviously a necessity), so a BIG negative.

Final Thoughts: I think this tool has potential for connecting teachers to students and parents, but it might just be another platform for tools that are out there. I would love to see a better integration of Google Sites, otherwise this might just be a tool for delivering material just as a "regular" classroom website would be. There is potential though, so I'll keep up to date (and hopefully the student loading will be fixed).

UPDATE: 7/12/14
I tried to add a student again today (thinking ample time) and I came up with this:

So I sent Google some feedback, hopefully this can be resolved. I am at a point in my summer that my class website domain is up for renewal (I have a paid WIX account, you can check it out here if you'd like: cbjacketjournalism.com, but if this works out, I might try it as my full time site.

UPDATE 8/4/14
IT WORKS! Well, it turns out it was my issue, I think. Once I tried a class list with my school email domain (tested some seniors... they all emailed me with "what is this?").
I added some assignments and announcements. It seems to work fine.

I worry that it's just one more step for my kids though.
"Go to my website to see my agenda, then go to my Classroom to see the assignment. Write the assignment in a Google Doc and submit it back to the Classroom."

I also sent feedback to to the site about having a calendar on the site (to see any and all upcoming assignments that I'd want to show), and a click verification/time duration (when I want the kids to watch a video, I can see if they watched it and for how long... also allows kids to watch something without having to open and share a Google Doc for that task).

I just (literally) found out today that Google Classroom is going to be available for our district next Monday (Aug 11) so I guess it's good I got this figured out and can see the benefits!

Have you tried Google Classroom? What do you think? Do you have suggestions for the site? Leave your comments below.

I'm not complaining - but I have a lot going on right now. So much so, that I don't usually do any of it until I have to at the last minute. Thus, blog posts one month apart.

My district has undergone a lot of changes recently in the technology field, as well as in the perception field. This is a good thing. #cbcsd

Online journal logo for grad class: "ConnectED" I came up with it in about 10 minutes, sketched, then digitized. I own it.

As an Easter Egg in the yearbook (my 4th as adviser) I Rick-Roll the entire readership using an augmented reality app called Aurasma.

My seniors are awesome this year - it's going to be a big change for the underclassmen next year when they get to fill in and truly see how much the seniors are doing.

I really enjoy teaching freshmen in Beginning Journalism - I just let them think otherwise. My 9th grade English teacher/ Drama coach was the same way. He announced that this year is going to be his last, on Facebook, last week. The way he built relationships with kids is what made me even consider teaching. Cheers, Mr. Faris. 

List of things to do if you're a teacher this week:

- Grade papers

- Prepare for Iowa Assessments (or celebrate they're over)

- Plan

- Organize priorities

- Plan

- Do grad work/Continuing Ed

- Plan a blog post

~Rob

Today I stayed home sick from school. Somedays, you just need to rest.

Of course, I didn't. But, as my good friend Devin (@dschoening) reminded me:

@swift360 By the way, being home sick is a perfect excuse to get one of those five blog posts done... #justsayin
— Devin Schoening (@dschoening) December 4, 2013

And NUMBER ONE.

This post is dedicated to the (almost obvious, but sometimes it's so ingrained in us we forget) tech tools teachers use everyday... or should.

1) Twitter - Perfect for connecting to other like-minded educators, and creating PLNs and social networks. But my favorite use of Twitter, finding new ways to do things through the ideas of others (check out the #madewithpaper tag, and imagine).

2) Email - I know this is pretty obvious, but email has become my number one tool for contacting parents. Not because I don't like calling (I mean, I don't mind it and all), but for my kids, it's hard to get ahold of parents by phone because it may be turned off. But most of my parents have an email address.

3) Facebook - If Facebook is blocked by your district, see what you can do to undo that. Another great tool for connecting with parents. Some of our districts' younger grades have class sites where parents can see progress of classes, and again, make that connection with teachers.

4) SoundCloud - I actually had a teacher today (yes, while I was home sick) ask me if SoundCloud is a tool a teacher could use to record text from a book for a special-needs student to listen back through while at home. They had their school issued Google Chromebook and an internet connection, so I pushed this first.

5)  Wix - One of my new favorites. While my school is partnered with Google on many things (and it's a wonderful partnership), we are able to try new things as well. I actually heard of Wix from a teacher in another building, and he's been using it for years. It's a free website building site. You can upgrade (at a cost) for more personalization, but for his students' photography and video portfolios, it's perfect... and simple. I just recently upgraded my class website: www.cbjacketjournalism.com.

6) YouTube - Another of the more popular sites to block by districts, YouTube is worth fighting for. There are many branches of this site you could use as well, like YouTube for Education. You could also use filters such as splicd.com to get only the part of the video you need.

7) TED.ed - A video site for educators that help "flip a lesson." In general, TED Talks inspire me to be better at life, and these are specific for education and lessons. Sometimes I just watch these for no other reason that I am hooked on watching them.

8) Paper.li - In Paper.li, you can create a "playlist" of sorts of content you want to read about. The site gathers the information you tell it to (based off of tags and terms, tweets, and other content filtering methods) to create a personalized paper for you... and you can share it.

Of course, I have an EdTech365 Paper.li to share with you.

9) Blogger.com - A Google tool I use with my students. I always start my Intro to Journalism class with having the students create a blog. Then, I ask them students to answer questions (to get them writing, and used to writing in it). Eventually, I stop making them use it.

A little Pavlov-ian, I believe. *Ring Ring

10) 3D Printing - I have recently been tinkering with this since I learned it was possible through my Grad class. Not just possible, but relatively accessible! Our district has a printer, and UN-Omaha has one. Right now, other than a select few students (and teachers) it's not utilized by the masses. But, UNO offers students the ability to print what they create relatively cheaply.

Because of this, I am learning about blender.com right now to create some 3D artifacts: namely some flags for our microphones!

The potential for students to use these to create models, tools, or ANYTHING THEY CAN IMAGINE is awesome.

My #paperface is #madewithpaper (by fiftythree.com)

edit: I am using Paper (an app by fiftythree.com for iPad) a ton lately, and I would be sad if I didn't add it as a special bonus. There are many educational ways to use it... it is just like paper. But, it just fun to use as well. I'm hooked. 
What tools do you use every day that didn't make this list? Just add in the comments below!

Oh, and Devin, I got this done before 10pm, so I was productive today.

So a lot of things were supposed to happen with this blog over the past few weeks:

1) a continuation of weekly Web2.0 usage with my Beginning Journalism class (WTFT)
2) Grad School mumblings
3) my normal teaching duties
4) and anything EdTech or school related

So, that lasted about two weeks. Then real life happened. Every educator knows this. But, I had a student-teacher last year, so I anticipated how much "free" time I might have for the blogging and such.

My wife says I'm very thinned-out. And while I do exercise, I'm pretty sure she means I wear a lot of hats.

In the wake of WTFT, I want to simply what I might focus on. With one of my hats being that of Yearbook Adviser, I am organized in a way only I can decipher. So here's a quick rehash of the first weeks of school:

Week 1: Complete. Blur.

Week 2: Blurry, but I remember blogging. And grad class (STEM Seminar) started. Amazing things we're doing in there right now.

Week 3:  Amazing things are happening in my school. I get distracted by the good. I don't blog. But I started something new (for me):

I'm trying something new, not always school related: at least one Thank You note a week. #StayPositiveMyFriends pic.twitter.com/f1P6llaGFB
— Rob Lindquist (@swift360) September 11, 2013

Week 4: Homecoming Week. I got a pie in my face. My school is working hard in a lot of areas to improve on already positively trending areas.

Week 5: STEM Seminar is still amazing. Some great, innovative thinkers. I really hope I can extract some of that knowledge. Sometimes a grad class can just be something to do to move on the pay scale. This is truly beneficial.

Week 6: Yes, I'm teaching still. And yes, it's still kind of a blur. In my 5th year, I'm able to slow down and not get so distrac

Week 7: I presented at the Green Hills AEA 21st Century Learners Conf. I had a great time, and I learned more than what I spoke about. I hope to continue doing similar things in the future. I'm not pictured because I took these photos. So here is what I saw:

Effective Use of Video in the Classroom presentation.

Week 8: There are so many deadlines in the courses I teach, and we are constantly "working" in "real world" situations. I love deadlines.

Week 9: Today. I blogged. And I also asked a student to step up and be a more visible leader in one of my classrooms. Her response made me proud:

"Thanks. And yes that's okay. I like stepping up in class, it's an honor. 

You're welcome."

That was it, simple and easy.

And remember, this is me simplifying it. I look forward to #ModelTech restarting next week, and the group really implementing what we talk about.

I also look forward to being more innovative, creative, and consistant with my blog. Set the bar high, ya know?

And so it's happened. I set a plan in motion, and within a week or two, things have changed. Instead of YouTube, I decided I wanted the students to try out Edcanvas, a site I learned about last school year. I thought I had it planned out. And then I went to Edcanvas.com (link still active, but it redirects you).

The redirect to a new site name: Blendspace.com. It's still basically the same thing, but of course it's different.

I introduced the site as a way for kids to create a portfolio, then share that portfolio with me. I had each student create some tiles where blog posts will be, and other than that we're in a holding pattern until we get some writing examples done. We will be writing in Google Docs, but students will "publish" them to this wall.

This site has other potential as well: I have a class landing site *they can all see what I put on my board.  I am having one issue in that I feel I'm just duplicating what is already being put into my class site. Something I will have to work out before we get in more depth on this.


During this week of school, I will be introducing Bubbl.us as we talk about the relationship of Supreme Court cases in high school journalism. Watch for that post in the next week.

Do you have any comments or questions (that couldn't be answered in the 20 minute lunch I had while writing)? Feel free to ask below! I look forward to getting more in depth with this throughout our Trimester.

So, week one is over. While we did do a little work with iBook Author in my Introduction to Journalism course, I was trying to get the kids to think about what they were doing more-so than what tools they were using. We will integrate iBooks Author more as we build our units into Chapters for the ebook. Watch for that in the future!

But really, I wanted to mention how proud I am of my kids today... all of them. My broadcasting kids are currently broadcasting our first Varsity football game live (check out TJSportsFan.com sometime). One of them said, "this is our first game broadcasting, and I already love it." As an educator, I'm ecstatic.

My newspaper students are rocking our first issue. They have a lot to learn, but they are doing so gracefully.

The yearbook staff is already thinking of ways to improve on a great book from last year - and most of them are juniors! I'm looking forward to what they come up with!

And finally - my intro kids. We've started the work for the book (as noted), and today I felt like leaving them a note.

When the kids noticed it, they smiled.

I had a good first week.

~Rob

In my current Grad course, we were asked to write a "Belief Statement" on why we teach. At first, I thought I could struggle. It's for a project we're doing as a final. It is an Intro to Tech Tools class (and I don't think I'm an Intro student), so we will be adding video and such.

The class has two weeks to go.

I started thinking. And in five minutes, I wrote. It was wonderful. I just starting typing.

In the comments, and possibly for another project, tell me why you teach.

I am going to put the whole text below, but here is the video I created (my professor hasn't seen it yet edit: my prof has now seen it):

I decided to become a teacher because I have experience that will benefit young people. Let me present that information from a different angle: I became a teacher because I was stuck in a job I didn’t like, taking a break and reading the newspaper, and saw an advertisement that said, “Are you stuck in a job you don’t like? Have you always wanted to be a teacher?” And I thought, “yes.” So I dove in.

And when I dive in, it’s full-steam ahead. I’m passionate. I care. I’m loyal. And I truly believe that every child can learn, and every child hopes to become better than their parents. And that’s a good thing. So I want to lead them. I want them to become involved in the world. I want them to become engrossed in their lives. I want them to be passionate.

What can I do? The same thing that every educator in the world can do. Teach. Advise. Mold. It’s a little bit of a power-trip to know that I can mentally push a student so hard that they become angry at me, only to become so thankful that they’ve been pushed that they break down at graduation and write me a letter more fluent and more thoughtful than any “History of British Literature” essay paper that was ever written during the 180 days-a-year I see her. And I can do it 30 times over.

And so I teach. I show students the dirt path, but I don’t pave the road. In the “real world” workers have to be able to be jacks and jills of-all-trade, even if all they do is as mundane and ineffective as memorizing something solely for getting it right on a test, the workers have to be able to relate and live socially. And I can help them learn those skills. What people forget is school is the real world. It’s 12 years of your life where you become who you are. It’s not a throw-away time that doesn’t matter. It matters.

A lot of what I’ve been saying is about me. But realize, none of this is about me. It is about the student. It is about the kid. The child. The learner. It’s about educators and administrators and faculty and parents that want to be involved in the growth of a seed into a flower. It’s not about graduating, it’s about growing. It’s not about getting to the next level, it’s about being prepared to learn for the rest of your life.

So why did I decide to teach? Because somebody decided to teach me 25 years ago. And that person decided to be passionate about it, and it resonated with me. And I wanted to do better than my parents. And I wanted to be better FOR Chambers, Lowe, Klocke, Tilton, Clarke, and Faris, Troutman, Bowman, and Hughes.

That’s why I teach. And that is my belief.

Hi. I've been gone a while (it is summer vacation after all). I've been caring for the newest member of my family (a second daughter, thank you), lounging around, and watching TED Talks on Netflix. I haven't been worried about blogging, but it was important to me that I impart my knowledge on you... kind of.

Somebody recently asked me for some advice completely unrelated to a lot of things (especially this blog). Two weeks later, I've come up with a list of reasons why I am probably not the best person to give advice. Here they are:



1. I'm a bad liar.

2. I'm a realist.

3. I'm 30 and still use face wash advertised for teens.

4. I'm not really a realist (also, see number 1).

5. I am a teacher.

6. I've never hated a day in my current employment.

7. I love technology.

8. I generally curse at technology.

9. I'm not good at list-making.

10.

You're welcome.

Student-created logo for podcast.

I am by no means an expert on Educational Technology. I don't consider myself ready to do a lot more than just observe as of yet. But, I am getting there. Someone told me, "you're not an expert on something until someone else says you are," and I agree.

Just like I don't claim to be an expert at teaching, at being funny (even though my wife laughs no matter what), or at being a father, son, or brother.  But, when I am passionate about something; heck, when I like something more than "a lot" then I tend to really embrace everything about it. Thus this blog.

My wife thinks this makes me pretty predictable. She even went as far as comparing our current process of buying a house, to how she and I started our relationship. And how I just go full-throttle towards something I want, whereas she likes to question her decisions multiple times... wait a minute...

*Oh, and I easily get off-topic.

But back to being an expert: something I'm not. I do have opinions and insights on many topics. I have a mind full of "Jeopardy knowledge" that makes no sense as a whole, but the pieces could be individually useful at any moment.

I did sports radio in college, and briefly got paid for it for a small town in Nebraska. And I have a passion for talking (too much).

And then my unoriginal idea was concocted.

Have you heard, "if you're the smartest one in the room, find another room"? Well, I have. And so I brought the idea of starting a weekly podcast about EdTech to friend (and district Technology coach) Devin Schoening (@dschoening)... to which his reply was, "that has been on my bucket list." See, unoriginal idea. But sometimes, it takes a couple of people to get the ball rolling.

So within the span of five days, we created a rundown and recorded our first show. We also created an iTunes account, twitter account (@CBTechPodcast), and school email account (cbtechpodcast@cbcsd.org) for the idea.

So it has begun. You can check out our first episode in the iTunes store by searching "CBTechPodcast" or THIS LINK.

You can send us requests or suggestions for upcoming episodes as well! We'd love your feedback!

As mentioned in my previous, brief, post: school has started. I wanted to wait just a little bit so I could get a legitimate feel for what the kids were like before I posted. And I think we're off to a great start. Well, the kids are:

Students during a Google Hangout on the 4th day of school.

I took advantage of my summer just like I should have, but I overestimated my ability to get back into the flow of things as quickly as I should have. I felt, going into my fourth year, that I knew what I was doing... especially since I was teaching all of the same material as last year. Quick story, then I'll come back.

I used to work in life insurance. Not the door-to-door, or even "come into my office and we can talk" type. I was customer service. They called me. I had worked customer service in other types of jobs, and I enjoyed it, but there was something about working for an insurance company that eventually got to me: the monotony.  People called me, had an issue (from a missed payment to making claim on a policy), I helped them to fix it, and we were done. Most of the time.

There were horror stories from this job, but I worked because the money was decent while I did my broadcasting thing on the side. The hours were solid, too. 7:30 - 3:30 and I was done; I could leave everything at the door.  I took advantage of the schedule by getting my teaching certification and calling high school sporting events for a nearby radio station. But the monotony of the job just drained me. Seriously, ask my wife. I was a clock-watcher, and a whiner (I still am a bit), and it was painful. And when I started teaching I knew one thing at the very least: I would never have another monotonous job - the kids would always change! Back to the original focus for the post: apparently in the back of my mind I forgot that I had to prepare for a new year because I thought it would be the same as before.

Add to that: preparing for a 1:1 classroom, a new system for updating Macs, a student-teacher, and the joys of completely new staffs for both newspaper and yearbook (a combined seven students that were in either class for their second year), and I found myself trying to keep my head above water.

But, I now think I'm ready. An observation from @dschoening reminded me that I'm on the right track. And my (internal) whining lessened. Thanks. So far, I've had no real issues with the technology (other than network problems, and they seem to have been smoothed out as of Friday). The kids seem to be used to the expectations for using the computers, and the procedures are becoming the norm. It's getting better.

My philosophy has always been that if you do the little things well, the big things come easy. I'm starting to get the little things done. Unfortunately, maybe a week too late. Lesson learned.

Oh, and I started my next grad class: Intro to Research. This should be thrilling!

You've heard that right? Don't try to reinvent the wheel. Why work so hard on something that's already done? When I cook, I try to keep this mantra in mind - why would I make a homemade pizza if I can order one?

When I was student-teaching, my co-op teacher told me this. And don't get me wrong, I loved her for it. I needed to learn the basics before I tried something advanced. But as I am in the early stages of my educational technology career, I want to reinvent it. Or maybe a better term is re-imagine. 

The evolution of the wheel.

No matter what you think, the wheel has changed. How would our cars look with stone tires? The wheel has gone through an evolution, and it looks like within the last 10 years or so,  education has been doing the same (NCLB anyone?).  Add to that the explosion of technology in the classroom, it's time to re-imagine the wheel. 

10 years ago, I didn't care. I was just graduating high school and thought I would be the next ESPN Sportscaster of the Year.  I wanted to do whatever it took, by whatever means my teachers told me, to get through and move to the next steps. Just get me on TV. I wanted people to hear what I was saying. And I did this because it was easy. I got the Journalism degree, worked in a TV station, moved on to a radio station, and eventually burned out. All within about four years. I was doing enough to get paid, but I felt like I should be doing more. I was in a rut. I was tired of doing the same thing. 

Enter teaching. I lucked out. I felt that this was my way to make a difference (side note: I think I am). After two years of teaching freshmen English, my "dream job" opened up. Now I'm entering my 2nd year teaching journalism (print and electronic media). In order to be happy, I re-imagined how I could better serve people. Now people listen to me... and I think a few are even learning!

The flipped-classroom, one-to-one classrooms (whether bring your own device or a common device), and grading scale modifications (from As and Fs to a 4.0 scale) are all examples of how we are already moving forward and away from the old "one-size-fits-all" thinking. 

But we have to get over the hump. My grad class professor mentioned that he feels that education is the one field where we don't always abide by the research for what is working. He likened it to a surgeon who has heard of this new technique for doing a surgery that has proven to be more efficient, and have a lower mortality risk, but wants to continue because he/she is more comfortable doing it the way it has always been done. 

The Dyson fans. No blades and "cooler" air; figuratively and literally. 

I am excited to be a part of the change. And I hope that someday I can do more than just relay information, but contribute to the growth. I love education, and I love technology; and I really think that the image of the "wheel" will be like that of the Dyson fan, something completely revolutionary. 

What do you think? Do you agree with my professor? Are we changing? And is it for the better? Let me know!

I recently got involved with our school’s Model Tech team; something of a technology think-tank, or just a nerdy discussion group (not a bad thing!). At the conclusion of our last meeting, our “fearless” leader (@dschoening) asked us reflect. Considering I have only been apart of the group for three meetings, I don’t know that I’ll have a lot to add - but I am a good B.S.-er.

Reflect on year in the classroom - In one word? Diverse. In more than one word? Oh boy. That being said, I had three classrooms with three different types of computers: iMacs for Journalism, and the one of the two series of Chromebooks that we currently have at TJ for each senior English class.  I am a nomad, which made classroom transitions, including bellwork, difficult (read: non-existent sometimes). But it made me focus more on my class website. Something I could have done better though was getting the students into a routine of pulling up the website sooner when they came in. This would (ideally) eliminate some of my worry about them not doing much for bellwork.

With each of my classrooms, I had different challenges. But in my world, the challenges came and were met. I think I did the best that I could with what I had (in the classroom).

Reflect on your teaching practice - I took on Yearbook this year. Add Eng 12, and getting a Broadcasting class, only two of my five classes were going to be “easy”.  Luckily, I am confident in what I am doing in Beginning Journalism (and now I just tweak my site/syllabus if needed); and Newspaper I am comfortable with. Do you know why I was asked to talk about my teaching practice? It’s practice! You never master it, you just continually learn. And I feel I have done a good job of continuously learning this year. I have taken pieces from PD this year, pieces from this group, and from other teachers in my daily routine, and I have been able to adapt and survi... I mean learn!

Reflect on your use of technology - In having multiple classrooms, I think I had one advantage is that I had the opportunity to use different types of technology (not just one manufacturer or program). After looking at the SAMR Model at our last meeting, I definitely think I did a lot of Enhancement over the course of this year. That’s not a bad thing, but sometimes I know I can do more when I’m given more time (which of course is what everyone has plenty of, right?).

Reflect on the concepts (problem finding, global connectedness, collaboration, curiosity and passion) we discussed here, and how they can be used in your classroom.
Um, we talked about that? I just remember this:

It was such a blur most of the time, but not in a bad way. In a way that I hope I get across to my kids. Our discussions covered a wide range of topics, but it doesn’t feel like we’re “learning”. And that’s when one of the things we discussed hit me: it’s not the tool that’s used, it’s how you use it. Technology is a tool, not a means to an end. If I am just replacing paper, I’m not doing anything productive. But, for me being relatively new to the conversation, I think these concepts are still ideas that I can form and make relevant in my classroom over time.

I do want to end with something I heard in my grad class on Wednesday night. I just like it. Nothing else. My Universityprofessor (Dr. William Austin) said, 

“You’re the rock, the pond is the kid. And when you’re thrown in, the pond will ripple. You matter.”

dougdemercurio.com

~Rob

So here it is. I've wondered (pun intended) into the world of EdTech. Actually, I think I've been here a while; as far back as my high school days. But, now I know what I'm doing for the most part.

As I eagerly await the response to my Graduate application letter to UN-Omaha, I feel I want to get a head start... again. The proposed MS in Secondary Ed, with concentration on EdTech, is the fuel I plan to run on for the next two years or so. And what better way to document my journey, than with an edublog.

Now, to the meat of my first post:
I recently tweeted about the Tupac "hologram" (as it's not really a hologram because it wasn't 3D, but cool):


@swift360
NSFW: Video Language - Education's future too? Tupac Hologram: Late Rapper Comes To Life http://huff.to/HOW6UV via@HuffingtonPost #edchat

In the short time I have known about Tupac's "resurrection" I have seen celebs and scholars the like wonder where this could lead. Could the Beatles go on tour again (touring is scheduled for Tupac)? With the technology we have today, why not? Voices can be mimicked with some work, old tape (yes, tapes) could be used as references for the holograms, and performances can be repeated, and/or made completely unique, depending the audiences.

So the next question: what about teaching? How mind-blowing would it be to have Einstein teach a high school Science class, or a young Hemingway discuss "theme" to a freshmen group of students? My job security is feeling a little less secure.

For some reason, my mind wondered (again, pun intended), this time to the TV show Futurama. They keep the heads of the "famous" in jars. Is this the same thing?

Knowing full well this is my first post, I'd be honored to have thoughts or feedback.

~Rob