An Oldie, but a Goodie...

Three years in technology and blogging is a REALLY long time, but valid and creative ideas are most definitely timeless.  I wanted to share a post with you from late 2014 which still holds plenty of relevance today because this list really isn't about the technology, it's about quality (and fun) teaching practice.

Check out this list of 21 Things Every 21st Century Teacher Should Do This Year.  I'll meet you back here in a few minutes.

First, I'm not a fan of the term "21st Century."  I'm not even sure what it means anymore.  Don't worry too much about that.  If you're totally stuck on the term please read this post and this post.  "21st Century" is way more than a buzzword, it's most definitely a way of life in teaching and learning.

Second, these are manageable tasks.  I'm not trying to encourage you to do every single one of these things this semester, but choose one or two and see where it takes you and your students.  You never know what may happen (in a very good way.)  Going paperless for a week, participating in a Twitter chat, creating a class hashtag, and some others are very simple to try and/or implement.  Take it slow, be purposeful, and definitely GO FOR IT.

Third, I can't help but think about the potential impact on students here.  When teachers step outside their comfort zones there is some serious positive modeling going on.  You, as the teacher, don't quite know how things are going to go, but you are willing to try something new, and that is going to be appreciated.

So again, this particular post is pretty "old", but the practices and skills contained within it continue to evolve with the times.  Help make 2017 great by trying some new approaches and practices and see where things go from there!

***CCSD's Office of Instructional Technology is ALWAYS more than happy to support you and your colleagues (and, of course, students too) with the purposeful and meaningful implementation of technology into your instruction.  Please feel free to contact our team via email or via our request form.  We'd love to help you with your instructional adventures!

#ThisIsCCSD

Anyone who spends more than just a basic amount of time around social media begins to realize that hashtags are way more than just something which can be simply (and at times thoughtlessly) included in social media posts.  Hashtags can be an extremely powerful tool in bringing people together (who otherwise wouldn't be connected) as well as a potentially dynamic way to share a collective story via social media.

Through this perspective I began reflecting on how Cherry Creek Schools tells our all-encompassing story via social media.  Hashtags such as our department's #CCSDTech, our STEM and Innovation Department's #CCSDSTEM, and our district's use of #GreatNeighborhoodSchools via our communication department's Twitter feed serve somewhat smaller group needs extremely well, but we can undeniably do one better as a whole.  We're a large organization, but not too large to come together and rally around what really matters... and that's us.

I invite you to consider including the hashtag #ThisIsCCSD in your posts when you would like to contribute to the collective story Cherry Creek Schools tells on social media.  The vision is for someone who would like to know more about what CCSD is all about to click on the hashtag and experience what we all do, who we all are, and what we all value.  This is something we can rally around and something we can, without a doubt, be very proud of.  The stories are already there.  I see them all of the time.  All that's left is to make sharing a priority and simply include the hashtag.

Let's tell our distinctive and unique story.  Our audience is ready.  Let's inspire them.  

#ThisIsCCSD

Summer Reading (That Never Ends)

Summertime.  Empty classrooms.  Empty schools.  Empty brains?  Not a chance.

With the school year coming to a close we get some much needed time to relax, reflect, decompress, and re-energize.  On the other hand, it's never too early to begin thinking about next year and beyond.  Here are some ideas which may help you think about and potentially plan next year easily, seamlessly, anytime, and anywhere.

Social media is a 24/7/365 professional learning machine.  Between Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, and Facebook someone can learn and reflect morning (if you're a morning person), noon (30 minutes after you eat lunch, of course), and night (only if you can't sleep.)

If you haven't looked into Twitter as a professional learning tool I highly suggest it.  Absolutely anything you're looking to add depth to can be found on Twitter.  To see that in action search Twitter here.  Between having the ability to connect with experts, colleagues, peers, etc. as well as the ever-growing list of weekly educational Twitter chats learning and growth can be a virtual guarantee.  I take life, as well as a respectable amount of my professional learning, 140 characters at a time.  Twitter (and the people I have the chance to connect with there) have made me more effective and more passionate at what I do.  That's priceless.

Something as simple as following a hashtag on Twitter during the summer can have some serious value.  For example, here's #SchoologyChat.  (Schoology's live chat is the first Tuesday of every month, but the hashtag (as most are) is fairly active between chats.)

#schoologychat Tweets

Google+ is Google's social media platform.  The key to Google+ is circles.  It's easy to create meaningful spaces so you can connect with smaller groups of friends, colleagues, peers, etc. on Google+.  I have circles (small Google+ groups) for my CCSD colleagues, out of district peers, people I've connected with as a result of our Chromebook implementation, and many more.  Another powerful Google+ feature is communities which allow for connecting and sharing with like-minded people from throughout the G+ world.

I no longer bookmark websites; I create pins and boards on Pinterest instead.  Over the past two school years I have collected 1,000+ resources that can be easily accessed by me and/or shared with colleagues.  Creating collaborative group boards (so two or more people can create collections of resources in Pinterest) is simple as well.  If I find a useful resource on Twitter, Google+, or Facebook it ends up as a pin on Pinterest.

Facebook for professional learning?  It can happen.  It, just like anything else on the social media landscape, all depends on who you choose to connect with.  Whether it's a well known expert, an author, or great organizations/pages like Edutopia, TED, or Educational Technology there is (although it may not feel like it at times) plenty more than pictures of the current weather conditions from your friend's backyards on Facebook.  By expanding the way you think about how you're using Facebook you may be surprised at what you're able to come across.




Summer.  It's a time for rest, but, once again, it can also be the perfect time to get excited about the possibilities that come with a brand new school year.  Social media provides the anytime/anywhere platform.  The rest is up to you.

Happy summer learning everyone!

By the way, our department will be available to to support you during the summer if you need anything.  Please fill out our Technology and Learning Coach Request Form (found here) and we will be in touch!

Tuesday Tech Tip: Joining the #SchoologyChat on Twitter

Our team has posted previously about using social media to extend learning (Personalized Professional Learning, What Works for Me on Twitter, and Professional Learning, Anytime and Anywhere).  and in that vein, we wanted to let everyone know about #SchoologyChat.

For those folks who are on Twitter, there will be several Twitter chats specifically about Schoology coming up, and the first one is tonight at 7 p.m. (MDT).  If you are joining live or would like to see the conversation later, use the hashtag #SchoologyChat.  And if you use something like TweetDeck, it might be worth a column to keep track of the tweets.

The topic of tonight's chat will be how Schoology enhances learning in your classroom or school.  If you want an advance peek at the questions, they are embedded below:

In addition, there is a #SchoologyChat group in Schoology that you are welcome to join (use code: GCWBC-BDBMV).  This would be a great place to network with other folks and contribute to possible questions and topics for the future.

Thanks @robert_schuetz and @MrKlinge for organizing this and putting it together!

Personalized Professional Learning

Personalized Professional Learning

Standards---yes, we use them to guide our teaching but did you know that there are standards for professional learning too? Learning Forward is an organization devoted to professional learning.  They state that:

“The standards make explicit that the purpose of professional learning is for educators to develop the knowledge, skills, practices, and dispositions they need to help students perform at higher levels. The standards are not a prescription for how education leaders and public officials should address all the challenges related to improving the performance of educators and their students. Instead, the standards focus on one critical issue -- professional learning.”  

Indeed, you have been a part of professional development or learning in the past.  Many times the PD or PL includes an outside source telling you what you should learn or develop. I am sure that you can reflect on times when the PD was “great” or “just what you needed”.

Likewise, there have certainly been occasions when the time that you spent being developed fell short.  What if you took some control over what you learned?  This is not to suggest that you ditch the next PD session you are invited to.  Instead, this is to remind you that you have options.  

Below are some things to think about as you take more control over your learning!  

• Visit this guide from EdSurge for Brewing your Own Professional Development

• Consider using Twitter to create a Professional Learning Network or PLN.  Check out this post on the topic.  You do not have to be an expert or even know how to tweet.  Set up an account and start searching for topics that you are interested in.  Soon you will find yourself following others and learning from them.  When you are ready, you might just start to find your voice in 140 characters or less.  For a little more wisdom on twitter, look at this blog.

• Visit Connected Educators.  This is a site dedicated to help educators thrive in a connected world.  Bet you did not know that this is Connected Educators Month?  

• Participate in a webinar- Many companies have free webinars that you can sign up for.  Being part of an actual webinar is exciting as you have an opportunity to ask and hear questions in real time.  Can’t make the specified time?  Don’t worry. Often times if you have signed up to be a participant you can watch an archived version at a later date.  
• Here are a few to check out: 
• EdWeek
• The Center for Learning
• ASCD
• Learning Forward

The challenge is up to you.  Decide.  What do you want to learn about.  Take charge and investigate.  You will thank yourself.  

What Works for Me on Twitter: Lists

Does your Twitter timeline tend to overwhelm you from time to time?  Is someone posting random tweets that keep you from accessing the useful information you joined Twitter for?  Do you have a group of people that post tweets regarding a similar topic most of the time?  If any, some, or all of the above situations apply to you it's time to begin setting up some Twitter lists.

Many users aren't aware of this, but you are a mere few clicks away from way more control over what you see and when on Twitter.  Simply click on your settings wheel in the upper right hand corner of your Twitter home page and you're on your way to a less complicated and more valuable experience with Twitter.

The main Twitter list "pane" looks like this.

Click on the "Create list" button to get started.  Here are the options to choose from:

Give the list a name.  Add a description if it will help you or your audience know what information and/or who is included in the list.  Also be aware that the list you create can be private only to you or be shared with others.  Pro Tip: Explore the public lists of the people you enjoy following most to find other Twitter members you may like to follow as well.

If you ever want to go back to a list, rename it, edit the description, or make a private list public or vice versa, simply go to the list and click on the "Edit" button here:

 
Also, clicking the "Member of" button here,

will allow you to see which public lists other Twitter users have placed you on.  See who may be stalking you because you're awesome!

As seen in the images, I have two lists associated with the Twitter account I use professionally.  One list, titled "IT Team" is there to make sure that I don't miss any tweets the colleagues on my team posts.  I follow them in the traditional way, but if I'm not on my timeline at the right time I could miss an important tweet of theirs and I don't want that to happen.  The other list I created is simply titled "List."  I have reserved this list for a few people that I really want to follow, but they just post too much during the day.  This way I can still see their tweets, but now I see their tweets when I want to see them instead of when they post them.

There are many reasons to create a list on Twitter.  I was speaking from experience in my examples earlier.  Your reasons may be different than mine, but one thing we can agree on is that having a little more control over when you see particular tweets from particular people is a positive thing.

So this should hopefully get you started with lists.  Enjoy the new control you have over your timeline and let your more personal Twitter experience work better for you.

(For further information about the creation and use of lists on Twitter the great people at Edudemic have you covered.  Click here for a post about how to create Twitter lists and click here for some perspective on how to manage information from your PLN via Twitter lists.)

Note: This is a cross post from my CCSD blog, also under our district Google domain.  A link to my blog is here if you're interested in reading a little more about various topics.  Find me on Twitter here and visit and follow one, some, or all of my boards on Pinterest here.  Let's get connected! 

Professional Learning, Anytime and Anywhere

Early to an appointment at a school?  Potential for professional learning.

Waiting to get my haircut?  Potential for professional learning.

Waiting in line at the grocery store?  Potential for professional learning.

Anytime I have access to my phone, iPad, and the Internet in general I have almost direct access to professional learning sources.  How is that?

I am putting this out there because I truly believe it (and I'll even type it in bold font to show that I'm totally serious): There is no better place for asynchronous/self-paced professional learning than Twitter and Twitter helps me be more effective at what I do.  Period.

October is Connected Educators Month and I wanted share the tool that continues to shape my passion for what I do while, at the same time, allowing me the potential to connect, talk, and share with people across our school district, our state, the United States, and potentially the world.

It's a fact that Twitter itself has useless things on it.  There isn't much on the Internet, especially social media, today that doesn't.  Twitter though, along with many other places, allows users to filter the "noise" by providing the chance to follow and highlight who you want.  Also, with Twitter lists, users can control when they see tweets from other Twitter users while potentially making sure that tweets about like subjects can be found all in one place.  Weekly Twitter hashtag chats allow users to tweet about like topics during particular days and times with people who have similar interests and passions from around the world.  Twitter can very easily be leveraged as a one-way tool as well.  Users don't need to or have to post personal tweets.  Just follow users that share information that's useful to you and that can be it.  These are just a few of the many benefits of using Twitter professionally in some way, shape, or form.

Quite frankly, and in my humble opinion, the excuses for educators/educational leadership for not being a participant on Twitter for professional learning are beginning to dwindle.

I am planning a post series entitled "What Works for Me on Twitter" in the near future that will help you get started and going on Twitter.  I simply wanted to set the stage as a whole with this post.

Stay tuned...

Note: This is a cross post from my CCSD blog, also under our district Google domain.  A link to my blog is here if you're interested in reading a little more about various topics.  Find me on Twitter here and visit and follow one, some, or all of my boards on Pinterest here.  Let's get connected!