Day 20

Saw some great technology plans from our awesome group this morning.  Capped it off with a phenomenal potluck lunch.  Unfortunately I had to leave early due to a family emergency. Thankfully, everything is going to be fine.

I really got a lot out of this conference. This past school year was a difficult one for me. So much that I was contemplating a change of career.  Of course, all teachers say that at the end of the year, but I was actually updating my CV.  I took a chance in applying for this conference and was fortunate enough to get in.  It has exceeded every single one of my expectations.  I have learned so much about how I need to be thinking, planning and teaching completely different than before.  More importantly, I feel empowered to do that.

I also feel renewed to go back to work in august with a new outlook on my job.  I had gotten into a rut.  Times they were a-changing and I was plodding my way through fossilized instruction.  I had begun to experiment, but without the knowledge I have now, they had a tendency to blow up in my face. It became easier to put on that comfortable pair of pants that was my old way of doing things.  Little did I realize that they had become threadbare and beyond repair.  I can see that clearly now.

It has been an honor and a pleasure to have participated.

Day 19

Heard a lot of great presentations today.

Everyone presented their lesson plans and demonstrated how they plan to integrate what they've learned in the conference into their classrooms.

Totally stealing the idea from Tomlin about hashtagging.

Mine will be #taoofodom

What is liberating is knowing that I can successfully avoid the old way of doing things.

Day 18

And so, we are fast-approaching the end.

Worked on a presentation to show my district or school or whoever may be interested.  Planning to make an audio file with it so IF I am asked to present, I won't go hoarse or forget key points.

Finished up my lesson plan and I am satisfied with the product.  May need tweaking before it goes live in the fall, but it'll do for now.  Now I just have to do a handout. 

Went over accommodations this morning for special needs students.  Gave me a lot to take in and think about.  Always good to expand that toolkit.

Toured the TK Martin Center.  Had to keep it together because it was SO emotional being there.  Jacob learned so much there and they were so good for him. He still talks about the children he interacted with there and all the adventures they had.  I can still hear him saying "No crying in ball!" to that kid who was crying during the Christmas pageant.  I also remember how nerve-racking it was for me the first time I went with Margaret to drop him off.  I remember looking at the building and saying "He's is on the second floor.  Oh. My. God." This was followed by every possible nightmare scenario flooding through my thought stream simultaneously.  We kept just about every piece of art he made there. 

Day 17

The art project is complete.  Der Mauerspringer (walljumper) ist komplett. 

For better or worse.

Today we experimented with audioboo.  I think I can use this for my visual/auditory kids.  Plus, I won't go hoarse repeating the same thing over and over again.

We also learned how to integrate audio into powerpoints and upload them. This will be a tremendous help because kids can actually access my lessons with the powerpoint which will help kids like the young lady I had last year who emphatically told me "I can get it when you explain it."

We also adventured into the bizarre and terrifying world of copyright law and fair use.

Can't believe it's winding down.  I don't know what i'll do next month!

Day 16

Had to leave early (at 3:45) to close on my mother-in-law's house.  All I can say is:

So today we put together a course in Canvas.  Really user friend'y and a lot preferable to Coursesites I think.  Gonna try some experimentation this July and see what I can put together for the fall.  Lots of planning to do!!

We also went over powerpoint and how to do some neat tricks with it.  This seemed counterproductive to what we were doing yesterday with Prezi....but I see the point.  One of my concerns about the whole flipping of the classroom is:

What happens when the internet is down.

I guess we can use our backup (jumpdrives, powerpoints) which actually makes a lot of sense.

Art project is on hold til the glass is ready....really excited.

I have truly found myself in art.  I am abstract, and this project has allowed me to explore that side of myself with more depth and articulation than ever before.

Day 15

I missed day 14 but managed to get caught up on a webquest and storify.

Today we were learning how to integrate the iPad and Apple TV into our classrooms.  Not sure if this will help my situation with us getting Mac Books next year.  My kids will have them as well.  Of course, I suppose that's kind of a beautiful problem to have seeing as how this time last year my new technology amounted to a new textbook. 

We also hit Prezi really hard and I ended up making one.  I think I will like using it.  It seems more user friendly than Powerpoint. 

Cut some glass in art class today.  Very nervous-making. 

This is what my pieces look like before they are put in a really hot kiln.  Really anxious to see how it turns out.  I do not excel at glass-cutting.

The Dreaded 13.

Triskaidekaphobia is a real thing.  I do not have this condition (fear of the number 13).  In contrast, I embrace and celebrate this dreaded number.  There are enough legitimate things in the world to be afraid of, why waste time with something that has only the power you give it?

So, on to the topic at hand:

What did I learn today?

-I learned that I can use baseball cards (of which I have plenty) to teach literacy.

-I learned that the possibilities for crossover between me and language arts are endless.

-I learned that my art project is evolving into something I am quite happy with.

-I learned that I can scoop articles and build a nice portfolio of web resources using scoop.it

-I learned that canvas is something useable IF I can get approval to get my kiddos a google account.  If not, I always have coursesites.

-I am not as terrified today of teaching in the fall as I was yesterday, but that is subject to change.

-Maybe I am over-thinking the whole formative assessment thing.  Perhaps it is simply a matter of establishing a baseline.  I think going down to 7th grade will make that process more fluid.  My last bunch of 7th graders required a lot of baseline support as I recall....and there are numerous similarities between this group and those.  Of course, I was in a much darker and confused place then as opposed to now.  Far too much brain fog and belief in my own invincibility in those days. 

-I learned that the arguments that people put forth against common core is probably some of the best evidence out there for EXACTLY why we need common core.