Top 10 Takeaways from ED 521

Well, ED 521 has been an interesting ride. I've surfed the web for fifteen 2.5 hour sessions. That's 37.5 hours of hardcore firehose. I've learned a lot, I think I've missed a lot, and I've Diigo'ed a lot of wonderful ideas and resources. Without further ado, here are my top 10 takeaways from ED 521:

10. TinyURL - The reason this is #10 is because I had already heard about and used it before this class, but I still think it's really awesome. If you've ever asked your students to go to any sort of website in class, you know how many of them can't type in an address. TinyURL makes everything so much easier by shortening that address into something manageable for them.

9. Google Apps - Okay, this one requires a lot of explanation to do it justice, so I'm not going to do it justice. I'm just going to say that there are many different apps (Blogger, Drive, Gmail, YouTube, Maps, Play, Sites, & many more) and there are so many things you can do with them-educationally or personally.

8. Genius Time - This is more of an idea than anything. It comes from Google and how the company gives it's employees 20% of their work time towards studying and researching anything that they find interesting. Obviously, this is where their creativity comes from. Giving students Genius Time to work on research, project, and/or presentation of their choice is extremely interesting to me. I've given my students freedom to write whatever they want for the past couple of weeks in a writing workshop, and I've seen them do awesome things. I can't imagine what they would come up with if I let them go on anything.

7. Screencast - These are so cool because if you're ever sick, you can give the screencast to your sub and she/he can just show it to the students during class. It's just a video recording showing whatever you're doing on your computer screen and also the voice recording behind it. Students would be able to see your explanation about something on the computer, and then they could actually get some work done during class.

6. Backchannel - I was a little weirded out about Backchannel when my prof originally told us about it, but now, I think it's a great tool for discussion. It's like a constant feed of student discussion. If you're showing a video during class, students can be typing to each other and discussing important information while they're watching the movie. It would be great to keep kids' attention while a video is playing and also to see what they're actually getting from it.

5. Dropbox - Okay, so I know there are many ways of transferring data from one device to another, but I was really wanting to find a way to do that through the cloud. I dislike thumbdrives or flashdrives because I lose them all of the time, and if I have everything on my computer, why not use the cloud to transfer my files? When I found Dropbox, everything got easier. It automatically takes my files, photos, and music and stores it in the cloud so that I can access it from anywhere. I love it! The only downfall is that the free version doesn't have a whole lot of storage.

4. QR Codes - Boom! This is an even better option than TinyURL. You say you want your students to find a Google Form? Walah! You can make a QR Code, post it on your board, have students scan it, and it will take them directly to the form. During our writing workshop days, I have my classroom blog QR Code posted around the room so that my students can just scan it and be brought directly to my blog. They love it. I love it. We love it. This is my what it looks like:

3. Diigo - Do you ever get sick of your bookmarks tab? You know, that little pull down button that you have every cool website saved on but you can never find  because it's all jumbled and confusing? Well, Diigo changed all of that for me. Now I have an account that I can get to from anywhere and it is organized by tags and folders. It's also collaborative so you can make a group and share it with your coworkers (awesome for PLCs).

2. Blogs (Blogger) - Ooooooh babay! One of my favorites! I always thought that people who wrote blogs had to be in love with themselves. I mean, a blog is like an online diary that you let other people read, right? Wrong. Blogs are awesome. A lot of the ones that I follow now are related to education. It's nice to know that there are people out there just like you that want to become better teachers. It's also nice to be able to learn from the mistakes that they've already  made, from the successes that they've already had, and just to feel like you're not alone.
I also have started writing my own blog, duh. Right now, it's about education. I don't know what it will end up being, but I like it.
I asked my students to create their own blogs and we've been monkeying around with them. They like it because they can share their writing with other classmates. I haven't really delved into it much yet, but next year I want to start my students with blogs and get into it a lot more.

1. Twitter (TweetDeck) - Okay, I'm doing it again. I'm blogging about Twitter, again. I won't go into this in depth AGAIN, but I just want you to know that Twitter is an awesome resource. Love it.

#Hashtag #Lurking #I'mOld

I'm pretty sure I'm going to start sounding like I'm obsessed with Twitter, and I might be, but I'm going to blog yet again about it.

For my recent grad class, I was asked to participate in the #ndedchat on Twitter. When he asked us to do this, I had no idea what he was talking about. I always thought that hashtags were meant as a side note, like #sorrynotsorry or #gymstatus and stupid other things like that (they are stupid, but I used them
because they're fun). It turns out, hashtags have a real purpose! On Wednesdays nights at 9:00 PM, I got on my Twitter and watched for tweets with #ndedchat at the end. Now, it was my first time and I was not very good at it. I successfully participated by doing what they call "lurking," and I sat on my computer frantically trying to keep up with the conversation while mentally filtering out all of the random tweets from other people that I follow. I managed to add one significant (or at least I thought it was significant) tweet to the conversation, but I mostly felt like I had only lurked. Ha. Try saying that 3 times fast. Lurked, lurked, lurked. Anywho, I felt like I had gotten some valuable information from my lurking, but I didn't feel like I had actually joined the conversation.

So the next day, I searched out our school's Twitter Queen, Rachelle, and told her about my fail at Twitter Chatting. She laughed and asked if I had TweetDeck. Uh, no I didn't have TweetDeck. What the heck is TweetDeck? She graciously took me to my room, added TweetDeck to my Apps on my Chrome browser, logged me in, and showed me how to make columns. These amazing columns allow me to see only what's being posted to each hashtag. It's amazing. This is what it looks like:

When I'm following #ndedchat, I don't have to filter through every other tweet, I just have to watch my #ndedchat column. It's not as pretty as my Twitter feed, but it's much easier to follow and now I can actually add to the discussion. 

Those other hashtags are #ed521msu (for class) and #engchat (awesome for English teachers). Since then, I've begun following #digitaled, #7thchat, and #nerdybookclub. I don't make it to these chats every week and most of the time I lurk, but I learn things from it every week.

I think I'll continue lurking and maybe even become bold enough to tweet my little thoughts out there. 

Libraries & the New Role of the Librarian

I have always had a sense of reverence for libraries. When you walk into a library, the atmosphere is always calm, quiet, and peaceful. People are serious. There is always some hardcore learning going on. That, or there are strange young women crawling around on the floor making messes. Okay, so that was just me. I used to sit in the stacks in the top floor of Gordon B. Olson Library and just pull down book after book about anything that looked interesting. I spent hours in there, not even doing research, just plopped down there, mesmerized by the information in those books. And it's not like I'm old; I've grown up with Google, but there was something about physically being in the stacks, the stink/perfume of the pages, and the weight of the books in my hands.

Of course, there was also a computer lab in the basement of the library where I spent a ridiculous amount of time typing papers. It was nice to have spaces to do my research and then to type my paper all in one setting (not that I ever researched, drafted, and edited any papers in just one day).

Yes, I loooooove good old fashioned libraries and the clunky books inside of them, but I think that libraries are changing, and I'm a little nervous. I know that the change is good and I realize it won't happen overnight, but I'm so used to books that I'm scared. How are all of those stacks going to be replaced by tablets and lap tops? I don't understand? How do I check out my books? Do they just put them on my tablet? What about people who don't have tablets? I probably need to do some more research on this and it might put my mind at ease, but for now, I'm going to be cautious. I (and I think a lot of people) need to be coaxed into this idea. Let's try some of the procedures out before we chuck all of those beautiful, smelly, and heavy hardbacks.

One more note on e-books: I don't mind reading on my tablet, and I'm not against buying online and storing my books, music, and movies in the cloud, but dangit, I love to loan out books to friends. How do I do that with an e-book? Yeah, yeah, I can loan it to one person, but how about my favorite book that I've loaned out roughly 15 times? That's important to me. I guess that's getting off topic of the whole library thing. That's

How Technology Changed My Teaching

Uh well... since I'm only a second year teacher, I don't think I have a teaching style yet. Most of what I do has come from teachers that I work with and Pinterest. Of course, I always tweak to fit who I am as a person.

So, okay, maybe I do have a teaching style, but I definitely don't know how to explain it. I know that I do use technology in my room and it makes everything a little bit easier and a lot more fun. Now that I'm really thinking about it, I'm kind of lucky to be beginning my career at this time. I had technology classes in college, so I came into teaching with at least a small knowledge base of how to use it in my classroom. Although this is true, I have learned so much about technology since I began my job, it makes those college courses seem like preschool. Here are my top 3 favorite websites:


1. Google Docs
Last year, I started using Google Docs with writing assignments. I only tried it with one of them last year, but now I will not let my students use anything but Google Docs. We used to work in Pages mostly, but students couldn't access their documents outside of the school and half of the time, they would forget to save. Google Docs automatically saves for them and they can get to it from anywhere: computers, iPads, Smartphones. A lot of my kids even downloaded the app for it. This is super handy when I forget to reserve the computers for the day (woopsies). Google Docs is also friggin' amazing because of the options that you have for collaboration. Students share their documents with me and I can type comments in their margins while they are writing. It is instant feedback for them without that terrible fear of red ink or teachers coffee breath blowin' over their shoulders. I also have my students share with their writing groups so that they can read and give feedback on each other's pieces for homework. It's fun for them because it's like chatting online but it's also nice for those students who are shy. Also, since I teach 7th graders who love to talk about farting and twerking, I can see everything that they type in their comments so that it doesn't get inappropriate.
Google Docs also has options to create presentations and forms. Those are awesome as well. I just don't wanna explain them right now. Sowwy.


2. Blogger 

This year, I started using Blogger; it's a free app through Google that allows anyone to create a blog site. I was assigned to create a blog during my technology class, and I didn't really think I'd like it. I felt like I had nothing really important to say and I'd just take up space on the internet that other people could use for better uses. But it was an assignment, so I tried it, and I liked it. Even if nobody else reads my blog, it makes me write (which is something that every writing teacher should do), it makes me reflect on my teaching, and it has opened up an avenue to following other bloggers (and they really have awesome, real-life stuff to say!). I also asked my students to create their own blogs as an option for our writing workshop. I'm just playing around with it right now, but it seems to be catching some of my students' attentions. Honestly, I thought all of them would love that assignment and jump on the chance to blog, but I think we need to practice using it more so that they feel comfortable with it.


3. Twitter
This is a recent find for me. I had a Twitter account before I began teaching, but I only used it for personal tweeting. I now have one for school, where I follow a lot of awesome teachers, innovators, and writers and I have learned what hashtags are actually for. #istillusethemlikeateenager I'm not going to explain this in depth because I already dedicated an entire blog to Twitter and I feel like I may sound like I'm obsessed (I kind of am). I will tell you that I now follow #engchat #edchat and #ndedchat and they are awesome!

I use a lot more technology than this everyday, but these are some websites that I find absolutely AWESOME. I know they're not new or groundbreaking by any means and I also know that there is a lot more that I can do with them, but I'm still only a dang second year teacher. 

So that's it for now. Peace & love. Or something like that.

The Future of Textbooks

TBH: I very rarely use my textbooks. I came into my job about two years after our school bought us all new textbooks. It was a really nice idea, and I'm thankful, but my coteachers only asked for a classroom set of books and they received one for each student. Awesome. Thanks. Now I have a cupboard full of really expensive, shiny, unopened books.

(insert awkward silence)

Can I trade them for 5 iPads, please?

(another awkward silence)

No? Well, damn.

Don't get me wrong, I like those textbooks as a resource, and I get some really good information from them. We use bits and pieces of them in all of our units, but I don't need to send one of those things home with each kid every day, and I wouldn't want to. Have you ever picked up one of those suckers? They are heavy. 

I'm a big proponent of 1:1 schools. I wanna work in one. These devices could serve as students' planners, textbooks, notebooks, folders, extra resource tools, pencils (ask any middle school teacher; this is a major plus), and anything else. Yeah, yeah, it's expensive, but so are textbooks, notebooks, pencils, paper, ink, planners, etc. You might not think that these things add up to much, but I guarantee you that they cost more than an iPad for each student would. So... let's try it!

21st Century Skills

This is a hard one, because we're supposed to be teaching our students to be ready for a world in the future, but we don't know what skills they will need, yet. It's freaky and I feel inadequate. People keep saying that as long as we teach them how to be creative and to become problem solvers, everything will turn out alright. I think they're right in a way, but what if I'm not a very good problem maker in the first place?

 Lucky for me, our world is full of problems. The more and more I think about planning a curriculum, I think the best way to go is to expose students to the problems that we're facing now, and see if they can come up with a way to improve our world today. It doesn't have to be big, but I'd like to show every student that comes through my door that we can do something to better our society. 

 So now that I've got a goal, what are the skills that I need to teach from a language arts perspective? 

1. A huge shift in education with Common Core is towards research. This would be the perfect place to begin a kind of service project because they would not only need to find a cause to support, but also a way in which to support it.

2. Planning and organizing would be next. This is my favorite because it's the step where you get to imagine a perfect world where everything goes right. This is also the step where students would have to anticipate potential problems and solve those problems before they even happen. 

3. The goal of language is to communicate, and in the real world, everybody has to be able to share knowledge with others. Students can find the best way to communicate their plan and then go for it, whether it's writing e-mails, interviewing people, be interviewed, posting tweets, blogging, or writing real-life letters, communication is an integral part of this process. 

One of my coworkers did a freakin' fantastic job of this earlier in the year, but I think the biggest part of the process was first getting her students to really buy into the project. By the end of the unit, those students had all participated and were pumped to run the dodgeball tournament that they had worked so hard to make happen. 

Some of you may be thinking, a dodgeball tournament? How in the hell does having a dodgeball tournament teach the CCSS? My very knowledgable reply to you would be,"How in the hell did they not meet the standards!?" Those kids researched a problem, worked collaboratively to come up with a way to raise money, advertised in the school and community to get others involved, planned the entire tournament, and ran the sucker. Yes, Patty was there to facilitate when she needed to (teachers are necessary), but her students worked their tails off.  

Try to convince me that your students will remember your 8 Part of Speech Unit longer than hers will remember (and be proud of) their Dodgeball Tournament Unit. 

By the way, I was inspired to write this at the salon, and I captured my inspiration by writing it on my iPhone. I think that's a 21st Century Skill, as well: learning how to use a Smartphone.

"I Have a Dream" Wordle

What Does It Mean to be a Teacher?

I feel kind of inept when people ask me this question. I'm only a second year teacher and if I learn as much as I did this year next year, I know nothing right now. If I know nothing, how do I know what it means to be a teacher?

With that being said, I'll tell you what I'm discovering about being a teacher. The first thing I've discovered is that when I was a student, I had absolutely no idea what my teachers really did. Yeah, I knew that they gave me assignments and tests and then corrected them, but that was/is really just the tip of the iceberg. I didn't know that they also coached, supervised, counseled, learned, sweated, collaborated, and/or cared so much. Teachers are fricken' rockstars. More like rockstar/superheros-minus the drugs and flying, although I think Patty Hildenbrand can fly. That woman is everywhere. Now that I've listed the things that I have learned are added to a teacher's job, I'll explain them in a little more depth.

Teachers as:

• Coaches. Teachers coach inside and outside of their rooms. Inside their rooms, they coach their students' within their content area. They are students' biggest fans, constantly cheering them on and boosting their confidence. They are students' hardest critics, having to give them feedback on everything (because nobody does homework just 'cause), but also turning those critiques into positive learning experiences. Teachers also coach outside of the classroom, sometimes two or three sports per year. That's another two hours after school with these student athletes. It's not easy and it doesn't pay well. They do it for the kids.
• Supervisors. Teachers have to supervise everything. Yes, administrators try to divvy up the workload, but they still have to devote time from their planning hours to supervise students around the school, in transition periods, and at after school functions. This is actually a really awkward job because students are different than kids. Here's a vocal lesson: Students are well-oiled machines that usually do what is expected of them in the classroom. Kids are crazy, hormone-driven hellions that are good at screaming, taking selfies, and giggling. They're not so good at cussing and flirting with each other, but that doesn't stop them from trying. Imagine having to supervise that mess.
• Counselors. Teachers counsel their students, coworkers, and sometimes even parents. It's kind of endearing (although usually sad) when a student comes to you for help, and I think that's something that's just built into a teacher's personality. Coworkers are harder, mostly because you're sympathizing with them because you know exactly how they feel. And then there's parents. This is hard and awkward. It might just be because I'm younger than all of my student's parents, but I feel like I have nothing to offer them but an ear and a shoulder to cry on. Let's hope it will get better as I become older and more experienced.
• Learners! This is my favorite one. I became a teacher because I loved and love to learn. I learn at least one new thing every day. I feel like there's so much out there and I want to absorb everything as fast as I can. That's probably why I have tried to teach myself how to crochet and sew (both didn't end well but I SHALL PREVAIL!). Teachers are supposed to learn constantly. The world of education is constantly changing and there are in services scheduled for teachers to learn about their content, their students, their students' brains, technology, curriculum, assessment, and so much more.
• Sweaters. This is kind of gross, but it's science. We are mammals and we sweat. I perspire more than a normal person (I think I also drink too much water), and I'm always checking for pit stains. I usually just wear two shirts because I know it's inevitable. Teachers walk constantly! I probably do 43 laps around my room each day. And that's just the walking. I also run, jump, dance, slide, and I kneel all the time (to get to eye level with a student in a desk-which I learned is important from an inservice).
• Collaborators. I've heard this has been a big change as of late, but teachers now have to collaborate with EVERYONE else around them. I have at least three meetings a week to collaborate with my team members and other content-area teachers. I love it because I'm new and they teach me gigantic amounts of educational things, but it's a lot of time that we have to take out of our planning time. That time doesn't include the meetings that we have with our administrators, parents, specials, or students. 
• Carers (that might not be a thing, but if they are, we are them). Teachers are carers. Yes, there are some teachers that may seem like they don't care, but I think they do deep down inside. They may be frustrated and a little cranky, but that is a sign that they care. In the past year and a half, I can't count how many times I've laughed so hard that I cried or cried so hard that I laughed. I won't lie to you (because you are all strangers and you wouldn't know anyways, right? But really, I won't), I get frustrated almost every day, but every day I am thankful that I work with these students, get to make the impact that I can, and have the best staff around helping me out. 

So, what have I discovered in the past two years about the meaning of being a teacher? I've discovered that every teacher has impacted someone, somehow. Being a teacher means that you can make a difference every single day. Not a lot of people in other careers can say that. 

Tweeting Up, Up, and Away!

I began my relationship with Twitter about two years ago, and I only did that because I was going to a conference and they asked me to join. Even as I signed up, I was adamantly against Twitter. I had already broken up with MySpace and switched to Facebook. I was not ready for a new suitor, but I was  pressured into it. I didn't like it. I tweeted a few times, added a few friends, and didn't get a lot of feedback.

Since I'm a teacher, I'll give you an example. I posted this tweet: "Does anyone else feel the need to ralph when Jabba the Hutt slobbers all over Princess Leia?" I got zero responses. Zero. I was feeling pretty upset because come on, that was disgusting.  Obviously, either everybody hated me and was ignoring me, or that maybe everybody on Twitter was just being lazy, so I tried it out on Facebook. As soon as I hit post, I had numerous likes and comments. At that point, I just knew that my feelings about Twitter had been validated.

But then I took this technology class and was forced to begin using Twitter again. This time, I set up an account for school so I only followed students, teachers, and educational pages. I thought, Hey, this sucks but it's an easy assignment. That is when it all changed… when I fell in love. Like head over heels love. I am now getting a constant feed of articles about themes that I am teaching, educational resources, and just plain fun infographics. I have to prioritize my time so that I don't spend every waking moment on Twitter. I'm a Twitter-Lover and I'm not afraid to admit it!

Here are my (so far) top 5 Twitter Feeds (is that what you call them?):

5.) @educationweek Education Week offers webinars for teachers, but my favorite part is the political articles that they post about education.

4.) @TheEllenShow I just really love Ellen.

3.) @edutopia - This has a lot of real ideas that I can actually use in my classroom. It also has really cool articles that only teachers would find interesting, but that teachers would find extremely interesting. They give you different perspectives about education and little tips that help every teacher's teaching.

2.) @realjohngreen - John Green is an author and vlogger. He has written some amazing books but also has these great vlogs that I love and I think my kids will love, as well.

And drumroll please….
My #1 would have to be my coworkers. They do all of the digging for me so that I can just pick and choose out of the best websites, lesson plans, videos, and articles.

I'm excited about Twitter, and I'm happy that I was forced back into a relationship with it.
You can follow me @msmantz 

Integrating Technology into Teaching and Learning

As a 25-year-old, I get this comment a lot: It's easy for you because you're young.

I usually just smile and nod my head, but now I'd like to finally explain why all of those people are wrong. I'd like to explain to them that it's not easy for me. It's really hard. It's mind-boggling. It gives me headaches, too! 

The difference between me and them is that I haven't given up trying. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I haven't seen these teaching fads come and go. They're so tired of constantly having to evolve, but that's kind of what our profession demands. Our students change, and we must change with them. We are teachers, which means we are (or should be) obsessed with learning. 

That being said, I'd also like to reserve the right to complain about how easy it is for new teachers to learn new things when I get to be a veteran.

Now that my rant is over, I think that technology is imperative to education. These are my reasons:

1. It makes a lot of things easier. The people I work with are brilliant, but many of them are still recording grades in an actual grade book, and then they record the same grades in the online grade book where we are required to input grades. I think it's a waste of time, but that might be because it takes me longer to grade. #newbieproblems

2. It's fun. It's a fact, when students walk into a classroom and they see the cart of laptops, they're excited. Students like technology. 

3. It's free. It helps me teach because I have so many resources to choose from and I get to use them fo' free! (usually). When I started teaching last year, I honestly used ideas from Pinterest more often than I used our textbook. I know, GASP! My teaching philosophy is a little liberal, but I'm all about an interesting approach over bland, out-of-the-textbook blahiness. Yes, I just made up my own word. Call me Shakespeare. Speaking of Shakespeare, I ask my students to create their own words during poetry. Got it from Pinterest.

4. It saves the planet. I use WAY less paper than most of my colleagues just because all of my files are online. I would like for my worksheets, quizzes, and tests to be online soon (I'm working on it). 

There are more, but now my head hurts again. 

Cell Phones in the Classroom

Cell phones in the classroom… I'm all for it!

I believe that cell phones have a place in the classroom, as long as they are monitored and students are taught how to use them appropriately.

I don't think it's okay to just say, "Hey, 13 year olds. Take out your cell phones. I know that you'll all act responsibly with them while you diligently work on the extremely engaging work that I've assigned you." Honestly, I don't see why teachers expect students to be responsible with their cell phones at all, especially since teachers aren't really the best role models. I've seen more misuse of cell phones during teacher in services than anywhere else (except maybe the movie theater). If we expect our students to use their resources responsibly, I believe that we have to teach them the skill of using their resources responsibly and model that skill.

And if you don't think cell phones are useful, I'd like to share with you a little nugget of wisdom: the SMARTPhones that these 12 year olds carry around in their pockets everyday contain the internet, which is the greatest resource on Earth. And the worst part of this realization is that these kids don't even know how to utilize this ultra-helpful tool. Last week, I asked my students what Hoover meant because it was mentioned in the novel we were reading. They looked it up in their dictionaries, couldn't find the definition, and when I asked them what another way to find that information was, they looked at me like I had spoken gibberish to them. I have a weird habit of sinking slowly to the floor when they can't give me an answer to a simple question, so I was kneeling with one forearm resting against the ground by the time one of my ELL students yelled, "I could use the iPad!" Now, if they had use of their cell phones during this little meltdown of mine, we could have moved on very quickly and had a much deeper discussion.

But hey, that's just what I think.