I'm a Google Innovator, You Just Don't Know Me Yet...

It's the first line of my application video for the 2016 Google Certified Innovator Academy and I believe every word of it.  That doesn't mean I always did.

Let's rewind.  Years ago, in my undergrad educational technology class, we were introduced to Google Docs.  After living much of my life tied to various types of drives--Mainly floppy (the ones that literally flopped, the 3.5" ones) and flash (which consistently failed me at 11PM the night before a major paper was due)--this concept made so much sense to me.  In our world of internet and connectivity, why shouldn't you be able to start writing something on one device and pick it up on another without having to deal with multiple versions and formatting issues?  Why shouldn't you be able to share something with someone else to work on it at the same time?!

Fast forward to January 2014, and my school decided to go 1:1 with Chromebooks, starting with my classroom and the rest of our math and science departments.  My love and appreciation for all things Google had continued through these years, in fact, my students had personal Gmail accounts so we were able to use Google Drive and its capabilities even though we weren't a GAFE school yet.  This was a big turning point in my teaching career.  After having signed up for the computer lab or laptop carts for EVERY class period for over a year, it was exactly what I and my students needed to increase our efficiency.  I'll admit I was very excited that the startup time of a Chromebook was 7 seconds, compared to the nearly 15 minutes it took to acquire and get logged in on our school laptops.

I've been accused of being over-reliant on technology in my teaching, mostly by those who don't understand the motive, method, and madness.   I have used my personal time to acquire knowledge and skills, often submitting presentation proposals so I was able to attend the conference for free.  I went into this knowing it is difficult for a district to justify sending a math teacher to so many tech conferences, and I'd made attending a career non-negotiable.  I'd go alone, not knowing a single person and have a blast being out of my comfort zone.  I've come to realize being out of my comfort zone may just be my comfort zone.  I quickly found my people, two kinds of them actually.  One group, they had these really cool Google badges.  They were confident and simply amazing at what they did.  I found there was a shared knowledge between myself and them.  Whatever it took, I was going to be one of them.

It was at one of these conferences, MOREnet 2014, that I found another group of people who would become the biggest support system I never knew I needed.  I found my #tlap crew (Teach Like a Pirate).  I've told the story several times and will continue to tell it as I move through my career.  After hearing Dave Burgess speak, buying the book, participating in a LIVE #tlap chat, and basically "drinking the Kool-aid" of the entire #tlap concept, I was inspired to focus on creating an environment I would want to learn in and that I was excited to teach in.  The power of this community was in being connected, weekly chats and inspiration 24/7.  It took care of the post-conference lull I would have after returning to my school with great ideas, but not one who really "got it."  The list of names of people in this group who inspire me daily is long and wonderful.  I would not be the educator I am today without this amazing community.

By melding this and technology together, I was able to tweak what learning looked like in my classroom.  I have also taken the same approach with how I teach and support other staff in my building with technology.  Whether it is for this reason or others, one thing I do know:  Students and teachers enjoy coming to learn in my class.

The best advice I got from Google Certified Teachers (now Innovators) at these conferences was to just these tools in my classroom.  That seemed easy enough.  So I went another year using Google apps in my classroom, then passed the Google Certified Educator Level 1 test quite easily.  Due to the rush of the school year, nearly a year passed of planning to take the Level 2 test.  I was going to wait until the summer once I realized there wasn't really enough time to get in on this round of Innovator applications anyway.  Luckily, some people in my PLN reminded me that inaction is telling myself "No."  My good friend, and Google Certifed Everything (Level 1, 2, Innovator, Trainer, Administrator) Nick Cusumano refused to let me make excuses.  He never treated me as anything less than a Google Certified Innovator, and I will never be able to thank him enough for seeing that in me.

It was with the busiest week ever (state testing) I arrived at my decision to go for it.  I spent at least ten hours each day going over and over the materials from the Google for Edu Training website and working with tools to make sure I was ready.  I holed myself up at home, put the dogs, who lay on my computer to get me to take a break, outside and took the Level 2 test.  With time to spare, I saw the words on the screen that let me know I passed.  I almost didn't believe it.

The next week was still busy.  Things I put off the week before still needed to be done, but I was as determined as ever to finish my Innovator application.  I was ok with the idea of not getting in, but I had to try.  The hardest part of that process wasn't answering questions or even the time restriction (down to the wire) I had put myself in, it was deciding which thing I am passionate about would become my Vision Project.  Originally, I had thought I would do one on better PD for my school, but the video I had in mind would likely have not been very highly regarded by my admins.  Including teachers saying lines such as "Couldn't this have been an email?!" when referring to staff meetings and trainings would have been true and entertaining, but the biggest change would have been the stability in my career.  At the end of the day, I have a car payment.

I decided on Google Parent, an initiative to help schools educate parents and help parents who are seeking more information on the use of Google tools in schools.  On a daily basis, I am reminded of the gap between school and home and that even when sharing a link, some parents just don't understand how to interact with it.  And that's ok, for now, but that also means that we still have a job to do.  Innovator or not, I was excited to see where I get to take this project.

I clicked submit and put it all in the hands of the people at Google for Edu.  Watching the other videos made me worried, made me second guess myself and my ideas.  But I began to see that this process was about so much more than just getting an acceptance letter, it's about me doing the things that make me, well, me.  It's about not settling for the status quo.  It's about connecting and finding ways to innovate in my own way.  No matter what happened in the next ten days, nothing would discount the strides I had taken as an educator and the impact my style of teaching has on students.  More importantly, it would not stop me from continuing to do so.

Of course, all of this was running through my head during THE.  LONGEST.  TEN.  DAYS.  OF.  MY.  LIFE.  SO.  FAR...and this was in my inbox on May 20th!

I didn't do this alone, I did this with the love and support of people I (mostly) haven't met in real life.  My family doesn't bat an eye anymore to the idea that I talk so often with people I've never met.  I never was good at listening when told not to talk to strangers.  In turn, I haven't known many people to be a stranger (at least for long).  I can't wait to get to Boulder and meet everyone in the #COL16 group.  What a ride this has been and will continue to be.

When I said "I'm a Google Innovator, you just don't know me yet."  I meant it, but that doesn't mean I'm stopping there.

Yes: A reflection on not telling myself No

Not too long ago, I wrote a blog post about not telling myself "No."  That was my advice to my students.

Since then, I've been trying to practice that--taking my own advice--in everyday life.  I think I've found that the key for me isn't so much about just not telling myself "No," it's about telling myself yes.  Telling yourself "Yes" to that opportunity.

And ever since then, every single opportunity that so have had (and I always thought I was good at this), I've been really good about making sure that I don't say "No" to an opportunity just by omission.  So I have said "Yes" to every opportunity that has presented itself.  And amazing things have been happening in my life.

So my challenge to you: Don't settle for just not telling yourself "No."  Make sure you tell yourself "Yes."  "You can do this."  Be your own cheerleader.

I will admit, it hasn't been easy.  I'm extremely busy this time of year: testing, paperwork, keeping my students from climbing the walls because it's May.

It's been a lot of work.  Which makes me think about a video we show our advisory students each fall.  It's Ashton Kutcher's speech at the Teen Choice Awards a few years ago.  He shares his advice with a crowd of kids who I hope heard his message.  One of the pieces that always sticks with me is when he said "Opportunity looks a lot like work."  It's true, opportunity looks so much like work.  But when it's an opportunity you want to take, it's work you want to do.

I found what I want to do.

What do you want to do?

Why I won't be teaching math next year.

This post has been a long time coming.  I haven't been happy with the rush of standardized testing and the effect it has on both my ability to prepare students for life after high school as well as the rush for districts to choose boxed-style curriculum, taking away the creativity and undermining the teaching ability of the classroom teacher.

I don't teach to the test.  I don't do a lot of things that teachers of math who know their very jobs rely on how their students' scores on said tests probably should.  I see the frustration in my students' eyes when I don't have enough time or they don't have enough ability to embrace abstract concepts.  I see the frustration with focusing on one test at the end of the year instead of seeing through to the rest of their lives.

So today, I offer my resignation to teaching math.  Next year, I will be teaching students.  There may happen to be math involved, but my students will come first.

Don't you think they deserve it?

Failure is not a destination...

My nephew is in the 7th grade.  There are less than two months before the end of the school year, and he is failing.  He has been failing all year.  My sister didn't tell me until last week and my heart is broken for him.

I know he's probably not the best behaved student in the class.  He's one of the youngest in his grade and is a very active kid.  He plays just about every sport possible and spends lots of time outside or playing with friends.  He's a good kid, but I'm sure it's hard for him to focus on school because "sit and get" is not his strength.

He's not very different from many students I know.  When classes aren't interesting, I'm sure he checks out.  Whatever the case may be, he hasn't been learning everything his teachers have been teaching.

If a student fails the homework and fails the test, they haven't learned what I was teaching.  I haven't done my job.  It is still my job to teach them, even if that's in the form of remediation.  I know it sounds like a lot of work, but that's my job.  My responsibility is to teach, not just provide information.

This isn't just because I teach students with IEPs and accommodations, this is because I teach students who are also human beings.

If I could go back to the beginning of the year and make sure my sister knew what to say to or ask of my nephew's teachers, he may not be failing now.  I'd tell her when would be an appropriate time to contact the principal, attend a parent-teacher conference with her to find out more information, offer to observe him in class, or help him after school.  There are a lot of processes I understand because I am a teacher.  It's easy to forget that parents don't understand or know that protocol.  That's why the burden falls on us to communicate with parents.

There are many lessons to be learned from failure.  But for the sake of my nephew and the other kids out there, please make sure failure is just a place along their path, not a destination.

Should I Tech This Lesson? Guiding Questions

Teachers who do not know me well often know me as the techie teacher.  I don't really have a problem with this, except when it sends the message that I use technology in my classroom solely because I like technology.  In a previous post, I gave some examples of "Why I Tech" from a teacher planning standpoint.  I acknowledge that my entire thought process happens in my head and it can sometimes be viewed as flippant decision rather than an intentional, calculated choice.  Today, I'd like to give some more details on what goes through me head when I make decisions regarding technology use with students in the classroom.

Guiding questions when considering technology technology use in your classroom:

1. Are you prepared to effectively manage technology use during this lesson?

No: Don't use it, seek out resources for properly managing student use

Yes: Proceed to next question

2. Can the lesson be taught without the use of technology?

No: Not really a choice, gotta use it

Yes: Proceed to next question

3. Will using technology improve the quality of learning for this lesson?

No: Possible overuse, consider next question

Yes: Go for it

4. Will using technology improve positive student engagement in this lesson?

No: Likely overuse

Yes: Don't forget to have students engage each other and not just the technology.

My definition:

Overuse: Using tech for the sake of using tech. It should benefit the lesson not just replace a pencil or paper.

The language I use here suggests likeliness of overuse, not certainty.  If there's anything I know, it's that every situation is different.  You are the master of your classroom.  Never let someone's list tell you any different.  This is just what I consider.  Take it or leave it.

The only "No" I fear is the "No" I tell myself

Sometimes I just write in the notes app on my phone.  A line gets stuck in my head and I have to keep it.

I've been thinking a lot lately about the advice I give my students.  I tell them often, "If you don't ask, it's an automatic 'No.'"  I encourage my students not to give up on themselves.  I challenge them not to let others decide how they feel about themselves.  Even as some of them turn 18, my students are still children after all.  Nothing wrong with that, but they have so much left to live, so much yet to grow.  They have so much yet to learn.  Both about the world and their potential.

So here is my advice, do with it as you wish:

The only 'No' I fear is the 'No' I tell myself. 

So I'll keep asking, but not for permission*.

I'll keep dreaming, but not of chances I didn't take.

I'll keep wishing on shooting stars, but not because I don't have the power to make wishes come true.

*[Permission is philosophical here, to further your knowledge and decide your destiny.  Students, you still have to ask before leaving the classroom.]

Don't forget to follow your own advice.  What will you accomplish when you stop telling yourself "No"?

Two questions I haven't heard in my classroom this year.

I may have fooled my students into thinking I was a better teacher this year...

Short story:

1. Is this for a grade?

2. Why are we doing this?

Two questions I haven't heard in my classroom this year.

#micdrop

Not-so-short story:

Do you ever just stand in your classroom in awe that your students have done as you instructed?  Sometimes I think to myself: "They have free-will and have still chosen to follow my instructions."  It's kind of amazing.  My goal isn't to have a classroom full of quiet compliance, but the sound of my students individually problem-solving is music to my ears.  When I first started at my school four years ago, it was a struggle to get students involved in the lesson and trying.  I actually did an in-flip classroom and had students on individualized learning tracks.  It was easy to make it through a walk-through.  When my principal came to observe, she was just happy my students were engaged and doing math.  Sometimes I have to remind myself just how far my students have already come.

I'd like to think it's because all my lessons are that engaging.  (I wish.) I'm sure it's at least partly because I mix technology and student choice and take preferences to learning styles into account when lesson planning.  (Probably a big part of this).

I have a feeling it's mostly because I make a promise to my students at the beginning of the year to not give them work just for the sake of work.  Busy work is not my thing.  When we begin units, and lessons, and activities, I explain the why along with the what, so they aren't left wondering.

That relationship, that rapport, the trust.  That's what makes my classroom a better classroom this year, but this is not the first year I have noticed it.  This is the first year I have given myself the credit for building that kind of classroom.

Is there a place in the teacher evaluation process that celebrates and encourages that?  There needs to be more of that.

What is something you rocked this school year?  Give yourself credit for your hard work and dedication.