Category: Heck Awesome Learning

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More Powerful Than You Think

I first “met” Luis Perez while watching him on a Google Hangout session. He was sharing information about the iPad’s accessibility and switch features. I was in awwww….I was inspired…I wanted to know and learn more.  I started by learning more about him.  I quickly learned that not only was he an accessibility guru, he was an incredible advocate for universal design and accessibility, a presenter, a professor and he is also visually impaired.  I began to follow him on Twitter.  I wanted to learn from his philosophy, his ideas and the information he shared.  I started following him on Instagram and discovered he was also an amazing photographer….yes, photographer!  And I could not wait to see him speak when I heard he was presenting at ICE13 where his presentation did not disappoint.  His session was full of tips, information and knowledge about Apples accessibility and switch technology.  It was during this session that Luis introduced all of us to an incredible young man from Australia named Christopher Hills. Christopher is an Apple Certified Pro Final Cut Pro X, a Level One and an Accessibility Ambassador and he also has cerebral palsy.  To say the least these are two people who truly inspire me, challenge my thinking and make think differently.

I knew instantly when I read about and watched Luis’s More Powerful video and then saw Chris’s i Am More Powerful Than You Think video…

 

… that  I was going to take Luis’s  #iAmMorePowerfulThanYouThink challenge!

Everyday I am lucky enough to have access to accessible technology in my classroom. This technology is the same technology my students use.  It is the very technology that I teach with, use to model tools and strategies for my students with and teach them how to use.  It is because of this technology that everyday I am able show my students and that they are learning that they are more powerful than you think!  Here is my #iAmMorePowerfulThanYouThink video.

 

Do you know of someone or are someone who has a “More Powerful” with technology moment?  Share it online and then use the hashtag Christopher created #iAmMorePowerfulThanYouThink .

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Hacking Google Apps

It has been too many weeks since I have created on this space.  I have thought about it everyday and miss writing and sharing.  The school year is off and in full gear, which also means my daughters lives have also become equally as busy and also means I fall alseep on the couch about a half hour into my favorite TV show every night at about 9 o’clock.  BUT just because I haven’t been here doesn’t mean I haven’t been creating (you don’t actually think I could go a single day with out creating or writing something?)  For weeks…yes weeks… I have spent my evenings  (when I am not falling asleep) and weekends working on my newest conference presentations. The first one I finished was one that I have had an idea for since last spring.  I was an idea that I worried would not be special enough, innovative enough or meaningful enough to other educators. I worried it was not worthy enough to share.  Well, last Friday I had an opportunity to take a deep breath, a chance to keep stepping out of my comfort zone and I decided it was time to shared my ideas.

Last Friday marked the day…the official day.  It marked the day I stood in front of other educators and shared with them that I am a hacker and I decided to teach them how to be hackers too!!!

I know.  I know. When you think of hackers you think of something like this

but I am talking about EduHacking (a totally and official and very technical term I completely made up).  I taught and shared at two sessions at Quest Academy Mini-Con.  It was a small conference with intimate sessions. There were no crowded rooms, no hashtags and crazy streams of tweets about sessions… it was me and my session’s educators.  I spent the morning sharing and teaching them about Hacking Google Apps. I shared with them how to stop thinking about what Google Apps for Education are developed/made to do and how to start thinking about the individual and unique things each app can to, how to connect that with students individual strengths and weaknesses and use those tools to enhance student learning and their teaching.  It was an amazing morning!

By the time I left their school and could not help but smile as I drove home. They were exactly what I needed. They welcoming. They listened. They questioned. They learned. They reminded me…They reminded me of something I had not remembered  or owned for a long time.  This group of educators filled me up.  They had welcomed me.  They had welcomed my ideas. They had soaked up my passion and shared theirs with me.  They left me filled with a confidence.  It was a confidence that reminded me how deeply I love the incredible things technology can do for students, how much I really love learning and how deeply passionate I am about teaching not just my students but others too.

Here is a SNEAK PEAK at my Hacking Google Apps presentation.  It is an interactive and clickable presentation packed full of resources for a variety of EduHacker abilities and there will be more to come soon…I promise!

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The Bulletin Board

I walked into my classroom.

The room seemed bigger than I remembered it.

I sat at my desk and started writing my to do list. It was filled with paperwork that needed to be organized, things that needed to be cleaned, materials that needed to be made. So like all highly efficient people I decided to start on the least important and the most fun item on the list…the creating and decorating!

I looked around the room skimming the walls and pausing to look at the bulletin board.  What was I going to fill that space with this year?

Would it be filled with the tech ninjas again?

Maybe a visual of gamifying my classroom behavior modification system?

or maybe…

I looked at the space some more. Nothing. No idea. No sparkle of inspiration. No use of idea….Nothing. Instead my bulletin board shouted, “Decorate me! Make me pretty. Make me inspirational.  Make it colorful… do something at shouted!!!”

I had nothing…

The first day of school arrived and the bulletin board hung, black space.

I spent the early days of the week, welcoming this year students to my classroom.  My students and I shared our first days of nervousness, new expectations, new routines and excitement.  The bulletin board took every opportunity during my plan time, during each time I had a chance to think, during each spare moment to whisper what about this idea or maybe it could be that.

Nope… Continue reading “The Bulletin Board”

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It Is Time

I sat curled up on my favorite chair.  The living room was blanketed in sun and I could see the faint steam floating from my coffee as it sat on the window sill.  I clicked to open my accounts, first Google+, then Twitter and finally Facebook.  I fell into what has become my usual morning summer routine.  I clicked through my notifications on my Google+.  I reshared a few, I pinned a few and those pinned resources would be tweeted out automatically.  I headed over to my Facebook page and did the same…like and reshare and maybe even comment on a few.  I opened my email and saw an email notification for one of the blogs I followed letting me know there was a new post.  I clicked on it and headed over to to read the post.  My bloggy friend shared a story about her daughter.  I smiled as I read her words.  This post reminded me of other stories and the journeys I had gotten to know her through.  I scrolled down to the comment section and I began to type. I shared with her my thoughts, my feelings, my words. I closed the tab and  headed back over to Google+ to read some more posts and collect some more ideas.

Suddenly I stopped and stared at the screen.

An emptiness sat inside me.

What the heck was I doing I thought?

What the heck have I been doing all summer for that matter?

All summer I had been consumed with gathering and sharing.  It left me full of more information than I had ever gathered and learned before.  My knowledge was deeper and richer than it ever before. And  I had even made a few really incredible connections with some amazingly educators.

I paused.

An emptiness was still there. Continue reading “It Is Time”

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I Predict

A few month back Chris Bugaj shared his TED Talk .  In it he said he had figured out how to predict the future.  He spoke about the tools in the future.  He spoke about tools called a touch screens and word prediction software.  BUT this future that he spoke about was NOW!  The technology that was so innovative for students with special education needs in 1986 and 1987 was now technology that WE all use today.  It is technology that is now enhancing all of our lives.

I finished watching Chris’s TED Talk and I couldn’t help but think…

“What do I think the future of technology in Special Education is going to be?”

“What is my vision for its future of technology in Special Education?”

 The thought mulled around and marinated for days and days.

Then it hit me.

The future of technology for students (…kids, people, adults) with Special Education needs is virtual!  And it is a future that I think if we work hard enough at doesn’t have to be too far off!!!

The power of technology for students with Special Education needs is amazing.  It has the power to enable them to compensate for their weaknesses and even completely overcome them.  It has the power to empower them to be and live in ways that were not possible years ago.  It has the power to enable them to live a life with independence like never before!

Imagine walking into any room and having at your fingertips how to lists, how to videos, social stories, checklists or a voice providing you with information.  Imagine having these tools accessible to a person at anytime.  Imagine a room being interactive, providing resources, information and tools for students. Continue reading “I Predict”

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A Class Full of Bloggers

Like years past attending the Illinois Computing Educators Conference (ICE) has inspired me in many ways.  The last day of this year’s ICE conference brought George Couros.  His words like other great keynotes did just what they were meant to do,  they made me want to change and they pushed the limits of my thinking.  By the time that George was done speaking  I knew exactly what I wanted to do.

It was finally time to do what I had toyed with doing for several years…it was time to start a classroom blog and not one written by me, one written by my students.

Ideas filled my head.  I talked the ear off of my friend Jen (note to anyone attending a conference with me or who sits next to me during a conference…I try really hard to be quiet and not talk but I can’t help it.  When someone/something inspires me… oh lawrdy watch out!  The ideas come flowing out of like the waters of niagara falls).  I was excited to revamp the class landing page and turn it into an active blog.  I was excited to write a list of ideas my students could write about.  I was excited to pool the resources and tools that my students could use to create and write blog posts with.  I was excited to create the templates and forms that would guide blog post writing… and Jen got to hear all about it (WHAT?! I told you I got excited).

“No”, Jen said,  “Let them write about, create, share about whatever they want!”

“Whatever they want?  No list of topics?” I looked at her with an are you kidding me look (you know the one…the and your the expert, really, are you sure you know what you are talking about look)

“Yes, whatever they want,” she smiled with a trust me I know what I’m talking about look,  “Let it be their idea!  Whatever moves them!” she added with certainty.

“Really?” I asked again

“Yes, REALLY!” she smiled again with an I know about this stuff look.

After an hour of changing the landing page into a blog…we had an active blog.

With George’s inspiration and Jen’s guidance,  I was able to structure our blog post writing process so that my students had enough structure to complete posts and publish them consistently and enough freedom to feel inspired and hungry to create…Student Blog Writing Process

1) BLOG POST Wall Banner

2)  TO DO List / Steps and Timeline for Publishing a Blog Post

3) Our Blog Post Wall where Blog Post Proposals are held and neon cards are used to indicate by students if Blog Posts are in progress or published

4) Blog Post Proposal Worksheet (Link to Download)

So this week when my students told me…

“I want to write a movie review post!  I think others would like reading it!!”

“I want to write about the Blood Moon.  There is one coming this month!”

My morning greetings went from simply hello or good morning to a spew of ideas and I want to write abouts.  I can’t help but smile (ok so I waited until they left the classroom and  squealed and danced a little).   I have a classroom full of bloggers, with their own hashtags and all!

IntroducingMy#Ninjas
‘CLICK’ to Visit My Student’s Blog

 

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A Moment In My Classroom: It’s Magic!

A Moment In The ClassHe had been working on a project for weeks in my classroom.  It was time to get back into our usual Social Studies routine.  I knew that the shift and transition back to this routine would take a couple of days for my student to re-adjust to the expectations of participating in class, listening to group instructions and taking notes on the topic were learning about.

He was taking the break he earned from the class before mine and I knew he would be a little late getting to my class.  He usually took notes using Microsoft word.  It worked ok for him but he still needed a lot of adult prompting and additional interventions to type his notes from the board and stay on task.  All of my older students used Google Drive docs to take all their notes on.

I wondered….

Do you think he could?

What if I??? Continue reading “A Moment In My Classroom: It’s Magic!”

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A Moment In My Class #1: Today It Rained

A Moment In The Class

Every Friday in my Math class is a Snow Day.

Every Friday it snows when white pieces of paper are throw randomly on the floor around the room.

Students pick up one piece of paper from the floor and I write a math problem on the board (usually a problem from a concept we worked on during the week or a problem from past lessons)

Students solve the problem, make a snowball and toss it to a peer to get it checked

I circulate the room to ensure students are grading each others work correctly.

If a student needs to make a correction on their work, the student who graded the problem walks over to the student who solved it and explains/reteaches that student what need to correct.  If the student who solved the problem  is correct their snowball gets tossed back to them (when deciding what problems to give to students I do use this activity as an opportunity to review mastered concepts.  This keeps corrections at a minimum and allows for a lot of review, practice and positive feedback)

(Added by my students….) Then the snowball gets tossed into (or at least they try to toss it into it) the recycling bin they have set up in the front of the room to act as a basketball hoop…hand drawn back board and all.

Every week we all look forward to this class period.  It is full of movement, fun, increased interaction with their peers, great skill review and who doesn’t love to throw paper in class!

SOOOOOO today when I said to the class we are having a Snow Day I suddenly heard…

“UUUgggggggg!!!”

“NO!!!!”

“No more snow!”

“No snow days!”

“It is SPRING!!! We have to have a RAINY DAY!!!”

As soon as the words left their mouths I couldn’t help but smile as I changed gears and sent two students to the supply cabinet to get blue notecards.

Today were were going to make it rain in in our classroom!

The Day It Rained in My Math Class

And as they crumpled up the a blue notecard after solving their math problem on it and getingt it checked, they threw it at the recycling bin and realized… even though they didn’t want a Snow Day…snow balls are easier to throw then rain!!!!

I just sat and smiled!  It was a really fun moment in my classroom!

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MAKING WORKSHEETS AND PDFs TYPEABLE USING GOOGLE DRIVE

Months ago my students and I threw away our paper calendars, stopped I stopped printing agendas and students tossed their more assignment notebooks.  I had found a new way to organize my self, my students and my classroom.  It was, to say the least, a new found love, an infatuation…a  full on love affair with google calendar + google drive.  There was one problem with this perfect duo (I know! Say it ain’t so)…you couldn’t upload PDF materials and type or write on them.  It wasn’t a deal breaker for this love affair but it certainly left me in search of a way for worksheets and PDF documents to be editable in Google Drive.  Once one of my students was completely converted to google drive, using only her google calendar as the this students assignment notebook and linking all documents for those assignments directly to her google calendar it quickly became apparent for her that I needed to find this solution for this student.  Having assignments in google drive and also having papers was just becoming too much for this student to manage.  It had to be all google calendar + google drive or come up with a new system.  Did I say I mention I was just a smidge in love with the google calendar+google drive duo…

“What’s this Mrs. B,” my student asked in a begging to try it please kind of way with an added giggle of untypical teenage egerness and curiosity.

googledrawing

“I don’t know?  Click on it,” I smiled encouraging her curiosity.  “Lets try it!” I smiled, wondering what it was and what it could do.

It was math class.

For the last two years we had struggled to find away for a student with severe dysgraphia to do math.  There’s a lot of writing in math yo!

The student clicked on the red icon and began using it to draw numbers and write problems on it.  The student was surprisingly able to write better on the mouse pad of an air mac then with a pencil.  The student experimented with adding shapes, then text.  Google drawing became a permanent tool in every Math class.

Months later… Continue reading “MAKING WORKSHEETS AND PDFs TYPEABLE USING GOOGLE DRIVE”

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NICE Mini Conference 2014

Saturday was it.

It was the big day.

It was a HUGE BIG GIGANTIC check off of my list and goals of things I wanted to do this year!

Saturday was the day I spoke of my very first conference, the Nice Mini Con 2014.

I drove to the conference cursing. The salt and snow and mess splashed on the window of my car.  The running out of windshield wiper fluid light blinked at me.  I hoped I wouldn’t have to stop to fill it up. It would be just my luck to present my first conference covered in windshield wiper fluid.

My stomach churned with nerves.

I ate my breakfast and drank my water.  I would  get my coffee right before I got to the conference.  Yes…it would also be just my luck that my coffee would drip drip drip, leaving me with an oh so attractive and professional  coffee stain somewhere unhideable.   I went through the script of my sessions in my head.  Before I knew it was there and coffee and windshield wiper fluid stain free!  I checked in and found my way to the room I was presenting at.

Continue reading “NICE Mini Conference 2014”

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Flooded with Words…My 2014 Resolution

It started with a Fast Company article: Google Reveals Its 9 Principles of Innovation.  Each of the nine points spoke to me, whispered to me…take big risks, try new ideas, new strategies and new interventions. Do it even when part of me doubts myself or worries what others will think.  Take more time to draw and create artistically.  It fills you up and fuels a creative and bohemian side of me.

NEXT

It was Tracie from From Tracie.  She shared her reflections of 2013 and her resolution to Act in 2013.  Her words were strong, honest and deeply moving.  She spoke from the heart and with great disappointment in herself.  She was so honest and so deeply reflective.  I admired her level of reflection and her dedication to looking deeply and striving to better herself.  Heck, I couldn’t remember what my resolution for 2013 was.

THEN Continue reading “Flooded with Words…My 2014 Resolution”

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Bright Idea #2: Goodnotes App

I first heard of the Goodnotes app at SET Connections SPun Special Education Technology Conference (think unconference meets Special Education).  I sat in my first session.  A group of us (ok…three of us) were in one of the classrooms sharing.  A younger educator needed ideas to bring back to her district to share with her staff, so myself and another special education teacher shared what we were using in our classrooms.  We spilled ideas and technology tools we used in our classrooms.  The room was filled with,

“Oh yeah I know that!”

“Oh Yeah! I love that tool!”

“Oh no I didn’t know about that one!”

“OOOOOO that’s a great one!”

…then suddenly… Continue reading “Bright Idea #2: Goodnotes App”

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EdReach Guest: EdCeptional Channel

I am giddy with excitement and filled to my finger tips with energy.  I just had the best time talking technology, special education and learning with two fantastically passionate, enthusiastic and advocates of special education and the tools, skills and strategies that make us and our students exceptional.

Tonight I was lucky enough to join Patrick Black and Tricia Lazzaro of the Edreach EdCeptional Channel.  I got to hang out with them for a half hour 45 mins (minus having to put my girls to bed…mom stuff never ends) talking ideas, technology, and learning.  This time with them invigorated me and refreshed the passion I feel everyday for my job and the learning I get to facilitate.

Here is the segment we taped for Edreach’s EdCeptional #51… Continue reading “EdReach Guest: EdCeptional Channel”

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My 2013 Nominations for the Edublog Awards

Edublog Awards were started in 2004.  It was a way to promote and demonstrate the educational values of learners and teachers in social media.  Basically, it a way of shouting out to the world that blogging for educational purposes has incredible value as a resource and as a way to share and teach each other.  This is our way to recognize each other’s time, dedication, ideas, creativity and passion for education and student learning.

Here are my nominations for the 2013 EduBlog Awards {drum roll} Continue reading “My 2013 Nominations for the Edublog Awards”

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