You guys. I had the MOST AMAZING experience last week. I have been teaching for 14 years and I would put this in the top 5 best moments in my career. Incredible. Astounding. Just... wow. So what happened, you ask? STARTALK. StarTalk happened. StarTalk, if you aren't familiar with it, is famous astrophysisist Neil deGrasse Tyson's podcast with National Geographic. He records it in the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum Natural History in New York City, New York. My colleague and friend @schwarzscience (7th grade science teacher) put in a request for tickets in the ticket lottery in the summer of 2017. By total luck the tickets became available!! We quickly made plans to drive to NY at lunch the day of the taping. The show was taped from 7:00 pm to 12:30 am, with two shows being taped back to back. We arrived outside the Hayden Planetarium on a cold and windy January night, excited to see the show and Neil deGrasse Tyson: After a half an hour wait in the cold (we were EARLY) , we went inside and checked in. An amazing sight awaited us... the entire bottom of the planetarium had been transformed into a TV studio for the taping: It felt like we were on a movie set! Cameras everywhere, lighting, boom microphones, and everyone dressed in black. AND THEN NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON WALKED OUT!!!! Cue the hyperventilating. Yes, I am a #fangirl. He was so nice! Circulated among people, chatted... AWESOME. After some light refreshments, we were seated. For the first taping, we were seated in the back... though there were no bad seats. There were perhaps 40 people total in the audience. They assured us everyone would switch seats at the next show, but we were so happy and excited to be there that it wouldn't have mattered where we sat! A comic/MC talked us through the rules of live taping - no phones or photography... no posting on social media about the content or the guests, and what good guest behavior looks and sounds like. Basically lots of clapping and cheering... which wasn't a problem, we were all VERY excited to be there! The first taping was so awesome - and my favorite part was seeing all the behind-the-scenes stuff... clips being reshot, lines being flubbed, conversations going off topic and being reigned in by the producer. It was very fun. After the first taping, there was a short break. We refueled with more snacks and were re-seated. For the second taping, my colleague and I were right in the very front row, no more than 10 feet from Mr. Tyson and his guests! It was honestly surreal. Fun fact: Mr. Tyson has a moon carpet that he stands on to mark his "spot" for the cameras. He says he's "over the moon" with every taping! HA! When the second taping concluded, Mr. Tyson graciously allowed us to take photographs and get autographs. LOOK!! It was so inspiring to listen to world-famous astrophysicists talk about pop-culture, science, and life. While we can't tell you now who the special guests were, I will come back and update this post in April/May when the shows air. WHAT AN EXPERIENCE. I still can't believe it actually happened. It was bucket-list stuff for sure.
Want to know more about Neil deGrasse Tyson? Follow him on Twitter! Check out his books, too! (Note: I am not affiliated with Mr. Tyson and do not receive compensation for clicks on these links!)
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I have the honor and privilege of teaching in a county that is very forward-thinking in terms of technology integration. This academic year (2016-17) we are going 1:1 with iPads for grades 3-12 countywide... we are one of very few districts across the state to embrace a 1:1 program on such a large scale. Apple has a new program called Apple Teacher. It's a series of tips, tricks, and information to help you become adept at using Apple products in your instruction, and it's FREE! You can sign up here: www.apple.com/education/teachers/ Once you are signed up, you will have access to a series of instructional videos and resources that will help you expand your knowledge base. There are 8 areas of expertise for Mac and 8 areas of expertise for iPad. After you have reviewed the content, you can take a quiz related to the material. Each quiz contains 5 questions, so there are 80 questions total to earn Apple Teacher status. You'll need to pass each quiz with an 80% (or a 4 out of 5). You CAN retake the quizzes if needed. Each quiz passed earns a badge. To become certified, you'll need to earn all 16 badges. My badges look like this: After you have earned your badges, you'll get a congratulatory email celebrating your success! YAY, GO YOU!!! You also will have directions to download and add Apple Teacher logo to your email signature, website, blog, wiki, or other online resource.
I found the experience to be enlightening, and I've been teaching with iPads and Macs for more than 5 years. I hope you will sign up to become an Apple Teacher this year, too! So the last time we talked about Twitter, I gave you a brief overview of hashtags, as well as a few to be sure to follow. And if you are anything like me, you probably found the Twitter feed a little overwhelming. Today I am going to introduce you to a couple of tools to streamline your Twitter experience! The first tool is an website and app called Flipboard. Once you have your Twitter account, you can sign into it on Flipboard. Flipboard takes your news stream and makes it easier to read... more like a magazine. Here, look! This is the #tlchat stream on Twitter: This is the same #tlchat on Flipboard's website: Much easier to read, right? Flipboard has an app, too! Make sure you check it out for your iOS or Android devices: Flipboard on iTunes Flipboard on GooglePlay I love the app version of Flipboard the most - it is very intuitive on touch screen devices. Instead of a 140 character tweet, you can see a preview of the article. TweetDeckIf you are ready for something a little more advanced, you will want to check out TweetDeck! You can sign into it with your Twitter account information, no separate account needed. TweetDeck allows you to view several streams of Twitter data at one time. For example, I like to follow the hastags #tlchat #makered and #kidlit. I can see all the feeds at once with TweetDeck, without having to search or switch between them! Here, take a look: I know it seems a little overwhelming, but it really simplifies your twitter experience. TweetDeck is especially useful when you are participating in a Twitter Chat because you can follow the Tweets for the chat in one column while answering individual notifications in another. It is a multi-tasker's dream!
I like to use Flipboard when I just want to read articles that my Tweeps (Twitter Peeps, HAHA!) have published or shared, and I love TweetDeck when I am participating in a Twitter chat. So now that you have those two tools, go try them out and see if either (or both) work for you! Leave a comment below telling me about your experience with Flipboard or TweetDeck, or if you have another tool to share, tell us!
Unless you've been living off the grid since 2006, you have heard of Twitter. The words "tweet" and "hashtag" have all become a standard part of our vernacular.
No matter what grade level or subject area that you teach, you should be using Twitter on a regular basis. It is one of the most valuable tools for teachers out there! If you are totally new to Twitter, this 3 part blog should get you caught up to speed. What is Twitter, anyway?
So what exactly is Twitter, anyway? It's a micro-blogging platform that allows users to access real-time data about a variety of topics. Check out this short video for a little explanation:
So how does this apply to educators, and why should you be using it as a teacher? Turns out Twitter can actually help your teaching - it helps you keep up with the latest trends, news, and general happenings in education, as well as the most important function - connecting you with other educators and experts in your field.
Collaboration is not a new concept in the field of education. With the advent of social media, it's easier than ever to share resources with other educators. And share we must! With so much more work being piled on us every year and nothing being taken away, we have to streamline where we can. Twitter is a tool that can certainly help you lighten your work load. We also are always looking for ways to grow and hone our craft, right? Twitter can also provide valuable professional development. We all know that the best PD is the PD that we choose for ourselves and that is relevant to our classroom. With Twitter, you can select topics and people to follow that are customized for you! Are you a secondary science teacher? There's a chat for you! Elementary librarian? There's a chat for you! Do you work at the district level, working to reform education? There's a chat for you, too! It is time to end the isolation and join the conversation! Ready to get started? The Basics
Tweet - a post on Twitter. Tweets are limited to 140 characters or less, meaning you have to be concise! Here is an example:
To Twitter newbies, the symbols can seem daunting - but they actually are the heart of the system, and they are how conversations are held and found by others.
# or Hashtag - According to Twitter: "People use the hashtag symbol before a relevant keyword or phrase (no spaces) in their Tweet to categorize those Tweets and help them show more easily in Twitter Search. Clicking on a hashtagged word in a message shows you all the Tweets marked with that keyword." Try it! In my tweet above, click on the #tlchat or the #wcpsmd - either will take you to a Twitter search where other people have tweeted using that hashtag. Need some hashtags to search for? Check out these popular hashtags from Edudemic:
You can also download that chart as a PDF below!
Speaking of hashtags... here's a little #humor for you!
Go on there and find a search that you are interested in and start reading! In my next blog, we'll discuss posting your own Tweets, moving you from a consumer of information to a producer of information!
So now that you have a basic working knowledge of Twitter, GET OUT THERE! Jump right in, and share your favorite Twitters searches below! Don't forget the #hashtag! I was privileged to attend the AASL conference earlier this month and I am still just in awe of my colleagues from around the country. This is Part 2 of my reflections on the conference. Part 1 can be found here. This part will focus on the individual sessions that I attended. I'm going to group them by the two major strands: Apps and Makerspaces! AASL Best Apps for Teaching and Learning!The AASL has curated a list of the best apps for teaching and learning. This year's list is awesome, and should certainly be reviewed by teachers and administrators to see how these apps can be best used in the classroom. An interesting note... not all of these apps are free. In fact, some of them are quite costly. When asked about they aren't promoting free apps, one of the media specialists on the panel stated that librarians regularly pay $25-30 for a good book, what is stopping us from paying $1-3 for a great app? Whoa. What a great point. Particularly because when talking about purchasing in bulk, the apps become 1/2 price when you purchase over 20 copies... so a $1 app costs the same to buy 10 copies as it does to buy 20 copies. So about the apps... In the interest of brevity, I won't list them here... but you can check them out at the AASL website! But you HAVE to see them... they are awesome. Please check them out! It's worth mentioning that the previous winners are also archived on the AASL website, so you can see the best apps from 2013 and 2014, too! MakerSpaces in the Library!Makerspaces are the new trend in libraries. Before we talk about it, I'm sure some people are wondering, " What is a Makerspace?" Check out this short video: I know what you're thinking - but WAIT... A library is ALREADY a Makerspace... right? Libraries have always been places where people come together to make and create. But libraries are thought of traditionally as quiet spaces. A world of no... just NO. Libraries should not be quiet! They should be the heart of the school, full of students learning and creating. Learning is messy. Creating is noisy. Embrace the insanity!
*Steps off soapbox* So let's talk about what these amazing librarians had to say! The first session was by Diana Redina, Media Specialist at Stewart Middle Magnet School. You'll want to check out her blog, Renovated Learning, for sure! Her presentation, Makerspaces & Libraries: How to Bring Some STEAM Into Your Program, was a hit! There were around two hundred people in the room - it was standing room only. She discussed lots of popular Makerspace ideas, including:
She shared even more than what I put here, but these were my favorite take aways. What a great session - and ironically, my Donor's Choose project for 3 Ollies was funded DURING the session! How awesome!!! The second Makerspace session I attended was entitled Full STEAM Ahead! Create Maker Spaces Using Your Library Print VBooks with an eBook Connection Using QR Codes, presented by Lisa Hathcock and David Burrow. It was also full of great resources for Makerspaces, including:
I also went into the actual AASL Makerspace area, which was super fun. There were some really cool toys in there that I have on my radar to check out in the future! My favorites were:
There were SO MANY awesome speakers and sessions at AASL15... I am still wrapping my brain around my session notes and going through files! Like the keynote speaker Heidi Hayes Jacobs said, "We should all leave here emotionally disturbed." I definitely am unsettled (in a good way) by all that I learned at AASL! More changes are coming to the SPMS Media Center, and it's going to be AMAZING!
I was privileged enough to be able to attend the 17th American Association of School Librarians (AASL) national conference in Columbus, Ohio last week. A group of the best of our best teacher-librarians gathered together to learn, grow, share, and lead, and it was an incredible event. So much so that I have to break the blog posts for the conference into two parts. Part 2 can be found here!
Today, in part one, I am going to focus on the two keynote sessions and the messages contained within them. Heidi Hayes Jacobs - Curriculum21
Heidi Hayes Jacobs was AMAZING. What a great speaker - so many insightful quotes and ideas. Here are my favorites, in no particular order:
This one actually brought applause from the audience and it is 100% true. If you want to be a "Right Now" librarian, you need to have a Twitter account. It's the easiest way to connect with colleagues who share your passions, and to share your passions with others! Think of it as a micro-blog ... you are sharing out the amazing things you are doing with the world! If you are feeling overwhelmed by Twitter,check out this getting started guide... and look for a future blog from me on the topic!
This is 100% true too! Our students today are no longer just consumers of content - they are creators and innovators, too. I am reminded of the Apple "Think Different" commercial from the 90s:
These kids think differently than we do. We are preparing them for a future that we cannot even imagine. As Ms. Hayes Jacobs said in her keynote, the iPad is only 5 years old (as of April 3rd, 2010). 5 years. If the world has changed so much in five years, can you imagine what it will look like in 12 more years, when today's Kindergartners are headed off to college? The implications are staggering.
Funny, right? We should though - every time you get to work together with colleagues to connect, to create, to share, you should leave a little unsettled and a little disturbed! It should push you out of your comfort zone and leave you reeling. That unsettled feeling is growth. Change is uncomfortable, embrace the disruption!
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About the AuthorHi! Welcome to my blog! My name is Christine Hurley. This is my 17th year of teaching - I've taught Kindergarten, 4th grade, elementary media, and now I am in my 6th year of teaching middle school media! Archives
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