To the moon and back

     On October 29th and 30th I had the privilege of attending the GAFE Summit in Belleville, Ontario. In case you don't know, GAFE stands for Google Apps For Education and is produced by EdTechTeam, a Google partner. If you haven't attended a GAFE Summit (which is transitioning to the name GSuite Summit), find one and GO!!! The summit offered 4 sessions per day of learning with Google Educators and Google Innovators, as well as time with them to get one-on-one help and instruction. So much incredible learning. My brain was stretched in all directions. I even learned to use Bitmoji so you can see exactly how I felt before...

during...

 and after...

 
















   

The keynote speaker on Day 1 was Jeff Heil, who spoke with passion about the students he taught at his first teaching job, at a homeless shelter in the 1980's. He and his teaching partner purchased Apple Macs that gave the students the opportunity to make original films to tell their stories. The tech tools gave his students a voice for the first time in their lives. His students in turn became passionate about their own learning and are now leading meaningful lives in their chosen fields of study. One of Jeff's former students is Ryan Hudson, a snowboarder and public speaker. Watch streets2peaks this video to hear Ryan speak about what drives him to keep going in the midst of great challenge. It's a great video about perseverance to show to students!
     So much of what Jeff had shared resonated with me and echoed "The Innovator's Mindset". First, he too believes that the best learning begins with the relationships you develop with your students and the trust you build with them. He spoke of technology as the tool for student learning and self-expression.
     Jeff also spoke about Moonshot Thinking.
Google's definition of a moonshot: A project or proposal that: Addresses a huge problem. Proposes a radical solution. Uses breakthrough technology. 
Here's a great YouTube video on Moonshot thinking. Jeff challenged us to use and cultivate moonshot thinking in our classrooms, so that our students are ready to do the same.

     Here is my take away from Jeff's keynote, drawn with Sharpies on an actual message board at the summit:

Jeff is clearly a teaching rockstar! And thanks to social media, I can continue to learn and be inspired by him. Thank you, Jeff, for sharing your love for your students, and their remarkable accomplishments. 

XO Nicci (your super fan)

P.P.S. Here's me using 2 EdTechTeam cable pouches as a yoga mat. Whatev.

So many ideas, so little time...

     On October 29th and 30th I had the privilege of attending the GAFE Summit in Belleville, Ontario. In case you don't know, GAFE stands for Google Apps For Education and is produced by EdTechTeam, a Google partner. If you haven't attended a GAFE Summit (which is transitioning to the name GSuite Summit), find one and GO!!! The summit offered 4 sessions per day of learning with Google Educators and Google Innovators, as well as time with them to get one-on-one help and instruction. So much incredible learning. My brain was stretched in all directions. I even learned to use Bitmoji so you can see exactly how I felt before...

during...

 and after...

 
















   

The keynote speaker on Day 1 was Jeff Heil, who spoke with passion about the students he taught at his first teaching job, at a homeless shelter in the 1980's. He and his teaching partner purchased Apple Macs that gave the students the opportunity to make original films to tell their stories. The tech tools gave his students a voice for the first time in their lives. His students in turn became passionate about their own learning and are now leading meaningful lives in their chosen fields of study. One of Jeff's former students is Ryan Hudson, a snowboarder and public speaker. Watch streets2peaks this video to hear Ryan speak about what drives him to keep going in the midst of great challenge. It's a great video about perseverance to show to students!
     So much of what Jeff had shared resonated with me and echoed "The Innovator's Mindset". First, he too believes that the best learning begins with the relationships you develop with your students and the trust you build with them. He spoke of technology as the tool for student learning and self-expression.
     Jeff also spoke about Moonshot Thinking.
Google's definition of a moonshot: A project or proposal that: Addresses a huge problem. Proposes a radical solution. Uses breakthrough technology. 
Here's a great YouTube video on Moonshot thinking. Jeff challenged us to use and cultivate moonshot thinking in our classrooms, so that our students are ready to do the same.

     Here is my take away from Jeff's keynote, drawn with Sharpies on an actual message board at the summit:

Jeff is clearly a teaching rockstar! And thanks to social media, I can continue to learn and be inspired by him. Thank you, Jeff, for sharing your love for your students, and their remarkable accomplishments. 

XO Nicci (your super fan)

P.P.S. Here's me using 2 EdTechTeam cable pouches as a yoga mat. Whatev.

Teaching is a Practice

This week I slowed down a little and thought a lot about what I've been learning in the IMMOOC  and  in my classroom.  In terms of technology, our student blog, La Classe de Madame Rea has given the  kids a pace to publish their work and thoughts. Initially the students took photos of trees at our school with iPads, and we published them with their thoughts on the blog.  This will be a year-long project linked to the Science curriculum.  Here's what excited me the most: the photos are REALLY GOOD! The kids have an innate sense of composition that isn't hindered by overthinking.  That's art at it's best.  We received some comments from colleagues in the IMMOOC, at school and from a few parents.  This week the students will take some more photos of the trees, as the fall colours have really come out since their first photos.

Generally speaking, I have been taking the risk of being more flexible as an educator. If some of my students are more comfortable sitting on a chair at the edge of the carpet, rather than on the carpet,  I let them. At first I had told them chairs couldn't be used at the carpet for whole group discussions,  but then I noticed that some of them had better focus in their chair.  They were also less likely to start distracting their friends with jokes and physical play. That's win-win for all of us!

My vice-principal and I teach a yoga club for Grade 2's once a week. We are both certified yoga teachers and are happy to take time with these kids to enjoy the peaceful retreat of yoga in the middle of the school day.  In my classroom, I had been having my students do some mindfulness videos on Go Noodle on the FLOW channel, each day after first recess. The kids were always calmer afterwards. This week on yoga club day,  my students asked when I would teach them yoga too.  I decided to teach them right then, in place of FLOW. The results were astounding. My students were settled and grounded as we began the day's math activity. They were much more focussed than usual and there was less distracting behaviour. They were ready to learn and explore in a way they hadn't been before. So we now do a daily yoga practice of 10-15 minutes after 1st recess and before Math. In the past I would have been concerned about time "lost" to yoga, but now I can see how much deeper their learning can be, so it's worth it! We still do FLOW, but at the end of some high energy Go Noodle videos, or when we just need to take a few breaths together before getting on with our day.

It's because I've been paying attention to my students and reflecting that I have been able to make these changes to improve. With this in mind I will be building more reflection time into my students' day. The student blog gives them an opportunity to reflect on their work before publishing. It pushed them to be selective of their photos, and to think about why they chose a particular photo to be shared with the world.

This weekend I began reading Stuart Shanker's book, Calm, Alert , and Learning, and I watched nearly 3 hours of his keynotes, workshops and TED Talk on YouTube.  As I began learning about Self-Regulation and how to help kids in my own classroom, I felt badly for not knowing any of this before.  I see now that though my approach has always been well-meaning, it was not always ideal.  Just as I was beginning to let guilt take over, I heard my yoga teacher's voice saying, "Yoga is a PRACTICE." There is no perfection in yoga. You practice and slowly improve, but you will always be PRACTICING. Then I remembered that as educators we reflect on our "Teaching Practice", and there is also no such thing as a perfect teacher.  Just as my students need to be in the Learning Pit and work their way out of it, I have jumped into the pit myself, and am starting to find my way out. It's not easy.  There's no escalator!  It's going to take some time and some hard work, but I know I can make it out eventually.

Chapter 4 Relationships, relationships, relationships

Classroom teacher vs. School teacher

In Chapter 4, George Couros invites us to consider the importance of positive relationships within our schools. A key concept that resonated with me was the question, "Are you a Classroom teacher or a School teacher". That is to say, do you consider yourself in the service of the students in your own classroom, or do you consider all the kids in the building yours? This is a powerful question.

Some years ago, I experienced a very difficult year professionally and personally. At that time I had witnessed some unfortunate behaviour in and out of schools, in the face of adversity.  And so I made a decision of how I would to respond to negativity: no matter how challenging a situation is, I will leave only happy footprints behind me.  Negativity as a response to negativity only leads to more anger, hurt and hostility.

I will admit this is hard to live by at times and I am by no means flawless in execution! However, when I see others through a lens of compassion, it helps me proceed through the day without holding on to the negativity that sometimes shows up.

Compassion is recognizing that all people want to be happy and are working towards that. While their ideas and opinions may not be the same as my own, they are moving on their own path.  As I work to be the best teacher I can be, I need to work with loving kindness with students, parents, colleagues and administrators to the best of my ability. When a difference of opinion arises, I need to accept the other point of view, but not the negative energy that might accompany it.  In this way we can work together for the best of the students.

In my classroom I have a large close-up photograph of a shirtless toddler with huge brown eyes, round cheeks and a slightly dirty face. The portrait helps me remember that every student is someone's precious baby.  They all deserve the very best from me.

So as I work towards the goal to leave only happy footprints behind me (and not a glowering, hurt and angry cloud!)  I have the responsibility of being positive in my day to day interactions with others.  I greet students in the hallway with warmth and a smile, whether they are in my own class or not. They are all under my umbrella.  A small act of kindness can have an enormous effect on a student - or on anyone, for that matter. The happiness I try to pass on always comes back to me. I LOVE hearing a student call "Bonjour, Madame Rea!" as I make my way through the school. It lets me know I'm on the right path.

Jumping in!

     You know how it feels when you're at the end of a dock or a diving board, and you are about to leave the comfort of the sun's warmth on your dry skin and jump into the water below? You want to do it, and get to the fun part of swimming, but the thought of that sudden chill of the water is holding you back? And then after what seems like hours you take a deep breath and GO. The shock of the water's cool temperature encompasses your body but then leaves after a split second. You kick up to the surface and smile thinking, that wasn't bad at all, why did I take so long?

     Well, this is usually my experience. Maybe this isn't what you go through at all. Maybe you're one of those brave people who just dive right into the water no matter what the temperature. For me, the fun of the swim after the jump is such joyful moment! And this is how I am feeling now, after seeing George Couros in person at the Limestone District School Board on September 22nd, and subsequently diving into the Innovator's Mindset #IMMOOC.

     Like so many teachers, I've been doing my best to keep learning how to use available technology and bring it into my classroom. I have a class website, Twitter, ClassDojo, etc. However, I still felt that I was lagging behind in creating more opportunities for my students to use tech in creative ways. When I saw George speak, I was so inspired and motivated, I couldn't think of much else. I ordered the book, followed him on Twitter and joined the IMMOOC and it's Facebook group. Serendipitously I was free to watch the Live Event on YouTube for Chapter 2, and that's when I really started to feel ready to reach out and connect with other educators and start up some new digital projects for my students.

     So here I am, with a new blog, my mind racing with ideas and my heart beating with excitement and love. By mind racing, I mean that I am so filled with thoughts, reflections, and inspiration that I've had insomnia! This is an unfortunate side effect when I am super stoked about a project. Luckily I have yoga and mindfulness to support me! Also, thank goodness it's Saturday and I could sleep in. The love that I'm filled with right now is love for my students, love for this profession and love for colleagues all over the world who are sharing their reflections and positivity.

In the 10 days since seeing George speak, I have ...

• gone back to watch Week 1 of the IMMOOC podcast and caught up on the reading
• read IMMOOC blogs
• connected with so many educators on Twitter and Facebook
• taken my Grade 1's outside to photograph trees and had them choose their favourites
• set up a blog for their photos that we will add to throughout the year, with their observations
• Tweeted asking schools for photos of their own trees, and seen the excitement in ally students' faces as they saw each response
• made a great new connection with Annick Rauch (@AnnickRauch ),  another Grade 1 French Immersion teacher, from Winnipeg, Manitoba 

Now for my responses to Week 2's blog questions:

Examples of innovation within constraints

     In terms of innovation that I have seen within constraints, in schools, I have seen teachers Skype with each other in their classrooms, with the students taking turns as host/interviewer/guest for their class. In my own school we do a Junior musical each year, which the majority of Junior students participate in. For the kids who aren't interested in performing, building or running lights and sound, their teachers have given them the assignment of making a video of "The making of" the production, using IPads. Not only did they love making this project, they were proud to show their work to the whole school at an assembly, and had just as much opportunity to showcase their work and the cast and crew of the show. 

     Here's some awesome innovation I saw in Vancouver, B. C. this summer. My family and I were entering the CP Pacific Centre when we saw some funky murals for the Me to We, #WhoWillYouBe Campaign, a nation wide back to school initiative through the partnership of Me to We and Cadillac Fairview. Shoppers were asked to make a pledge to make a difference in education, health, environment, shelter and hunger, and then take a selfie in front of the corresponding mural. Selfies could them be shared on Instagram to #WhoWillYouBe. We chose education, of course, and the facilitator who greeted us was about to start her first year in Con. Ed. at U.B.C. We had a great conversation about teaching and kids.  

Questions that are vital to understanding those we serve in education

• What do they love to do?
• What is their personal history so far?
• How are they most comfortable communicating?
• How are they physically most comfortable working in class? Standing, sitting, lots of personal  space, moving, etc.

Here's my school from scratch mind map

Have a great day! See you around the Interweb!