Technology Zen

Happy Halloween!








We are rounding mile one in the road race that is the fall to winter holiday season. Stress levels are bubbling up with teachers, parents, students, families, and people all over the world. Parties are aflutter, kitchens in high gear, and wallets gasping for breath. How do we find some zen?!

Well, we at our school district have begun to investigate the RULER approach, in which we are mindful about our feelings and how we can shift our mindsets to support the full person, including emotional needs. I ran a session on "Zenning out with technology", and here are some tips and tricks to make technology work for you, not the other way around.


1. Set limits-

• Use the "pomodoro" method. Set a timer for an hour (enough to get in the flow and get some work done). When that timer goes off, "de-screen". Give your eyes a break. This will reduce eye strain, allow you to get work done in chunks, and limit screen time. 
• Set screen time limits on your devices. There are many apps/extensions that can help you to limit your screen time. Apple recent released a wonderful screen time limiter. I set mine to make sure that my social media time is active for fewer than 2 hours. My behavior has shifted. Though annoyed, at first, I find that this is a great way to not be tethered to social media which, these days, can lead to a lot of stressful situations. 

2. Zen your screen space-

• Clear out your desktop space. A clean workspace makes for a clean slate and a calm mind. Have a maximum of 3-5 CRITICAL icons. There are so many ways to search for other icons that you need on a less consistent basis. 
• File out your emails. I use my inbox as my to-do list. When I address the email, I archive it. I strive for 0 inbox. I do so twice a day: when I get into work, and after dinner (NOT right before bed). I actually took email OFF of my phone and iPad. 
• Organize your online/cloud storage. Folders are great, in my opinion (not everyone's opinion). Make your space organized so you don't have to spend stressful minutes searching for what you need. 

3. Red Light, Blue Light-

• Use things like "Flux" to get kick out the "blue light" that forces our brains to be alert, even after the sun goes down. There is a lot of science behind blue light/red light. My advice is to find something like Flux (I have it on my mac and on my chrome extension) that will moderate the light your computer gives off. Your eyes will thank you and it will help you to wind down when the sun does. 

So there you go. My three points of Zen that will help you to make technology work fo you and help you to maintain emotional wellness in a digital age. 

Take care,

Scott

Twitter: Not just for selfies and product complaints! Twitter Chat 101

The leaves are changing here, in the great region of New England, so the birds are chirping fewer times and the air is growing quiet. Grab your cider, light up the fireplace, and kick back with your favorite device to connect with other educators. Today I write about Twitter Chats!

What is a twitter chat?
A twitter chat is a synchronous (or asynchronous) chat that occurs within the twittersphere. You tweet out responses using a prescribed hashtag (#) and connect with other educators doing the same.

When are twitter chats?
It depends. Here is a great article from ISTE: https://www.iste.org/explore/articleDetail?articleid=7 These have some great twitter chats that range from topic, to level, to subject. They occur on different days, at different times, usually for an hour's time.

What do I do during?
The moderator(s) will ask a question, usually phrased (Q1 ........?) and you will tweet back (A1..... #hashtagassignedtochat).

Ex. Moderator- Q1: What is a free ed tech tool you use? #edtechchatexample
       You- A1: I use padlet. #edtechchatexample.

Why?
Twitter is a great tool for promotion, interacting with brands, and catching up on news/current events. In addition, educators can use this to connect and learn from other educators and make connections. I try to participate in one a week. They CAN be overwhelming. Life moves fast, and so does twitter. You do NOT have to respond to other questions or other tweeters, especially if you are getting overwhelmed. You can even just observe.

Tools to help?
www.tweetdeck.com is great. You can establish columns that only pull up tweets with certain hashtags. Here is a tutorial: https://www.wikihow.com/Use-TweetDeck

As always, comment or tweet me @SrBonito1 with questions. I love twitter chats. They are fun and a nice way to connect with others.

Take care,
Scott

Flipping Out for Flip Grid

This blog post accurately reflects my feeling for the latest EdTech tool to come onto the scene as COMPLETELY free and full-featured: FlipGrid.

What is FlipGrid? Well, in a short statement: FlipGrid is an online tool that allows an educator to post a topic in text or in video and have students post a response, recording themselves in a short, guided response.

So...for what can you use this? Well, this is a great tool for world languages, math, science, social studies, music, art, etc. etc. Let me give you an example of how I've used it.

My students are practicing regular, present-tense verbs. I posted two topics in the FlipGrid:
1. Describe your typical day, using as many AR/ER/IR verbs as possible.
2. Describe the typical day of a celebrity of choice.

Students chose a topic and then recorded a response. Then, I, as the teacher, moderated/watched each response. I had the option, as well, to email students feedback, or post feedback on the video. I set the limit as 1 minute, so the students were halted at the minute mark (though you can decrease or increase that time limit as well).

Some possible applications...

• You can have students respond to a literary passage in an oral response, instead of writing. 
• You can post a central question about history and have students respond. 
• You can ask students to critique a piece of art.
• You can ask students to make hypotheses prior to a science project. 

How about adult learning? 

• Veteran teacher advice for new teachers
• PD quick questions prior to PD sessions
• School-to-school mentorship programs
• PLN pen-pals

The uses are endless. The tech is easy. Here is a brief break-down of how to use...

Sign Up

1. Go to FlipGrid.com

2. Click "Sign up Today"

3. Sign up with Google or Microsoft

Log-In

1. Go to FlipGrid.com

2. Click "Educator Login" at the top of the screen

3. Use your account login (Google or Microsoft)

Getting Started

1. Click on "My Grids". 

2. Create a Grid for your courses. This is where your topics and responses will live. Mine was "7Y Spanish FlipGrid". 

3. Once in a created Grid, click "New Topic". 

4. Fill in the needed information (Title, Topic Tip, Set Response Time, description, and date).

5. Set privacy needs (moderation on if you want to have the sole ability to see others' videos). 

6. Add attachments, emojis, links, etc. 

7. Decorate (video features).

8. FINALLY, set type of feedback. 

9. Click "Create Topic". 

Sharing Out for Posting

1. Click "Share Topic" and post the link in a learning management system. 

2. Students, when clicking the link, will sign in using Microsoft and Google account. 

That's it! That's the quick and dirty setup. When you sign up for FlipGrid, there are great resources for PD and even Micro-credentialing. They continue to release new features such as "MixTapes" where you can compile a list of "greatest hits" responses. It's an amazing tool, but I know, as a teacher, time is of the essence so here is the quick start guide!

As always, tweet me at @SrBonito1 with questions or post on this blog. I LOVE this tool and am a convert (also, the students love the emojis they can add to their cover image). 

Until next time, 

Techfully and Innovatively Yours, 

Scott

20% Time and Student Reaction

So, the results are in! We had our first 20% time. Here is the narrative below and some resources for those who want to try.

I started the year with, "We always ask you (students), 'What do you want to learn this year?' and then get too busy to do it...so, here is your opportunity to do it". Eyes widened. "Could he be serious?" The students looked around, wondering if I was really willing to give that control back to the masses. I was, and I did.

This past Friday I gave a brief introduction to my students and followed with a video. I followed with passing students out a plan sheet. Then, I gave them half of the class to brainstorm. I was channeling my inner "design-thinking" guru. The ideas that came out BLEW me away:

-A beginner's guide to Fortnite, for Spanish speakers
-The evolution of medicine in the Spanish-speaking world
-A Spanish-language cast album of "Oliver" the musical
-How-to art tutorials, in Spanish
-Inventions to solve water pollution for Spanish speaking countries
-A Russian to Spanish dictionary

The list goes on and on. Time is short and precious for us, the educators. So, here are my lessons for you innovators:

1. Be comfortable admitting to students that you are "building the plane while flying it".
2. Don't say no to any idea but rather, "Yes...let's explore". The "yes, and..." improvisation rule.
3. Feed the innovation fire. Encourage and be in wonderment of student ideas. This will NOT be hard.
4. Do NOT overplan. (I'm taking this one to heart).
5. Sow the seeds across your building and build excitement. It's contagious.

Finally...

6. Have fun. This was the first time in SO many years that I had JUST as much fun as the students, and the students had JUST as much fun as me. The journey carries on. Follow along :).

Until next, innovative time
-Scott

*Click the links above for resources from me to you!

20% Time

Image credit: https://openclipart.org/detail/154075/light-bulb-icon

New year, new blog direction. The focus for the year will be my reflections on 20% time in my class.

Every year I ask the students, "What do you want to learn about this year"? in an effort to personalize my learning, and every year, the curriculum comes cascading down on me, washing away my efforts in this arena. This year, I will be making a focused effort to do the 20% time in my class.

What is it? Well, "the legend goes" that Google instituted a 20% time, during which staff members were allowed to pursue passion projects during their workweek. Some of the best creations came from the 20% time. Gmail is an example of a product of that time. What does that look like in the classroom? Well, in the classroom, this looks like setting aside time, at regular intervals, to allow students to engage in passion projects using the design process to explore, research, refine, and present. 

So, off I went. I asked students "What do you want to learn this year?" knowing that it would not be a question posed in vain. When I explained 20% time, I received excited looks (on the face of tired middle schoolers, no less!).

This blog will be mixed with technology and reflection on that 20% time (since technology is a great support for it). In the meantime, if you too are interested in 20% time (or a variation), here is an article that I used to launch off from this year, from Edutopia.

I'm looking forward to seeing what the kids do with their 20% time, in World Language, in order to bring some authenticity to their learning and meaningful application to their work.

Until next time,
Scott


Works Cited
Smith, Meshelle. "Genius Hour in Elementary School." Edutopia, 15 September, 2017,     
     https://amp.edutopia.org/article/genius-hour-elementary-school?__twitter_impression=true.    
     Accessed 6 September 2018.