The Year in Review - Resources to Support 2019 Reflective Engagement

I like to welcome back my students to the New Year with activities connected to the top stories and trends of the year. The goal is to reflect and make connections to our learning experiences. Here are some resources connected to 2019 in review.

What Are Some of the Best Educational Books of 2019?

I love books. All types of books. When I am not writing or creating, I am reading. I know there are many great books written by educators for educators and if you have a favorite that was published in 2019, I'd love for you to share it in the comments below or in this Padlet.

Here are some of my favorite educational books from 2019. (In the order I see them on my bookshelf.)

To Meme or Not To Meme Creating to Learn - Learning to Create

I always like to welcome my students back with a Reboot the Noggin Activity to start the New Year. I think it is important to get students reflecting and creating after a long break. I am still working on my 2020 New Year's Welcome Back HyperDoc and my Let's Start 2020 With One Word HyperDoc. I won't use both of these, but I am hoping one of these might have something other educators can use or modify for their students

Today I wanted to share my Meme Creation Resources connected to these activities.

The Best Chromebooks for Teachers and Learners

New's Flash - Students and Educators Love Chromebooks!

Maybe not a news flash for most of us, but I still meet people who don't quite understand the value of a Chromebook. I bought my first Chromebook about 10 years ago because I was curious about the potential of the device to support teaching and learning.  I quickly realized that I could do 90 percent of what I do on the device. Today, I don't miss my Windows Laptop or MacBook Pro at all. 

Why Chromebooks?

• When Chromebooks are compared to similar PC and Mac options, they are very affordable.
• Chromebooks boot up in seconds.
• Chromebooks update quickly.
• Chromebooks rarely crash or freeze up.
• Touchscreen Chromebooks include access to an incredible suite of Android Apps.
• Google Drive has evolved into a very powerful productivity suite that includes powerful word processing, presentation, spreadsheet, and drawing tools.

Which Chromebooks are the best?

This is a tough question, because I don't think you can go wrong with any Chromebook. That being said, the more you spend the better the device. Here are a few of my current favorites. I am writing this post using a Pixelbook Go. I love my Pixelbook, but I do feel there are better values when looking at Chromebooks. 

The 12 Days of Ditch Summit - Have Your Signed Up For This Incredible Free PD?

I’m signed up for a GREAT free online conference for teachers in December and wanted to tell you about it.
It’s called the Ditch That Textbook Digital Summit. There are nine video presentations from awesome presenters on topics related to tech and solid teaching and learning. 

Get your free ticket at: DitchSummit.com.

Visual Display Resources for Classroom Projectors and Flat Screens (Timers, Clocks, and More)

I don't spend much time in the front of my classroom, but I still think it is important for students to have something to focus on as we engage in student-centered learning experiences. Today's post is all about creative ways you can display images, daily objectives, timers, clocks, and more for your students.

My personal favorite for displaying something in the classroom is Google Slides. I have a unit calendar for my AP Environmental Science class that I use to display the daily agenda. This is always up when students enter the classroom and we also use it at the end of the classroom to reflect on the class and plan for tomorrow.

Avatar Creation Resources for Teachers and Students

First I want to apologize for not blogging as much as I should in 2019. It's been a busy year for a variety of reasons and I have not done a great job prioritizing everything that is important to me. I am making a commitment to blog at least once a week for 2020 and I am starting early with this post.

I always like to welcome my students back with a Reboot the Noggin Activity to start the New Year. I think it is important to get students reflecting and creating after a long break. I am still working on my 2020 New Year's Welcome Back HyperDoc and my Let's Start 2020 With One Word HyperDoc. I won't use both of these, but I am hoping one of these might have something other educators can use or modify for their students

Today I wanted to share my Avatar Creation Resources connected to these activities.

Digital Resources for Social Studies Education

We are working on updating our collections of digital resources for different content areas. Today the focus is on Social Studies Resources for K-12 education

Digital Social Studies Resources for K-12 Teachers & Students

The Power of Google Forms to Engage Students - Now With the Form Notification Add-on

Have you explored the Form Notifications Add-on for Google Forms?

I have been a huge fan of formative assessment to engage students in the learning process. I use a variety of tools, but Google Forms is still one of my favorites. I was lucky enough to attend this year's Google Midwest Summit and I learned about the Form Notifications Add-on while I was there.

Digital Resources to Support World Language Educators and Students

Image Source

We are working on updating our web resources for different subject areas. Today we are focusing is on World Language Web Resources for K-12 teachers and students. This is the working document:

Digital World Language Resources for K-12 Teachers & Students

Words Matter - Building and Instructional Coaches Mindset

What Words Connect to Your Philosophy of Teaching and Learning?

Share your words in this Padlet. 

I have never believed there is a single path that leads to great teaching and learning experiences. There are just too many different types of learners for me to ever say that there is only one best to engage all of them. This is why the best educators are always taking risks and trying different new things to engage all learners. It's ok to take a risk.

“When you take risks you learn that there will be times when you succeed and there will be times when you fail, and both are equally important.” - Ellen DeGeneres

I am lucky enough to work with both teachers and students daily. This has helped me build and rebuild a mindset connected to instructional coaching. I am not close to perfect, but I am always learning. When people ask me about my instructional coaching mindset, I always start with the word why.

My mindset is built around questions connected to exploring why I do what I do! Why we do what we do!

For me, there are 4 stages of understanding why I do what I do to support teachers and learners.

Stage 1: What is our purpose? If we don't know why we are doing something, why are we doing it?
Stage 2: How will we engage learners? What pedagogical strategies will we use to support the learning process?
Stage 3.:How will our content help students develop essentials skills connected to collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and creativity?
Stage 4: How will both the teacher and the students know if they've learned? What assessments strategies are part of our learning process?

These stages are all part of my mindset of why. I believe this is a mindset that will keep us moving forward, keep us innovating. 

I am not telling you that your mindset needs to be this way, but I do believe that all coaches need to develop a mindset. Your mindset will probably change and evolve over time. Mine has and I hope it will continue to grow. #GrowthMindset

Have you found your why?

I am going to dedicated the rest of this post to some of the resources that have contributed to my mindset of why and the words that have influenced me as a teacher and a learner.

If you are interested in exploring or building your why, I think these two resources are a great place to start.

What Are Your Teaching Fundamentals? (Edutopia Article)

Simon Sinek - Find Your Why

Here are some of the books connected to instructional coaching that have helped me develop my ever-evolving mindset connected to teaching and learning.

• The Growth Mindset Coach
• The Impact Cycle: What Instructional Coaches Should Do to Foster Powerful Improvements in Teaching
• The Reflection Guide to The Impact Cycle
• Better Conversations: Coaching Ourselves and Each Other to Be More Credible, Caring, and Connected
• From Staff Room to Classroom: A Guide for Planning and Coaching Professional Development
• Learning First, Technology Second

Here are a few additional resources that might help EdTech and Instructional Coaches build their mindsets to support teachers and students.

• The ISTE Standards for Educators might be a great starting point to help teachers focus on essential skills that can be supported by EdTech. 
• The ISTE Standards for Coaches is a great place to start building your coaching mindset. 
• The ISTE Standards for Students can help planning from the student perspective. 
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teachers Who Use Technology is another resource to explore EdTech in the classroom.
• If you are a Google district I would consider using the Google Training Courses as part of the course plan. These are well put together and focus on skills before the tools. 

If all of that wasn't quite enough, here is one more collection of links. I hope there is something here that you can connect to your mindset. 

• Skills Connected to the 4 Cs (Collaboration, Communication, Critical Thinking, Creativity.) 
• Teaching and Learning Book Recommendations (Great educational books organized by topics.) 
• Student-Centered Learning (Less us, more them!) 
• Formative Assessment (Quick formative tools are a great way to hook educators) 
• Coaching Pedagogy (10 Tips for Instructional Coaches) 
• Edutopia Leadership Resources (Resources to support teachers as leaders) 
• 12 Great Hashtags All Educators Should Be Exploring
• Innovative Educational Organizations to Follow on Twitter
• 25 Innovative Educators to Follow on Twitter 

My final thought about what drives me to be who I am! 

Questions Are More Important Than Answers

Of Course, Our Kids Already Know This!

What courses, resources, ideas or books do you think are essential to help build an Instructional Coach's Mindset?

Google Lens - Search What You See

Google just released a great tool called Google Lens! My only regret is that I didn't know about this app last week! 

I spent the first part of this week with about 80 students in Northern Wisconsin. We study the flora and fauna in the Northwoods at the University of Wisconsin's Treehaven Campus. I spend most of my time at Bearskin Creek. Part of our exploration involves identifying Benthic Macroinvertebrates as indicator species.

We have some great dichotomous keys and are pretty practiced at identifying most of the critters, but every once in a while we run into something we've never seen and can't id on the spot. While some great apps help identify plants (PlantSnap and PictureThis), we've never found anything that can reliably help us identify insects on the spot.

Today I discovered Google Lens and tested it out on some of my photos from the trip. It works great! It takes just a moment to scan the image and then up pops names, images, and links to learn more. 

Right now the stand-alone app is only available on Android Devices, but Google Lens is built into the Google Photos App and the Google App on iOS.

There are also some other cool features that I have not explored yet, including the landmark scan. You can learn more about Google Lens here. 

How could you use this resource with your students in creative ways?

The Power of Google Drawings to Engage Students

Sorry that I've been gone so long. I don't have a real reason why I haven't shared anything on the blog for so long. I have quite a few posts started, but other stuff keeps distracting me from finishing any of them. Well, that ends today. I'm back and committed to blogging again. I hope you missed me at least a little bit?

Over the years I have become a huge fan of engaging students in visuals. I love to have students create and explore visuals. I believe we learn best when creating is part of the learning process. We need to design activities to get students creating before, during, and after engaging in a learning experience.

Visual Design Resources for Educators and Learners

I've used a variety of different tools and resources to engage students in visual design, but Google Drawings is one tool that I have mostly ignored. I was recently inspired by this post by Tony Vincent to dive a bit deeper into Google Drawings. Tony has started to create and share Shapegrams in Google Drawings. I highly recommend checking out the incredible Shapegrams Tony has shared. 

"Shapegrams are pictures that are designed to be recreated using shapes, lines, and colors. Replicating the pictures helps develop and practice visual observation, spacial awareness, logical reasoning, and critical thinking." - Tony Vincent 

We work with visuals quite a bit in my Environmental Science Classes. This presentation has some links to activities and ideas that my students and I have enjoyed, but I rarely used Google Drawings. Thanks to Tony, I decided to engage my students in some quick Google Drawing Drag and Drop Activities. My inial goals for these activities is to quickly engage students in discussions connected to essential vocabulary.  Here are my first two attempts.

Energy Flow in Ecosystems Activity

Classifying and Organizing Life on Planet Earth

I know these are nothing fancy, but I enjoyed putting them together and my students seem to enjoy the drag and drop as much if not more than they enjoy drawing/writing in Docs and Slides. 

What do you think? How do you use Google Drawings with your students?

Want to learn more about Visual Design and Google Drawings? Check out these additional resources. 

• Control Alt Achieve - Google Drawings
• Fantastic Learning Activities with Google Drawings
• 35 Creative Google Drawings Activites for Classes
• Creative Student Voice and Choice Challenges
• Inserting Videos in Google Drawings
• HyperDrawings: Creating Amazing Flipped & Blended Learning Activities for Math Class
• Shake Up Learning - Google Drawings

Get Creative with Google Drawings

Recommended Book of the Week - In Other Words: Quotes that Push Our Thinking

The best educators are not content to do the same old thing year after year. Innovative educators push their thinking by engaging in social media, exploring blogs, attending conferences, and exploring the newest generation of educational books.

We've created a Recommended Educational Book Site to organize and share some great books connected to teaching and learning.

As part of my Summer Break Professional Development Exploration, I will share a new book that I am reading this summer each Monday. I am hoping to engage in a new book each week until we head back to school in August.

Collection of #ISTE19 Tips an Tricks Created and Shared by My Awesome PLN

Hopefully, you've had a chance to explore some of the ISTE19 Tips and Tricks I've posted over the last month.

• ISTE 2019 - 10 Conference Tips for the Engaged Educator
• The #ISTE19 Experience - Exploring The Expo & Connecting with Exhibitors
• Tips and Recommendations to Help Plan Your #ISTE19 Schedule - Sessions, Playgrounds, & Posters

Now the really good stuff is here for me to share and for you to explore.
I've taken a deep dive into the #STE19 social media stream and found some great stuff to support anyone attending the conference. There are even a few nice resources to support anyone who can't be there in person. 

Recommended Book of the Week - DON'T Ditch That Tech: Differentiated Instruction in a Digital World

The best educators are not content to do the same old thing year after year. Innovative educators push their thinking by engaging in social media, exploring blogs, attending conferences, and exploring the newest generation of educational books.

We've created a Recommended Educational Book Site to organize and share some great books connected to teaching and learning.

As part of my Summer Break Professional Development Exploration, I will share a new book that I am reading this summer each Monday. I am hoping to engage in a new book each week until we head back to school in August.

Sans Forgetica - A Font To Remember?

Happy Almost Summer! 

I will continue blogging during the summer and I've been pretty busy posting this year. You can visit and catch up on some of my posts at any time. If you are at ISTE, Samri Teacher Camp, or the Southland Learning Conference this summer, I'd love a high five! 

I know I have a longer post in me about how our brains work and how this connects to teaching and learning, but it is the last day of school . . . . If you know what I mean? It's a busy day, so this is all I have for today.

Growing With Google Part 5 - Some of Our Resources Connected to #GSuiteEDU

5 weeks ago I started my G Suite for Education refresh with 3 free Google training resources to educators and students in this post. 4 weeks ago I revisited some great resources focused on Chromebooks in this post. 3 weeks ago I shared some awesome premium Google training resources in this post. 2 weeks I shared some of our favorite books connected to Google for Education in this post. Finally, last week I shared some of my favorite Googly Blogs in this post. Today I wanted to share some of the resources we've created to support our teachers and students connected to G Suite for Education. 

Summer Learning - Growing as a Teacher and a Learner

You work hard all year. You do great things for your students. You deserve to escape your schedule and make the choice of how, when, and where you grow and learn this summer. You also have permission to completely unplug and take a break from learning. I would just recommend not waiting until August to turn it back on. 

How will you recharge this summer, but still find the time to grow as a teacher and leader? This post has some tips and resources to support educators as lifelong learners this summer.

Favorite G Suite EDU Blogs Connected to Teaching and Learning

4 weeks ago I started my G Suite for Education refresh with 3 free Google training resources to educators and students in this post. 3 weeks ago I revisited some great resources focused on Chromebooks in this post. 2 weeks ago I shared some awesome premium Google training resources in this post. Last week I shared some of our favorite books connected to Google for Education. Today I wanted to share some of our favorite blogs connected to G Suite EDU.

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Eric Curts - Control Alt Achieve

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Matt Miller - Ditch That Textbook

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Google EDU - The Keyword

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Tony Vincent - Learning in Hand

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Kasey Bell - Shake Up Learning

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If you are looking for more great posts connected to Google for Education, be sure to explore the #GSuiteEDU hashtag on Twitter. 

Up next week will be some of the Google resources and posts we've created for our teachers and students connected to the awesome that is the G Suite. 

Tips and Recommendations to Help Plan Your #ISTE19 Schedule - Sessions, Playgrounds, & Posters

Bold Educators Activate Change

Philadelphia

June 23 - 26, 2019#ISTE19

This post is my third connected to my ISTE 2019 Planning Experience. My first post was ISTE 2019 - 10 Conference Tips for the Engaged Educator and my second was The #ISTE19 Experience - Exploring The Expo & Connecting with Exhibitors. This post is all about planning your sessions using the conference program. 

Planning your schedule for ISTE can be a daunting challenge. There are many incredible educators sharing so many incredible things and it can be hard to even know where to start. The first part of this post will connect you to ISTE's that can help with planning. I will then wrap it up with some of the speakers and sessions I am excited about.

Chrome Music Labs and Creatability - Let's Get Creative in All Classrooms

I am always looking for unique ways to bring creativity and critical thinking into my classroom. If you have followed my blog you know that I teach Environmental Science so you might be a bit surprised that I am sharing two sites connected to music?

Sometimes my students and I need to take a break from our content. I try to use what I like to call "Reboot the Noggin" HyperDocs several times a year to engage my students in skills not directly connected to my content. One of my favorite HyperDocs is all about curiosity.

Reboot the Noggin - Curiosity

Today I wanted to share two resources that I think could bring some creativity and critical thinking into any classroom, regardless of age level or content area.

Have you ever explored Chrome Music Labs or Creditability? I've put this post together to give everyone a brief introduction to these two incredible resources.

Growing With Google Part 4 - Favorite Books Connected to G Suite EDU

3 weeks ago I started my G Suite for Education refresh with 3 free Google training resources to educators and students in this post. 2 weeks ago I revisited some great resources focused on Chromebooks in this post. Last week I shared some awesome premium Google training resources in this post.  Today I wanted to share some of our favorite G Suite Education books written by educators for educators.

The #ISTE19 Experience - Exploring The Expo & Connecting with Exhibitors

Bold Educators Activate Change

Philadelphia

June 23 - 26, 2019

#ISTE19

The ISTE Conference Expo Center will bring together more than 1000 incredible educational companies in the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia this year.

The ISTE 2019 Expo opens Monday, June 24, 2019

• Monday, June 24, 9:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
  Continental breakfast in the expo 9:45–10:15 a.m. 
• Tuesday, June 25, 9:30 a.m.–5 p.m.
  Continental breakfast in the expo 9:45–10:15 a.m. 
• Wednesday, June 26, 9:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m.
  Expo snack break 11–11:30 a.m.

The ISTE presenters and sessions are awesome, but connecting with exhibitors and exploring the Expo Center is a great way to add a little something extra to your ISTE learning experience. You can also find some great "swag" and other valuable resources at the exhibitor booths. Here are some tips to help you make the most of your time in the Expo Center.

End of Year Ideas to Inspire and Motivate Learners and Educators

It's hard to talk to teachers or students at this time of year without hearing about how "done" everyone is with school and learning at this time of year. There are even quite a few memes that are all about the end of year blues.
I wish I could tell you that I don't hear the same thing from my students, but I can't. I teach mostly seniors and many of them firmly believe that "senioritis" is part of the required curriculum. Many of them let me know daily that I shouldn't expect much from them.

I could complain about this, but I prefer to think of the end of the year as a challenge to overcome.

What Inspires You to be Curious? Interesting Site - 5 Deep

I am always looking for images, videos, articles, or websites that inspire me to be curious, ask questions, and explore something new. This frequently leads me down the rabbit hole of exploration/distraction when I least expect it. For me, this can be both a blessing and a curse. It is a blessing when I get to explore something new and a curse when I really have other stuff that I should be getting done.

The other day I was doing a quick check of my Twitter feed and 5 minutes turned into an hour after I discovered a short video by @FiveDeeps The video showed a manned submersible touching down on the bottom of one of the deepest places on Planet Earth. It was a place no human had ever been, yet there was evidence of our impact on this untouched place. This led me to the expedition website which inspired me to explore more about some of the deepest places on our planet. 

Growing With Google Part 3 - Premium Training Resources

2 weeks ago I started my G Suite for Education refresh with 3 free Google training resources to educators and students in this post. Last week I revisited some great resources focused on Chromebooks in this post. Today I wanted to share some of our favorite paid resources to support teacher's using technology in the classroom.

G Suite - Your EDU Account → Your Stuff → Take It With You

Your School Account → Your Stuff → Take It With You

It is getting close to the time of year where teachers and students are getting ready to leave for the summer. Many students are graduating and teachers may be moving to a new district or job. It is easy to remember to take your physical stuff with you, but we often forget our digital baggage. This can be a problem if you need any of your digital stuff in the future. Educational G Suite accounts are typically closed when students are no longer enrolled or when a staff member leaves the district. This means you could lose access to your digital stuff if you don't take it with you.

Fortunately, Google makes it pretty easy to transfer or download your Google files before you leave.

We've created this guide to connect everyone to the resources to help transfer or download all the files connected to a G Suite Account.

Google Take It With You Guide

Additional Resources

• Reommended Flash Drives and External Drives
• Updated Sharing Features in Google Drive

The More Your Share The More You Learn - Blogs for Teachers and Learners

Image created using Adobe Spark Graphics

One of my favorite Saturday morning chats is #PD4uandme. I don't always have a chance to be part of the live chat, but I always find some time on the weekend to explore the hashtag. I am always impressed by the educators who are active on this chat. I also love that there are no questions, just conversations. There is no race for everyone to answer questions. Each chat starts with a topic and then the conversation is on.

ISTE 2019 - 10 Conference Tips for the Engaged Educator

Bold Educators Activate Change

Philadelphia

June 23 - 26, 2019

#ISTE19

The best conferences are more than just a list of presenters and sessions. I have been fortunate to attend quite a few conferences as both an attendee and presenter and I am writing this post to share some of my tips about making the most of the ISTE Conference experience. Take it from me, you don't want to be the teacher sitting in the back of the room in a session and miss out on making the most of your learning experience.

I know there is a lot in this post, so my advice is to explore one tip at a time and not try to run through this whole post in one sitting. You’ve got some time. I know I am not even coming close to sharing everything that ISTE is, but I hope there is something here that can help everyone make the most of their ISTE experience.

Growing With Google Part 2 - My Favorite Free Chromebook Training Resources

Last week I started my G Suite for Education exploration with 3 free Google training resources to educators and students in this post. Today I wanted to share some of our favorite resources to support Chromebooks. I have a Pixelbook and I love it. It does everything I need and I no longer have a PC laptop or PC desktop at home.

Essential Picture Books for Teachers, Parents, and Learners

Picture books can be a great way to engage students in lessons connected to essential skills that all students need today and tomorrow.  

I use two picture books as part of my Environmental Science curriculum. I love the connections we make in class to The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein and The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. My high school seniors are also mesmerized when I pull out the book and read it to them.

Growing With Google Part 1 - My Favorite Free Google Training Resources

I know that great teachers and sound pedagogy will always trump the power of EdTech, but I also know that the right tool at the right time can enhance the learning experience for both teachers and students.  

Google has become my partner in almost everything I do that is connected to my teaching and learning experience. The foundation of my teaching and learning philosophy is built on the 4 Cs of collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and creating. Google has done more than any digital resource I've ever worked with in my 25 years of teaching to support the development of these essential skills connected to my content. 
Recently I was inspired to revisit some of the resources we've explored in the past connected to G Suite for Education. As I explore and reflect, I am going to share my learning in a series of blog posts connected to Google for Education.  My main purpose in this new series of Wednesday Google Posts will be to share my recent explorations connected to G Suite for Education. 

Today am start from the beginning with several free web resources that can help anyone explore the power of G Suite connected to teaching and learning.

Bring The Power of The Infinity Gauntlet to Your Google Search Results

I love when Google releases a new Easter Egg and the one I discovered today is connected to Marvel's Avengers Infinity War and the Thanos Infinity Gauntlet.

Go ahead and open Google Search and then type in the word "Thanos". Click on the Infinity Gauntlet on the ride side of the screen above the Wikipedia summary and then watch your results start to get snapped away one-by-one. You can undo the action, by going back to the Infinity Gauntlet and click on it again. 

What Inspires You to be Curious? Interesting Site - Language is a Virus

I am always looking for images, videos, articles, or website that inspire me to be curious, ask questions, and explore more. This frequently leads me down the rabbit hole of exploration/distraction when I least expected. For me, it is both a blessing and a curse. Today I was inspired to explore the power of words after stumbling on the Language is a Virus Site. 

Unless you've been hiding from all things digital, you know that it is national poetry month. My school and my PLN and been all over the power of words and poetry. I even spent some time exploring Haiku in a post last week. 

All day today our LMC has been transformed into a Poetry Coffee House. We are also wrapping up an incredible Serenity Week for Health Moves Minds. These events along with the ideas and resources shared by my PLN have reminded me that words have an incredible amount of power to raise people up or push them down. 

I was inspired to dive deeper and explore some resources connected to poetry and language. One resource I found that I think is worth sharing is the Language is a Virus Website.