Teach Boldly Book Study and 2 Months of Epic PD

January and February are going to be epic months for learning. The ETCoaches Book Study starts on January 21st, The IDEA Northern Suburbs Minicon is January 25th, EdTech Teacher's Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality for Education Workshop is February 11th, and IDEAcon is February 24th through the 27th. 

If that isn't enough to keep me busy, I just signed up for another awesome book study.

Join IDEA and ISTE author & educator Dr. Jennifer Williams for a book study on Teach Boldly: Using Edtech for Social Good.
Are your learners ready to design, dream and MAKE the future? Then you've come to the right place! Teach Boldly: Using Edtech for Social Good is a guide for educators ready to activate positive change. Learn some strategies to help put your students in the drivers seat of their own learning!

Teach Boldly Book Study Details

You will need a free IDEA membership to join. Once you have a membership you can register for the book study here. 

Teach Boldly: Using Edtech for Social Good

I will do my best to share my learning here and through social media. Stay tuned! 

Augmented, Virtual, and Mixed Reality Resources for Teaching and Learning

I will be the first to admit that I don't know much about Augmented, Virtual, and/or Mixed Reality. It's not something I've explored very much either personally or academically. This is one reason I am really excited to be part of the ISTE EdTech Coaches Network Book Study and Twitter Slow Chat next week. The chat is connected to Jaime Donally's book, Learning Transported: Augmented, Virtual and Mixed Reality for All Classrooms. I will also be attending an Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality for Education Workshop hosted by EdTechTeacher this February in Chicago. 

The purpose of this post is to share some resources I've started to explore and request additional resources to help me learn more about using VR and AR with students. If you have any suggestions, please share in the comments below.

20 EdTech Resources To Engage Students in 2020

20 tools are way too many tools to use regularly, but having a toolbox full of options to choose from is a great resource when you are creating something or having your students create something for learning. 

I typically give my students a few tools to use when we are creating and collaborating. The tools listed below work well from my perspective and are student favorites. I've also included a few links in the descriptions that are connected to some of the ways we use these tools.

Learn to Create - Create to Learn #OneWord2020

There is nothing wrong with New Year's Resolutions, but too often I make resolutions that are just not sustainable. A few years ago I was inspired by my PLN and Jon Gordon's One Word that Will Change Your Life book to shift my thinking about making New Year's Resolutions and shift to the idea of choosing a word as my foundation for the year. 

"One word you can focus on every day, all year long… One word that sums up who you want to be or how you want to live."

"It will take intentionality and commitment, but if you let it, your one word will shape not only your year, but also you. It will become the compass that directs your decisions and guides your steps."

#OneWord365

This year I thought about quite a few different words and finally landed on the word "Create". I learned a long time ago that most of my best learning experiences happen when I am creating. As I reflect on 2019, I realize that I wasn't creating as much as I have in the past. As a result, I don't know that I fully lived up to my potential as a lifelong learner. 

This year will be different. Creating will be the foundation of my teaching, learning, and sharing in 2019.

What will be your One Word connected to teaching and learning?

If you want to share your word with your PLN, here is a Google Slides template you can use. If you've never used Google Slides to create graphics, this post might help you get started. Adobe Spark is another great tool you can use to create graphics.

Engaging Students in 2019 Reflections and 2020 Goals

Learn to Create - Create to Learn

I love being an educator and I am excited to return to school after a break, but for some reason don't think most of my students feel the same way. In an effort to reconnect with my students after a break, I like to do something more than just review our final exam or jump into new content.

A few years ago, I was inspired by Sean Fahey to use a #OneWord Challenge as a hook for a HyperDoc that reflected on 2017 and moved us into 2018. This post shares some details and a link to the HyperDocs we've explored over the past several years.

Today I wanted to share two similar, but different HyperDocs designed to help students reflect on 2019 and set goals for 2020. If either of these is something you can use, please feel free to copy or modify either of these activities for your students. 

Let's Start 2020 With One Word
(Google Slides)

Reboot the Noggin - 2020 New Year's Welcome Back
(Google Doc)

Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions connected to these HyperDocs.

Happy New Year!

Be sure to visit the Teachers Give Teachers HyperDoc site, the HyperDoc Facebook page, and the Google+ HyperDoc Page to discover additional activities to engage all students. 

I create to learn and everything I create is free under the Creative Commons License.

If you would like to support my creative work now and in the future, please consider donating any amount. 
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