Censorship...my first big girl blog post

Today I was the victim of censorship and I can't tell you how angry that made me. Maybe I am over reacting, maybe censorship is too strong a word, I don't know, but it is how I feel. I hemmed and hawed about posting this at all but through some strong FB support, I decided to take the plunge and share.

I joined a G+ community that will remain nameless that centered on Googley Stuff. I joined the community and was approved. I posted a question asking about Pear Deck.

For those who don't know, Pear Deck is an awesome presentation tool that works hand in hand with G Suite (new name for GAFE) , Chromebooks and is web based. You create within G Suite and all of your work is saved in G Suite. Here is my post:  

Working with a district on Pear Deck, I have limited experience. Does anyone have any decks they would be willing to share for the basics, training and or amazing samples ?

My post went into moderation because I am a new member of this group,  a practice which is perfectly within the bounds of the community manager and not something that I think is problematic. As a matter of fact I think it is smart, it is a good way to weed out the spammers.

We have had a few conversations, back and forth, the first response was "This community is about G Suite."  I responded that I understood that and that Pear Deck is a tool utilized solely through G Suite and I apologized for going against the policy. This was the response:

 "It's not about 'policy' -- it's about a post that isn't clear. I would bet most readers have no idea what Pear Deck is, or that it works with G Suite. Further, the post doesn't share or even ask anything with regards to G Suite -- it's wording seeks collaboration with other Pear Deck users -- clearly nothing to do with Googley  Education Stuff

I was angered and confused and saddened by this response. Isn't Google in Education all about collaboration? Don't we, as a community, pride ourselves on sharing and helping each other out?  My post is clearly not spreading spam or anything inappropriate. Shouldn't members of the community have the right to learn by asking if they don't know or just ignoring the post if they have nothing to contribute? I learn the most in communities when people post questions or ask how to do something that I clueless about. I then start searching for the answers and following the post to learn more. I am angered that this particular community has a leader that won't allow them the opportunity to learn simply because I don't fit into the boxes they created. They could have asked me to explain what Pear Deck is instead of censoring my question. 

I truly hope that this community manager takes my response into consideration and allows my post to be public,
I have a lot to share and even more to learn but apparently I won't be doing it in this particular community, which makes me sad. There was a whole new set of people to meet and collaborate with but now that won't happen. 

This experience makes me wonder, how often do we do this to students without meaning to? When students turn in their written work and it doesn't quite follow the assignment and we ask them to edit and try again, aren't we in fact censoring students from sharing their thoughts? I don't know how I feel about that after my experience. 

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes

People often ask me ”How do you keep up with all of the changes in technology?”. This is a great question. I had to really think about it. It comes down to a many things.

1. I am a geek. Tech isn’t just my job, it is also my hobby.
2. Most of my network is related to tech in education
3. Twitter
4. Blogs
5. Google+ Communities
6. Facebook
7. Glide

1) This is self explanatory. I am a geek. I love technology. I love trying new things. I explore and play as my hobby and my life.

2) I have purposely set up my network to be mostly focused on my professional life not my personal.

3) I joined Twitter in 2007 and it has become one of my top go-top resources. I am @atruger on Twitter, follow me and check out my friends list. Follow almost anyone on my list and you will get tons of resources on a daily bases. Twitter is my professional development drive thru. I jump online and scan for new resources. I can spend hours on Twitter and I always learn something new.

4) The idea of blogging has been around for a long time but it is still one of the best ways to stay in touch with what is happening in the “real” world of education and technology. Here is a list of my favorite blogs:

Shake Up Learning - newsletter

Eric Curts - Incredible resources created and shared on G+ and Twitter

Alice Keeler - Another great resource, and an incredible speaker

Better Cloud Monitor - Great tips and tricks newsletter (used to be Google Guru)

5) Google+ Communities are filled with people just like you who just want to keep up with the changes. Join the Communities that match your needs. There are many to choose from. Find an active community and join.

ChromebookEDU

Google Apps in Education

EdTech

Google Apps for Education - another one

Docs and Drive

6) I was very conflicted in the beginning. I tried to keep Facebook just for personal and family use but very quickly I realized that FB was just as valuable a resource for me as Twitter! This was because it was a n easy place to connect for people who didn’t use Twitter. I belong to several extremely active groups on FB, some private and others public.

BreakoutEDU

DEN Friends (Discovery Educator Network)

iTeach Special Ed

7) Glide is an ios and android app that allows you to video chat. Basically you leave messages back and forth. You can add images, videos, and URLs. I have belonged to the same Glide group for 2 years with some of the most amazing educators I have ever known, “The Glidiators”. Glide will only be as powerful as your glide groups. We have the most intense conversations and also the most silly. I always learn something new or gain a new way of thinking about things.

Image from http://www.visualscribing.com/

Image from http://technologytherapy.com/social-media-how-tos/how-to-keep-up-with-social-medias-constant-changes/

I guess shortest answer I can give people about how I keep up with all the changes, is that I make it a priority to never stop learning and to surround myself with people who have the same priorities.

How do you keep up with all of the changes?

Community Families

Let’s get down to business! School is in full swing now and I am starting to get into this regular writing idea. There are so many people that I draw inspiration from, my former Waukegan Lighthouse Lead Learners, my Discovery Education family, my ISTE friends, my Googley friends and of course my own amazing family. I am the educator that I am today due to all of these experiences, so I wanted to take a moment and tell you how to get involved with some of these incredible life changing groups.

1. Discovery Education - If your school uses any Discovery Ed paid products then you ARE already a DEN member. Now if you jump through just a few hoops, you can become a DEN STAR! Once you become a DEN STAR a whole new world of professional learning opportunities become available for you to participate in, including the DEN Summer Institute. I could write a book on how much I learned during each institute! If your school is not a Discovery school there are still incredible learning opportunities like virtual field trips, new instructional strategies, and a variety of other resources under Teacher >> Free Resources . The DEN Community is like none other that I have been a part of.  Thanks for the last 10 years Discovery Education!

2. My Google community is huge! I was lucky enough to be in one the earlier Google Certified Teacher Academies Chicago 2008. These academies are now called Google Certified Innovator Academies. They open up randomly throughout the year and in all different locations. This is another great opportunity to below to an amazing group of educators. If the GCI doesn’t interest you, another group to connect with is the Google Certified Trainers. This is a group whose ranks I hope to join soon. Check out the brand “new” requirements to be a trainer. It is a great educational experience and I learned so much! Excellent resources and wonderful educators to connect and learn with!

My point is, that you are not alone! There are so many educator and educator communities out there for you to join and connect with! I hope some of my readers can add their favorites in the comments. Find a group, join and participate. You will be amazed at how much your professional and personal mindset will grow.

My favorite teacher and why

At the start of every year, I like to think about what type of educator I want to be. When I think of the perfect teacher, I think of Char Manchen, my beautiful, rambunctious music teacher from 3rd-8th at Ascension in Oak Park. She was the first teacher to really make a difference in my life and show me the kind of teacher I wanted to be. She made me feel special, like I mattered, during a very difficult time in my life. I will never forget her frizzy red hair, her infectious smile and the wire rimmed glasses she would peer over when you earned her 'look". She was a sassy small bit of a woman who could knock the biggest bully down a peg. I loved this woman!

Are you the type of teacher that kids talk about (in a good way) when they leave your classroom? Do you stand up for the quiet, shy and insecure kids who just can’t stand up for themselves yet? I hope so. This is the type of teacher I always strive to be. This is the type of teacher I want for my own kids.

Ms. Manchen was crazy funny and never took herself too seriously. Her class was the one where you never knew what would happen next. Once when the “boys” were causing problems in the back of the room and not paying attention...she did a quick handstand on the floor. It happened so quickly that the boys who weren’t paying attention missed the whole thing. We were all sworn to secrecy and couldn’t tell. It was awesome!

What will you do to set yourself apart from everyone else? Several people are making videos, which is awesome, but what’s next? How do you keep the momentum going? I love the Fish Philosophy and think it fits really well in school.

1. Be There
2. Play
3. Make their Day
4. Choose your Attitude

I think by following these 4 rules, we can all be amazing teachers like Ms. Manchen was and I always strive to be. How can you “Be There” for your students? How will you “play” today? What can you say or do that will “make their day”? What “attitude” will you choose today?

My Summer Adventure...now that everyone is back to school.

Today I wanted to share a little bit about my summer journey. Don’t worry this isn’t all about me again! (Still sharing resources)

I began this summer by attending the ISTE 2016 conference in Denver, this is where I ran into Kevin Honeycutt on the street in front of my hotel on the last day. He told me that I should try and take one of his Launch Me Academies for Presenters. Through a whole lot of luck, I was able to attend one right after ISTE. It was a life changing experience! I can’t give too much away but if you are considering going out on your own or trying to get yourself on the keynote circuit, this was a great “launch pad”!

After the academy, I was determined to turn in my Google Certified Trainer application. I had gone down this road once before but never actually turned it in! As part of my preparation, I decided to take the Level 1 and Level 2 Google Educator tests, they weren’t required at this time, but I wanted to experience them. The tests were actually fun to take! I enjoyed the application based nature of the tests and the “testing environment”, not so much the leaving on of my webcam...no testing in my PJs but the test itself was well done. I didn’t have any problems with Level 1, but Level 2 is quite a bit trickier! I ran through the Google Center courses and passed the first time. The video was a struggle but is now posted on youtube. Feel free to check it out! Now my application is turned in and I am biting my nails until Sept 21st.

A few days after that I was invited to a Microsoft Train the Trainer workshop. I spent several hours watching their courses on the website to help prepare me for the workshop. I really like the way Microsoft has set up their online training. You should check it out! Earning badges is fun! Thanks Carlos Fernandez for encouraging me take a walk on a different side of the street. I have to say I really like OneNote Learning Tools. (Even if you are a Google user check out OneNote Learning Tools)

After all of that training, learning and collaborating, it was time to recreate myself. I jumped on Legal Zoom to create my LLC and in just a few weeks….PRESTO! I am a business owner! Wait...I am a business owner?!?!?

Stay tuned!

I'm Baaack!

Welcome to my new adventure! I haven’t blogged regularly in years, but I am going to do my best to share something at least once a week. Blogging has always been a difficult thing for me to do. I never think anyone really wants to read what I write. My writing isn’t always grammatically correct and I don’t feel like I have very exciting or revolutionary ideas. After discarding the idea of writing just to write, I go and read other people’s posts and realize that I had the same thought and just wasn’t brave enough to publish it!

Writing and sharing my thoughts is a push out of my comfort zone, isn’t that what they say helps drive true change? Stepping out of your comfort zone?

Today I am leaping out of my comfort zone and it is terrifying. Earlier this month I decided to establish my own LLC called Truger Tech Talk. Of course right after I bought the name, people starting giving me their opinion of the name and all of the reasons it was the wrong name. Mind you I asked several people before choosing the name and everyone was supportive, until after the fact. Sigh. That is just the way things go. People don’t believe you really want their opinion when you ask and then you get the after thoughts, when it is too late to change anything.

Truger Tech Talk has been around since the first time I started a wikispace and blogged. I just felt that it made sense to go back to my roots. This LLC thing is much more difficult than I had expected, but I am not giving up yet! If your school district could use some professional development from a crazy, upbeat, energetic and passionate educational innovation specialist let me know!

I want to give a few shout outs to people who have helped me get started: Lea Anne Daughirity - working on my website, Ginger Lewman - created my logo, Carrie Baughcom - gave me my tagline, Kimberly Wright - my instant sister, Kevin Honeycutt- believing that I have what it takes to make it,  Phil Hintz - trusting me, and the most important Lee Truger - my amazing husband who never wavers in his faith in me.

I promise that in my future posts there will be all sorts of resources and links to click on, but today I just needed to write.