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!