Why I Love Feedly

Want to learn more but don't have time to hunt?   Find a great blog but lost the site?   Well then my friends, Feedly is for you!
At this year's IETC conference I spent some time in a session all about RSS feeds.   RSS feeds make your life easier.   What they do is keep a website link the RSS feed constantly updates and bring you the newest articles or blogs at that site kind of like a newspaper.   There are many RSS Feed Sites, but I love Feedly.   Feedly links with your Google account which is great.   One less username and password for you to remember.   My Feedly is organized also by categories.   Makes it easier for me to find my Techie blogs, recipes, and everything inbetween.
If you would like to learn more about how to use Feedly read my blog HERE and HERE .
Go out there, set up a feedly and start reading!

Connected Educators

Happy Connected Educator's Month!  If you didn't know before you know now, October is Connected Educator's Month.  Its time to reach out to educators, build your Professional Learning Network (PLN) to learn and share with others.  In honor of Connected Educator's Month I will share some of the ways that I connect with others.  Feel free to try one, all or any sampling of the ways.

 Twitter
Anyone who knows me will tell you I love Twitter!  You can follow me @techiechrissie.  The reason that I love Twitter is that its a source of constant sharing, learning, and support, if you do it right.  A great place to start is by following some awesome people.  If you are looking to add a few to your PLN try @mattbgomez @Shyj @tbbrwn @msellis61 @craigyen @stumpteacher @justintarte .  These are just a few of the hundreds of thousands of amazing educators on Twitter.  Start by reading tweets and links attached.  Favorite the ones your like.  When you are feeling brave, reply and comment!  If you are interested more about how to use Twitter to connect with educators read my blog here.


Google +
Google + is a community online through gmail accounts.   Mine is techiechrissie@gmail.com.  You can search for hashtags similarly to Twitter, join communities, and save contacts into circles.  I have used Google + to seek out resources and support on things I am working on.  I have also shared things that have worked for people who are looking for support as well.  On Google + you can type more than 140 characters which is helpful.  Search for communities and join them to stay connected.  To start out I would recommend searching a topic you are interested in, then add those people to your circles.  Some communities to get started with are teachers helping teachers  and teachers loving technology.

Feedly
I use Feedly to manage my blogs that I read.  Its basically a place that holds blogs with an RSS feed and holds them kind of like a newspaper.  When i find a blogger on Twitter or Google + that I think is interesting i will copy their blog link and paste it into my Feedly.  Now the blog is saved and will keep all of the posts there.  Some grade blogs to start with right off the bat are http://www.freetech4teachers.com/  http://diaryofatechiechick.blogspot.com/   http://www.twoguysandsomeipads.com/  http://mattbgomez.com/blog/


Go forth and get connected!!

My Favorite Part of Edcamp

Connecting at edcamp is half the fun!

This past weekend I was able to go to my first edcamp with an instructional coach from my district. (Find her on blogger here, and follower here on twitter here.)  The goal was to learn more about the format, meet some awesome people, and learn.  We were able to accomplish all of our goals.  It was an awesome experience and I loved every moment.  I wanted to blog about the experience but I needed some time to reflect on the experience.  What I came up with was this, connecting with other educators was awesome!
The best part of edcamp was the opportunity to connect, reflect and share with others who were passionate about education.  Heck, we were all there for a full day of learning on a Saturday!  The instructional coach and I reached out and shared in conversation with others and edcamp is a great platform to do this.  We were sure to provide a google form for our session so that we could all stay connected after the day was over.
Half of the learning of professional development is the learning that will continue after the conference is over and that's what I got out of edcamp.   When you attend a session of professional development do you extend your learning?  Set up a follow up session with your district's professional development providers, connect with teachers at your grade level to carry on what you've learned, be sure to meet new people at each session you attend.  When you connect and continue that's when real learning happens.
And if you get the oppurtunity to go to an edcamp, GO!

iTunes U for Professional Development

Durfee iTunes U Courses

One of the personal goals that I have made for myself as a coach this year was to differentiate my professional development.  There is one of me and about 70 teachers that I am responsible for developing technology integration with.  Within those 70 teachers there is a variety of skill level with integrating technology into instruction.  The only way that I can think to support all levels of skill is to flip my professional development.  This involves me making a lot of videos and handouts but its paying off.  At my 1:1 building Durfee Technology Magnet School (Like us on Facebook) I am using iTunes U.
This year we have a few courses on iTunes U at Durfee.  Each course is for a specific purpose.

General Building Professional Development
This iTunes U course holds all of the directions and materials for the typical  faculty professional development.  Links, documents, and resources are all held here.  When we have a faculty meeting teachers know that they should bring their iPads and look at the course to be prepared.
Tips and Tricks
There is a lot to share and know in order to have a successful 1:1 classroom with iPads.  It is impossible to provide a professional development session for everything.  We use this course to share tips for classroom management or routines and rituals.  Teachers can share things that have worked, or ask for ideas for something
App Club
There are 1000s of apps to sort through, why not bring our brains together!  Each month we have an app that we focus on.  Week one the course holds 'how tos' and support for using the app.  Week 2 the teachers share ideas on how they could possibly use the app.  Week 3 we try out the app, week 4 we share how it went.
MacBook Pilot
This year teachers applied to be a part of a pilot where they would take home a MacBook pro to create resources for iBooks and iTunes U for THEIR students.  Support docs and resources are housed here.

iTunes U is allowing teachers to have resources accessible and leveled.  Teachers no longer have to sit through development they are not ready for, or are ready to move beyond.
If you are at a school where teachers have their own iPads I would definitely recommend using iTunes U to administer professional development!

Learn more about our program here!

Put your Summer Learning into Action!

Summer is coming to a close, it's hard to believe the school war is already upon us.   One of the focuses of my blog has been to share how to keep learning personal and continue it over the summer. Now that the summer is ending, it's time to make sense of it all and incorporate the things you have learned into your practice.  That can be overwhelming!

Select a focus and stick with it!  If you try to do it all at once your may get overwhelmed and give up.   Pick something to work on and stick with it!  This past week the coaches and coordinators in my district got together to prepare for the year.  Something that stuck with me is to prepare for the dips.  If  you try something and it doesn't go well, don't give up. Stick with it!   Ask for support, reach out to your PLN, and stay the course.   Anything worthwhile isn't easy but if you stick with it you will find success in the end.