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What's a new way you can be creative in class and enhance your students’ excitement?

Make the classroom appealing.

Get students moving

Make the learning experience relevant

How will this PD inform your instruction and impact your students in the future?

This PD will hopefully result in the way in which I deliver my instruction help me to focus on  my area of content and finding a connection to relevant information, promote active learning and foster coherence with other professionals to help with interdisciplinary instruction.

What innovative ideas have you come across that can keep you professionally renewed and   inspired?

Haven’t really tried any ideas yet but the impact I make in the classroom with my students and vice versa keeps me inspired. And the support and motivation from students and coworkers keeps me professionally renewed and inspired.

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I found the term “playing the game of school” very interesting and to have real meaning. Having 2 children in college, I can relate. Both of my children learned quickly that if you followed the rules, studied the content being tested, and passed the test, you were considered successful. Not necessarily being able to think outside of the box and apply. My daughter had more access to technology in the classroom and she was much more of a thinker than my son. But when she went to college, it went back to “the game”. Hundreds of students in an auditorium taking a multiple choice test. With the enormous size of college classes, it would be more difficult to ditch that textbook.

List benefits of PD this way is the collaboration of peers. I enjoy the discussions within our EC team. Technology is an integral part of teaching students. It allows a different avenue to deliver information and assess.

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Why did you choose the PD module you chose?  I decided to work on a Cappella University module focused of instructional coaching.  I selected this PD because I wanted to learn more about instructional coaching.  I would also like to work on getting my manuscript published so that I can provide the resources to help other teachers master their biological instruction.

-What are some things you are already successfully implementing in your classroom as a result of this PD?  The module outlined Lev Vygotsky's Sociocultural learning theory.  The three main focus areas are: the basis of learning happens through social interaction, more knowledgable individuals can share their expertise, and how the zone of proximal development is the aim for our classroom (in which the novice learning will gain skills from the expert learner).  The aim is to establish a coaching environment where instructors can effectively collaborate, share effective techniques and observe each others teaching techniques.  It got me thinking that I would like to focus on visiting other biology teacher classes next year to build a stronger sociocultural learning environment.

-What opportunities do you see for yourself/your classroom in this PD?  I see the opportunity to build my lesson creativity and implementation to be more diverse as well as effective.  Widening the teaching community I work with would help me find more teachers to share, collaborate and discuss biologically focused lessons that work.  This PD has also made me rethink some units for next year.  I am striving to restructure some of my lessons to provide more social learning environments in my classroom.  I humble admit, that this does make me a bit nervous as I strive to have 100% of our students master the curriculum content and worry that this type of change might slow the pace of learning.  However, this PD has made me more confident that this type of social dynamic will foster a stronger learning community.

-List benefits & challenges of doing PD this way (LNC Choice). What changes would you make?  I really liked this LNC choice PD.  It has allowed me to cater my specific classroom and teaching needs.  I also appreciated the fact that I could schedule the PD around my time schedule.

-What innovative ideas have you come across that can keep you professionally renewed and inspired? In the apple teacher PD, I learned new ways to utilize keynote that I did not know.  Additionally, I learned of drawing tools that would be cool to use on a lesson focused on the biochemical process of photosynthesis and cellular respiration.

-What is an idea you have had that you have wanted to try but haven't?  I would like to get more skilled in google.  Jamie has taught me some really helpful tools utilizing the google form through the grading system of schoology for my leadership students.  I have really enjoyed using that and would like to find other places I can use it.  I also would like to gain a better techi grasp around google and all it has to offer.

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Cathy Bogarad
-1.List benefits and challenges of doing PD this way (LNC Choice). What changes would you make?
I loved the opportunity to complete our PD this way as a choice that allows us to decide when to work on it.  It was beneficial in that we know what is going on at work and outside of work, so we can plan our PD work sessions around our busy lives.  I can concentrate better when I am alone too and not with the roar of inservices when everyone is milling around and talking.   My biggest challenge was that the PD that I chose was ALL technology, and I needed lots of help and was often lost.  I know that had I chosen another inservice like reading a book or something not so hands-on, I could have gotten along fine without the help of others. Yet, technology is the area that I need to perfect as it changes.  The PD was really hard for me, and I felt very stupid asking for help on areas that seem so obvious to others.   I doubt that I will ever choose a PD that is all technology if I am doing it by myself.  I do appreciate the great opportunities that were give as choices.  
-2.  What is an idea you have that you wanted to try but haven't? 
I would like to completely convert over to a Google classroom and only use Google documents.  I have hundreds of Word documents saved that I use, and I always have to have the students take the Word document to Pages and then Adobe so that they can write on the screen and not use paper.   Other teachers on my team have Google classrooms set up, and it is much more streamlined without going to Adobe.  
-3.  Open ended:  Share a thoughtful reflection of your choice. 
The PD has forced me to look for other ways to do things with my students.  Others may find this a trivial feat, but I was so pleased once I was able to get my students to split their screens and pull up a document from one app and use it as a help sheet for a current assignment.  This has saved so much paper, and forces the students to be independent and use their resources. They cannot say that they lost the paper because it is in a file on Schoology.  

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Cathy Bogarad
-1.List benefits and challenges of doing PD this way (LNC Choice). What changes would you make?
I loved the opportunity to complete our PD this way as a choice that allows us to decide when to work on it.  It was beneficial in that we know what is going on at work and outside of work, so we can plan our PD work sessions around our busy lives.  I can concentrate better when I am alone too and not with the roar of inservices when everyone is milling around and talking.   My biggest challenge was that the PD that I chose was ALL technology, and I needed lots of help and was often lost.  I know that had I chosen another inservice like reading a book or something not so hands-on, I could have gotten along fine without the help of others. Yet, technology is the area that I need to perfect as it changes.  The PD was really hard for me, and I felt very stupid asking for help on areas that seem so obvious to others.   I doubt that I will ever choose a PD that is all technology if I am doing it by myself.  I do appreciate the great opportunities that were give as choices.  
-2.  What is an idea you have that you wanted to try but haven't? 
I would like to completely convert over to a Google classroom and only use Google documents.  I have hundreds of Word documents saved that I use, and I always have to have the students take the Word document to Pages and then Adobe so that they can write on the screen and not use paper.   Other teachers on my team have Google classrooms set up, and it is much more streamlined without going to Adobe.  
-3.  Open ended:  Share a thoughtful reflection of your choice. 
The PD has forced me to look for other ways to do things with my students.  Others may find this a trivial feat, but I was so pleased once I was able to get my students to split their screens and pull up a document from one app and use it as a help sheet for a current assignment.  This has saved so much paper, and forces the students to be independent and use their resources. They cannot say that they lost the paper because it is in a file on Schoology.  

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Kids Deserve It! and Apple Certified Teacher

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Kids Deserve It! and Apple Certified Teacher

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How will this PD inform your instruction and impact your students in the future?There are a few lessons that I teach for Digital Citizenship that could use some excitement added to them. Quite frankly, they are boring. I am looking at ways to make them more interesting and more relevant to my students. As always, I am looking for ways to make PD better for our staff as well.

What innovative ideas have you come across that can keep you professionally renewed and inspired?
I recently took the time to go through the Apple Certified Teacher training for iPad and came across several good ideas to implement with lessons. One of the biggest takeaways was the use us Apple Classroom. More to come on this once I have the background tech stuff figured out...😉

What's a new way you can be creative in class and enhance your students excitement?
Digital Breakouts have been a big hit with students and teachers this year! I have been enjoying helping out teachers to learn how to create their own Breakouts and watching students enjoy playing them. The best ones are the ones that make students think outside the box and seeing the students that might struggle in some areas shine with how their minds work. Not all of us are inside the box thinkers and that often gets overlooked as some of our inside the box curriculums.

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What has had real meaning?
I've learned through my PD that the writing goals of our social studies department can also be applied to teaching history through the study of objects. We focus on the concepts of Inquiry based analysis, continuity and change, evidence to support theory.  All of these components of historical thinking can be applied universally across the discipline not just for writing.

What's a new way you can be creative in class and enhance your students excitement?
I plan on implementing more student based discovery and inquiry into my lessons.  I'll offer a Central question that provokes opinions, allow students to validate or invalidate those opinions through constructive research and supportive evidence.

How will this PD inform your instruction and impact your students in the future?

Historical thinking skills and teaching inquiry through the study of objects are part of the C3 framework. College, Career, and Civic readiness. Thoughtful, evidence based approach to problem solving will benefit students in a vast majority of the course work associated with college and will also be relevant skills for a majority of careers.

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What had real meaning? Simply understanding how much we ignore the female perspective and influence on American History has really change the way I choose what is important in my classroom. As a male, I don't really  think about the fact that girls seldom get to study people throughout american history that represent who they are. This has me changing my focus.
How will this PD inform your instruction and impact your students in the future? Hopefully, my students will recognize the effort that is now being made to focus on the female influence on our society and this will spark change and equality throughout our society. Simply not glossing over Domesticity, Temperance Movements, Women's Rights etc, and really camping there and staying a while will be huge.
List benefits & challenges of doing PD this way (LNC Choice). What changes would you make? I personally do like PD this way. I feel that we get very little time to interact with each other as a staff and would rather be with my peers learning from them. The advantages are, we get to focus on what we want and learn what we want. This part is nice. Spending time with my coworkers is better.

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What innovative ideas have you come across that can keep you professionally renewed and inspired?
This book has inspired me to be more compassionate and to lead with compassion rather than the law. Kids deserve our best and need our enthusiasm to make it through the day some days. I am inspired to give as much first period as seventh, when I am more weary. It has also inspired me to continue reading and researching new ideas. Skyping with colleagues across the world and drawing from ideas on my PLN has awakened my spirit this year. Excitement and new things is so important as I teach some students for four years. My routines could become tiresome if I don't change it up sometimes!

Open ended - share a thoughtful reflection of your choice.
Though the book I chose was not the most appropriate for HS (a lot of examples from ES), I did get a lot out of it. I wish I had chosen a book more age-level appropriate (one that I read over the summer, perhaps). The biggest take-away was seeing that kids deserves our best and that parents love to get feedback bout their child and we need to make the effort in this day and age to give it.

What has had real meaning?
The real meaning came with taking time to reflect on the concepts and being able to choose what to implement in the classroom and in my teaching. The chapters were short and I was able to take something away out of each reading. The enthusiasm of participating with others was awesome this year as well. I heard no one complain about PD which is unusual!

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Q:  List benefits & challenges of doing PD this way (LNC Choice). What changes would you make?

The most obvious benefit of doing PD this way is freedom of choice. I think being given the opportunity to select which PD you want to participate in changed my mindset in having a more positive and receptive attitude towards learning. It allows me to take more of a personal approach of developing and growing as a teacher. Another benefit is that it is self-paced and doesn’t restrict you to a particular date and time….flexibility! A challenge of doing PD this way is having the discipline to actually do the assignment/questions on time and holding yourself accountable to the due dates. Maybe one thing I would add as an option to PD your way is to maybe list some professional development opportunities that exist off campus that people may want to attend. List some conferences or seminars that may be free to attend.

Q:  What's a new way you can be creative in class and enhance your students excitement?

Coding and app design is something that I’m sure would capture the students’ attention and boost their excitement. Most students love to play games and work with animation within applications anyway, so the Everyone Can Code curriculum through Apple is something I will look more into. It seems like an easy way to teach the students coding and keep them engaged. It will create an opportunity for students to learn how things work in the planning and beginning stages of a game or app.

Q:  What is an idea you have had that you have wanted to try but haven't?

Have the students use one of the iPad apps or tools to teach their peers a lesson about a feature that we used on the desktop computers. Although there are many features that are different on the app and the desktop program, students could create a lesson using Keynote or Pages to teach their peers about a function or feature we use on the desktop program. It’s a good way to use their iPad devices and apps to prepare the notes and lesson. They can use it to map out the “how to” steps in learning a feature of the desktop program.

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What's a new way you can be creative in class and enhance your students excitement?

I would like to find a way to have my students challenge themselves more in PE class. This will be more realistic when I have a gym, but I would like to post accomplishments that my kids make in PE (scoring a goal, meeting a fitness goal, etc.) to keep kids excited about trying their hardest.

List benefits & challenges of doing PD this way (LNC Choice). What changes would you make?

I think the main benefit and challenge of this PD aligned in a way. It was nice to be able to go at my own pace, but it also was a challenge for me to be responsible for going at my own pace. I don't think I would change anything about it because I'm sure it worked great for others, I think in the future I would choose something different that fits my lifestyle a little better.

What innovative ideas have you come across that can keep you professionally renewed and inspired?

Kids Deserve It! has inspired me to get creative and remember how excited that doing things that take a little extra effort can make the kids. I've learned that it's important to try new things because the outcome can be worth it.

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How will this PD inform your instruction and impact your students in the future?
I think in general that this PD informs my instruction and will impact my students in the future because it is a choice.  I get to make the choice as to what I learn more about based on what I know and feel that my students need.  I think providing the different resources is very helpful and the ability to search and discover allows me to find information or skills that I may not have realized I was interested in learning about or that I maybe needed to improve on.
For this PD day, specifically, I continued to work on edWeb and the one webinar that stands out to me when answering this question, is one titled Promoting Belonging in Math Through Instructional Choices and Practices.  What I think will impact my students in the future is what it made me realize about the importance of each student finding their place in the math classroom.  Creating an environment and experiences that allow all students a chance to relate to math, and not just those students that find math easy.  Relating home life and hobbies and letting my students know that I appreciate their personal interests will help keep them motivated :-).

What's a new way you can be creative in class and enhance your students excitement?
Continuing with the edWeb webinar that I spoke of in my first response, I think that this way of thinking opens up a lot of opportunity to be creative and enhance my students' excitement in the classroom and about math.  I feel like some of my 6th graders in a bit of a rut (and maybe I am too), so taking a minute to focus on ways to incorporate their interests and enhance their sense of belonging, may just be exactly what we need.  Something simple, like taking a project on area, perimeter, and changing dimensions and having the students incorporate a video game theme to their design is an idea that I am hoping will bring some creativity and excitement to the current unit we are working on.

Open ended - share a thoughtful reflection of your choice.

Another edWeb webinar that I watched was called What's the Problem? Finding the Right Math Problem to Challenge Students. I chose this because it's often difficult to find just the right problem that will truly challenge those higher level students in a way that forces them to relate other concepts or subject matter to math. Some of them are VERY narrow minded and see math as math and nothing else. This webinar talked a lot about something called Transfer Learning and how it forces a much deeper way of thinking. This is ultimately what I'd like to aim for in all of my classes, not just my advanced, but it made me think of them the most.  Transfer learning makes me think of how I can prove to the kids that math exists in the real world too and that other subject areas rely on math application.  What they learn in school is supposed to prepare them for the "real world," right?  So I think that this webinar's purpose was to help teachers see how to better prepare their students by reminding them that students need to practice applying the "transfer" of knowledge on a daily basis. I personally hope to try to offer as many opportunities as possible that will allow students to collaborate and find ways to apply what they learn, not just memorize facts.

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-Open ended - share a thoughtful reflection of your choice.

The pd experience overall has been a good one - I was able to pick an area of interest and explore it in more depth - while also having greater timing flexibility when they need to be completed.

-What's a new way you can be creative in class and enhance your students excitement?

I like what I learned about keynote in the training - I am aware of all of the different presentation tools - prezi, pera deck etc but find myself going to back to powerpoint because of the speed in which I can move through a presentation - I would like to update my powerpoints for keynote because it keeps the advantages of that platform with more visual aesthetics which could increase student retention.

-What has had real meaning?

The PD is more practical in its nature - focused on tools that are available on the mac. So real meaning might be a stretch but small tricks that has made my day more efficient as the macbook is my primary creation tool for much fo the materials I use in my classroom so overall real meaning may go to far but helpful does not

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-How will this PD inform your instruction and impact your students in the future?

One simple thing I really am excited about and hopefully will impact my teaching is simple notepad. My goal would be to write some type of grant to get more ipads for my classroom along with the ipad pens. My classroom right now lacks whiteboards. How simple would it be to use the ipads to show their work with math problems in whole group? Or use the notebook and have saved for each child for my reading groups to help incorporating writing. This would be a great way to impact and increase learning in the classroom. As well as get student engaged in learning!

-What are some things you are already successfully implementing in your classroom as a result of this PD?

I have not implemented a ton yet into the classroom that I have learned through PD. There are a lot of great ideas I could use with older students but it is harder with the younger grades. I want to use more of these tools with my colleagues. With my students I just want to try more interactive learning. I always come across the issues of how do we keep them accountable for what they are learning. I am hoping to continue my learning to figure that piece out. Or maybe I need to explore some more of these tools and apps to see how that part of the learning can fit in.

-What has had real meaning? Technology is the future. If you think about it. We use it for everything, all day and in every part of our lives. Students are more well informed with ipads and technology than I am. If we want to be successful in engaging, teaching, and impacting our students we must know how to teach with technology. I am not finished with apple teacher yet. However, I am excited to gain more knowledge on how to help and teach my students that will impact their future. They will need this to be successful.

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Some things I have already successfully implemented in my classroom are features on our iPad that I didn’t realize worked across most apps. The ‘Smart Annotation’ feature works with almost any app on the iPad, not just Pages and Numbers.  I have had students add to PDF’s not only text boxes, but shapes, lines, color, and they can hand-write with it too….although, it takes some skill to be legible.  Then the students may easily save and share.  This can be done from information they researched from the web or a PDF I gave them.  I have also had them take a picture of their math work on notebook paper and edit their own mistakes and trim the paper and submit it to an assignment on Schoology.  The upload time, when I need to grade it, is much faster than in the past.

A thoughtful reflection I’d like to share is that I felt proud to be an ‘Apple Certified Teacher’ after this PD, with that said, I don’t feel I have mastered all the skills needed to teach all students apple programs.  When I have learned new apps or features of new apps, I’d shared them with my students, and they help me grow.  I try new things and let them know, I am trying this out and we can problem solve working with each other for the best results.  This is how we found out together, my students and I, the best uses of the ‘Smart Annotation’ feature on our iPads.

One of the challenges I had with PD your way is, although I always get my requirements finished, when it is on my own time, I tend to leave it to the last possible moment, hence, this last reflection.  I think if were to do this again in the future, I’d like to schedule a time with my colleagues and collaborate on the PD together and this will help move us along at a pace that is more productive.  I really appreciated the thoughtful programs our school came up with to allow teachers to achieve CEU credits, while having the choice of what they were most interested in. Thank you!

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-How will this PD inform your instruction and impact your students in the future?

This PD has allowed me to better understand the technology that I am using to instruct my students. There are several simple tips and tricks that I have learned through this PD course that will enhance my lessons and allow them to be more interactive. By creating interactive lessons my students will have more opportunities to understand the content I am teaching. I would also like to teach my students how to implement these skills on the Apple devices they are using in school.

-What opportunities do you see for yourself/your classroom in this PD?

Learning more about my laptop and iPad will allow me to confidently create lessons, documents and activities for our classroom. I love creating content and interactive lessons for my students to use. I am excited about trying new things I have never tried before. Blending backgrounds, creating presentations, flyers, and photo editing will be some of my newfound skills that I hope to use in the near future.

-What innovative ideas have you come across that can keep you professionally renewed and inspired?

Sharing notes and documents with colleagues from our Apple devices, without having to use other software, is something I am excited about and eager to try. We often collaborate as a team and we frequently work on lesson plans and activities as a group. I always knew these features were available with other platforms and now, as compared to Google Drive, I can eliminate unnecessary steps by using what is available on my Apple devices.

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Thoughtful reflection -

As I read, I reflect in two ways. Growth and thinking with staff and growth and thinking with students. I have typically thought of guidance as my responsibility and my program. Something that I do not want to burden our teachers with since they have so much on their plates. I realize that this is something that must ultimately occur as a team. My innovation is to not burden the teachers but empower them to share in a culture of molding students and their character. I also see ways to work with students during classroom guidance that value their ideas for ownership and leadership in the climate of our school.

What do I like/dislike about PD this way -

I enjoy the book that was selected for the study.  I enjoy trying a new social media resource to report out. I like having these reflections to hold me accountable. I enjoy thinking of how I can use this since I am not a classroom teacher and most PD does not benefit me. My challenge is that Twitter is not my “go to” social media choice and I do not have it set up to let me know when the PD part of my book study is happening. I am also concerned that reflections are due before our calendar PD days. I need the PD day to take my time to read. Making the reflections due before the PD day seems to contradict having time in the calendar to do the PD. Also..why is it all due by February instead of having the year to complete it as indicated in the fall?

What would I add to this PD to make it better for me -

I love the ideas of innovation and technology. I feel I need a technology crash course on things from the last ten years. I am google doc stupid and need some help with things like this so I can find a “spark” to use in my unique position as counselor and psychologist. I cannot help others innovate without a bit more knowledge myself.  My book gives me pause to stop and think of what I can do to help inspire others by I also realize I need some more basic tools..

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What's a new way you can be creative in class and enhance your students excitement?
I was in interested in ways to use more games aspects in the classroom. I am not a big fan of games that require students to just sit and play. I think the more active the students are the more engaged they can become. I watched a webinar that showed how kids can be involved in both. The company is agent discovery and is brings interactive games to the outdoors. I have not begun a lesson yet, however I have great ideas for outside activities with qr codes and educational pieces that do not require wifi access.
What will you add to make this PD even better in terms of meeting your needs as a professional?

This gaming activity will force me to try new thing with in the classroom. Even if every student in the class in not 100% engaged this might motivate some students who are not normally engaged. I would also add some elements of success for completing physical activities in some of the QR codes.
What has had real meaning?
This ability to see some of these PD's and ideas from all of the academic areas. I think that sometimes you get stuck into your own area of expertise and you don't think about how this might help in other areas.

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Leading Change: Go Beyond Gamification with Gameful Learning

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Leading Change: Go Beyond Gamification with Gameful Learning

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What has had real meaning?
One of the concepts of gameful learning is that students need both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to be truly motivated. I've always been of the mind that intrinsic motivation is really the only "good" kind of motivation, that external rewards are just fluff that distracts from real learning. Gameful learning addresses that by integrating extrinsic motivation into the learning process. Thinking purely in terms of intrinsic motivation is, I now more easily recognize, an "ivory tower" pedagogy. We all need extrinsic motivation, be it a paycheck or personal rewards. As I think towards how to shape my curriculum in the future, this is a valuable insight.

What's a new way you can be creative in class and enhance your students excitement?
Going along the idea of intrinsic & extrinsic motivation, I'm considering how to implement some sort of "point system" in my class. Unlike a traditional grade system, a point system, applied through gameful learning concepts, allows students a measure of choice in their own learning. They'll still achieve all the competencies and goals of the course, but they'll have more control over how they choose to approach those competencies. It will also allow them to experience productive failure, learning from their mistakes and taking risks without sacrificing their grade.

List benefits & challenges of doing PD this way (LNC Choice). What changes would you make?
This is honestly the best system of PD we've had in a long time. I really appreciate the opportunity to find PD that suits the needs of my classroom, and the chance to share what I've learned in a forum like this. Kudos to Jamie, Sara, and anyone else that had a hand in developing this plan.

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Today I became a certified Apple teacher by completing all eight badges:)
1. There are multiple uses for this in the classroom as the middle school is entirely iPad one on one.
2. One thing I found surprising was that aps that I did not think I would use in SS provided a number of scenarios where I might. For example a podcast using garage band or narrated charts or competency standard completion tables in the numbers ap. I even discovered some features of Keynote I was unaware of.
3. I love how this process allowed me to create ideas for future lessons from using new aps to narrate biographies in Chatter-pix to having students create their own instructional videos.
4. The one thing I always feel I need after any PD is TIME to apply and evaluate new instructional methods. All the time spent exploring and learning will not provide me with the TIME I need to develop new lessons around the standards I teach and apply my learning. So, I am an Apple certified teacher but how much am I going to actually be able to implement and use all of this in the classroom?

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-List Benefits and Challenges of doing PD this way?  What would you improve? I liked being able to do PD this way because I could in a mode that best fit my needs.  Choosing the Apple Teacher professional development put me slightly outside of my comfort zone because I'm not super techie, but I was able to partner up with another colleague and we worked together during this PD.  We bounced ideas off one another, asked questions, and clarified confusions.  The challenging part of this method of PD is making sure that everything gets done on time.  We were very lucky at the Elementary School that we had representatives like Ms. Latza send out reminders every once in a while to make sure you were on track.  

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-List Benefits and Challenges of doing PD this way?  What would you improve? I liked being able to do PD this way because I could in a mode that best fit my needs.  Choosing the Apple Teacher professional development put me slightly outside of my comfort zone because I'm not super techie, but I was able to partner up with another colleague and we worked together during this PD.  We bounced ideas off one another, asked questions, and clarified confusions.  The challenging part of this method of PD is making sure that everything gets done on time.  We were very lucky at the Elementary School that we had representatives like Ms. Latza send out reminders every once in a while to make sure you were on track.  

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-What are some things you are successfully implementing as a result of this PD?
I'm actually using the iPads more than I have previously!  I've collaborated with colleagues to determine which apps they are incorporating into lessons or independent practice.  We have started using IXL for reading and math, Reflex, and Raz Kids.  By sharing the information with parents, we are getting great feedback that parents appreciate being directed toward more educational apps versus games.  Students are getting quick, and easy ways to practice concepts taught at home.
-Open Ended
Being given the opportunity to explore something that meets our individual interests as teachers was really exciting for the first grade team. We already have the ball rolling in terms of what we would like to do in the upcoming school year. We are really evaluating our strengths and needs as a team and creating an action plan surrounding PD. We are attending a conference together, completing a book study, and really zooming in on our teaching of reading and writing strategies for beginning learners. We hope to be able to blend what we've learned from Apple Teacher, like the various publication tools, that are available to assist student's literacy growth.

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List benefits & challenges of doing PD this way (LNC Choice)
Convenience: Flexibility of time to complete on your own schedule.
Relevance: The ability to choose topics of interest  and areas of instruction based of subject area.
Interest: May PD options based specifically on interest.

What's a new way you can be creative in class and enhance your students excitement?
Even though earning the Apple badge for Garage Band is virtually impossible for me, I loved learning about the variety of ways that it can be implemented. I have a student who entered school with limited language skills, but is musically inclined. He will sit and create notes and chords just in his independent time. I am hoping that I can use Garage Band to move toward him creating music to reflect tone or mood in his children's stories. I think this would be so engaging for him.Music is so universal for all types of students and their learning. I would love to explore this more with many of my special needs children.

What's a new way you can be creative in class and enhance your students excitement?
This year has encouraged me to look to the IPad for more engaging ways to work with my students. The use of technology definitely makes me nervous and takes me out of my comfort zone. I am finding that many of the Apps that were available to us at the elementary school have excellent ways to progress monitor student for understanding (IXL, Easy CBM, and Freckle). Much of this data is very helpful when implementing plans and goals for my students. My 3rd and 4th graders are even able to track their own progress. This has proven to be a huge motivator to some. Also, the implementation of IMovie and Garage Band has been an additional way that students can be creative with their own work products. In the past, I had assumed that these apps were more appropriate for older students, but I am finding that once I introduced to my younger students, they were just as creative. It is amazing what students can do if they are given the right tools.

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What opportunities do you see for yourself/your classroom in this PD?

I see numerous ways for my students to engage with the content they are learning. Keynote provides the tools for students to create slides/brief presentations summarizing what we have covered in our lesson, they can use iMovie to record themselves explaining or acting out a scene applying what we’ve learned, or creating a song in GarageBand to show understanding of the content.

What innovative ideas have you come across that can keep you professionally renewed and inspired?

One innovative idea is to use Numbers to arrange/show data for my students. It’s important to recognize how I can utilize these tools in other areas of my role. I do pre- and post-tests for many of my lessons to gauge effectiveness and impact of lessons and programs, which helps me garner support and advocate for resources going forward. I am also beginning a Student Ambassador program for New-to-LNC students and will be collecting data on how the ambassadors and new students perceive the program and suggestions on how to improve for the future - Numbers would help illustrate and provide a visual perspective of the data.

What will you add to make this PD even better in terms of meeting your needs as a professional?

I feel like I have learned the bones of what Apple has to offer, but am concerned about forgetting a lot since I don’t deliver classroom lessons frequently. I plan to practice different applications and add consulting/collaborating with other staff members who are well-versed in Apple tools to help me utilize the best apps for what I want to accomplish. Because I only deliver lessons every 1-2 months for each of my grade levels, I want to be as purposeful as I can with how I integrate the apps.

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10.
What innovative ideas have you come across that can keep you professionally renewed and inspired?

Really learning how to use the tools you expect your students to be proficient with can really open your eyes to the possibilities with digital creativity to excite your students for grater comprehension and understanding.  Trying to figure out a way to move from old school paper and textbooks can be challenging to those teachers afraid of technology. By selecting the type of continuing education gives a variety of step by step instruction to ease all sorts of technology abilities into a concept/lesson they can be comfortable assigning to their students. The more success with simple digital assignments can lead to bigger and better lesson down the road.

12.
What's a new way you can be creative in class and enhance your students excitement?

Using apps (iMovie) on the iPad has given me more ideas on greeting assignments that incorporate true understanding of how body system operate. Learning how to really utilize iMovie with truly learning how to manipulate the app (rather than asking to students to figure it out) allows the students more time to be creative.  What the point in an assignments if they spend half the time trying figure out how to add something? By giving them quick responses on how to add, fix, and edit their iMovies, the student can focus more on learning the content instead of learning the app. I’ve had the students create two iMovies during the Human body unit and I can really see the difference in understanding. Having them teach me the systems on video is a game changer , and they loved the creative freedom.

13.
What is an idea you have had that you have wanted to try but haven't?

I would love to tinker around with Oculus virtual reality for my human body system. Inspired by the 1970 Fantastic Voyage, how cool would be to travel through the circulatory system as a blood cell allowing the students see the interaction of blood with transporting nutrients from the digestive system to the cells in the body. Traveling through the heart, going to the lung to dump off carbon dioxide and receiving oxygen. Watching the kidneys in the excretory system removing urea from the blood cells, and maneuvering through the different blood vessels.  I feel this would greatly benefit the students to actually see the body systems working together to maintain homeostasis.

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1. How does this PD promote Digital Learning Competencies?
The ideas from Apple Teacher help technology continue to grow in my classroom. The more apps and ideas I get and use, the more comfortable students become with digital learning. It starts with first graders very simply by just being comfortable to log on to an app on their own (which for some has been challenging!) We've used this momentum to include apps in both math and reading lessons. Students are becoming more digitally competent each day.

2. What are some things you are already successfully implementing in your classroom as a result of this PD?
Apple teacher has inspired me to get more innovative with apps in the classroom. I have consulted with other teachers to get feedback on apps they've been using and have since, been able to use those in my lessons. For example, iXL, Freckle, Reflex Math, etc.

3. What opportunities do you see for yourself/your classroom in this PD?
Coming from a school with hardly any technology available, I am excited for the opportunity to expand my teaching with technology. From learning different apps that are available, to using Apple programs to be more creative in my lessons, the opportunities to get students and myself more fluid with technology usage is endless and I am thankful for this PD experience for giving me more experience.

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What innovative ideas have you come across that can keep you professionally renewed and inspired?

Puzzlement is when you might think, “Hmm, I wasn’t expecting that. What questions should I ask, what do I need to know to find a solution? Confusion is more like when you are completely baffled - I don’t know where to start”

These two states of mind are flexible and changeable with practice.  I should practice being patient and consistently utilize strategies that teach students mind-set and questioning practices to help keep from remaining in the less constructive confused state.

-What's a new way you can be creative in class and enhance your students excitement? -How can you go "big" in your classroom, using some ideas you’ve gotten from this PD?

This PD is timely as it corresponds with the recent speaker we had join us.  Dr. Stephan reignited my interesting creating inquiry based lessons with a highly engaging launch.  The PD I am participating in focused on how the state of the mind enhances learning.  The most recent module reminded me that a relaxed brain, a motivated brain, and a brain that is having fun learn better.  It appears that I am going to be digging into inquiry based lesson sites for my next unit - :)  I am excited to do so!  We are beginning out data analysis unit which lends itself so well to connecting with students’ lives as well as creating fun activities.

-What will you add to make this PD even better in terms of meeting your needs as a professional?

Working together with the information gained during our recent department meeting, I plan to utilize the Connective Mathematics curriculum to enhance my lessons.  Using this along with a familiar resources like Open Up Resources can be a great way to increase engagement and bring my kiddo’s brains to a state of mind more in line with deep learning.

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How will this PD inform your instruction and impact your students in the future?

This semester, one of my grad school courses is about being a culturally responsive teacher.  Some of the topics we are discussing are directly related to a course I had last semester about current issues surrounding education (i.e. achievement gap, equality in schools, etc.)  Although I’ve always known how important it is to get to know my students, and I feel that I have done a pretty good job with that over the years, I’ve come to realize the benefits of really getting to know them – beyond surface level information, and how using that information should really be informing my instruction so that I can make a greater impact on my students’ learning.  My class this semester is focusing on how culture impacts how the brain works with regard to taking in and processing information.  I’m looking forward to learning ways that I can be more effective in the classroom by being more culturally responsive to my students.

What's a new way you can be creative in class and enhance your students excitement?

I love teaching science and incorporating experiments and ways to explore science topics with my students!  Another grad school class I’m taking this semester has been about incorporating more STEM instruction into our regular curriculum.  I’ve learned about STEM boxes and how other teachers use these as ways to engage their students in fun, hands on STEM activities with their students.  The STEM boxes are available for student use during morning arrival time and when they’ve completed their assignments and are completely independent activities (once the students learn appropriate ways to use them, etc.)  I’m in the process of putting together these boxes for my students to use to get them more excited about exploring STEM concepts in the classroom!

What are some things you are already successfully implementing in your classroom as a result of this PD?

With regard to being more culturally responsive, I have already taken an “inventory” of the information I already know about my students and am in the process of digging deeper with them (through more personal conversations and connections) to find out more about their background and culture so I that I can include that in my teaching through literature, educational videos, etc.  This will allow my students to make a more personal connection to the content I’m teaching.

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What has surprised you so far with your chosen PD module?

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What has surprised you so far with your chosen PD module?

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I really enjoy reading books on education practice. I finished that book way in advance! I was also surprised how bad I felt after reading the book...meaning I felt so bad that I wasn't doing enough for my students. I somewhat felt after finishing the book that I was questioning if I was even good at my job since I was not going to people's home and having dinner with them and because I like my separation between school and my personal life. I didn't get as motivated as I thought I would.

What innovative ideas have you come across that can keep you professionally renewed and inspired?
It had been so long since I have done PD on mental health issues...specific mental health issues. It was wonderful to be able to have a refresher on anxiety and be able to hear about it from a professional that works with anxiety patients all day long. I think it helps me reframe the way I interact with students with anxiety and has helped me find ways to work them through their anxiety as opposed to the routine response of calling home to get picked up if they don't feel like they can stay in class.

What is an idea you have had that you have wanted to try but haven't?

I kinda want to find a teacher to work with on basic classroom management skills to help reduce anxiety in the classroom. There were tips I learned on teaching students techniques to reduce anxiety in the moment and how to remind students throughout class on how to integrate those practices while in class. I just need to find a teacher willing to collaborate with me on that.

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How does this PD promote Digital Learning Competencies?

In Responsibilities of the 21st Century Educatoror, we studied the different tools and programs that are at our disposal in our technology rich environment. Â In the course of our studies we reviewed howto insure that we were not infringing on other' s intellectual properties and how to teach our students of how to be aware of how to use the information they find. We had to become members of and interact within a PLC community that provided us the opportunity to reach out with other content area teachers and review various lessons with a technology component that were used by each of us.  We were also provided with rubrics
that allows us to evaluate how well our lessons and students reach goals that
set in terms of learning and technology utilization.

What opportunities do you see for yourself/your classroom in this PD?

In this course, I have been exposed to more ideas for technology use outside of the typical calculator based activities that are a standard fall back for us math teachers.  I think that as I become more comfortable with utilizing some of the resources that we have available (social media mainly), I can be begin to incorporate more cyber collaboration with my students and those of my more distant peers which would allow for the exchange of understanding is a far more meaningful manner for my students than the typical here's a problem
and let's talk about it within these four walls approach.  I have been provided with connections that prove the model can work, I just have to work on incorporating it.

Open ended - share a thoughtful reflection of your choice.

Over all I think that the between the two PDs that I completed as part of this year's "your way": "Responsibilities of the 21st Century Educator" and "Assessing Digital Tools" has provided me with a lot of information and resource on how to better incorporate technology within my classroom.  It also proved me with some connections outside of LNC which I can fall back on to assist me in implementing different strategies within my classroom.Â  As a math teacher, I feel like some of the things that were shown to us throughout the PDs were not directly useful because it doesn't directly correlate to the content found in the upper levels, but I can see how it would be useful to those teaching in the elementary and middle school levels.  It also provided me with some of the knowledge that I would need to support my peers in other disciplines.

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What is a new way you can be creative in class and enhance your students' excitement?

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What is a new way you can be creative in class and enhance your students' excitement?

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I think that offering students a choice is one way to increase their interest in learning.  Not all students learn the same way, so when they are offered options as to what tool to use, they gravitate to the one that interests them the most and they tend to be more productive.

How does this PD promote the 4 C's in your classroom?
Critical Thinking - It encourages perspectives and analysis from another point of view. It wants you to look at both sides of an argument or issue and make an informed judgment.
Communication - it encourages asking questions and offering suggestions or opinions to share ideas
Collaboration - it promotes working together to learn from each other and to achieve a common goal
Creativity - allowing choice boosts interest and motivation to be think outside of the box

What has had real meaning?
The emphasis placed on the fact that students have different backgrounds and cultures and not everyone learns the same way. It also reminds me that one method that may have worked for one student, may not necessarily work for another. I come from a culturally diverse background so I try to keep that in mind in my teaching but at times that is forgotten.

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How will this PD inform your instruction and impact your students in the future?

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How will this PD inform your instruction and impact your students in the future?

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I intend to incorporate some of the different iPad apps into my lessons. I would like to use iMovie to allow my students to experiment with clay animation and also to give them the chance to record themselves giving lessons on work they have mastered.

What’s a new way you can be creative in class and enhance your students excitement?

Generally speaking, I believe most kids get pretty excited when it comes to utilizing technology in the classroom. So I can see how exposing them to these apps in the classroom can get them eager to try new things and expand their skills and prepare them for moving up into middle and high school.

List benefits & challenges of doing PD this way. What changes would you make?

Benefits:
Flexibility to choose what is relevant
Flexibility to do PD on our own time
Many resources and options for PD

Challenges:
There are not a lot of relevant content options for special area teachers.

*Perhaps polling special area teachers or department heads for topics that they would like to receive more PD on would be beneficial. This could lead to a more diverse collection of PD resources for all faculty, as well as content rich PD for SA teachers.

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-What are some things you are already successfully implementing in your classroom as a result of this PD?

Chapter 7 Do Little Things:
*Play music in the classroom.
*Call students homes to show that I care.
*Greet my students when they walk into the classroom. If they don't speak, I send   them back out the room and tell them they can't come in until they speak. LOL!:)
*Hold random celebrations: Ex: When students are called on to respond to questions in class or demonstrate good things in class I cheer and spontaneous sing a random some or something. Also, we sing the "new school" Happy Birthday song when there is a B-Day that needs to be recognized.

-What is an idea you have had that you have wanted to try but haven't?
An idea that I have that I have been wanting to try but haven't is restarting the cursive club a LNC. I think having this club will definitely spark interest to the students of this generation because a lot of them are unaware of its uniqueness and how much creativity comes with it.

-How does this PD promote the four C's in your classroom?
I often remind students that what they are being taught in school, especially at Lake Norman Charter, is truly an example of real world life long learning:

Critical thinking: Learning new means of analyzing various units of ancient civilizations and determining solutions to problems and analyzing problems that need solutions. Not only do students demonstrate by verbal discussion or blogging but drawing which connects with art.
Communication: Encouraging students to have constructive conversations with their peers by talking with/among one another rather than at one another due to a lack of face to face conversation with this generation.
Collaboration: Being able to see the results of the team effort when students come together for a common goal especially when the are not allowed to always work with their friends.
Creativity: Working in groups allows students to see that having a variety brings about creativity from individuality.

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-What are some things you are already successfully implementing in your classroom as a result of this PD?

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-What are some things you are already successfully implementing in your classroom as a result of this PD?

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Chapter 7 Do Little Things
*Play music in the classroom.
*Call students homes to show that I care.
*Greet my students when they walk into the classroom. If they don't speak, I send   them back out the room and tell them they can't come in until they speak. LOL!:)
*Hold random celebrations and sing the "new school" Happy Birthday song when there is a B-Day that needs to be recognized.

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What will you add to make this PD even better in terms of meeting your needs as a professional?

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What will you add to make this PD even better in terms of meeting your needs as a professional?

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I finished the course so at this point it is just practicing what I learned on the ipad.    I am not sure what I could do to make this particular PD better except to continue utilizing the apps to search out new ways to engage my students and be able to interact with them in a way that I don't need to see them daily (since I am unable to being a counselor).

What's a new way you can be creative in class and enhance your students excitement? Since I don't have a classroom setting but I do have an office setting there might be a way for me to include communication aspects through some of these apps.  Promoting colleges, scholarships, opportunities that I can provide through "marketing" tools. Utilizing interactive apps and/or artistic flyers to grasp one's attention to the information.

Open ended - share a thoughtful reflection of your choice. As much as I enjoyed learning from the apple teacher and I am now a certified apple teacher, I am hoping to find PD that will be more relevant to my line of work and profession. Technology is a big part of our system but learning more about google docs where the whole school population is utilizing that particular system would be more beneficial. Learning more about the social and mental aspects that can plague our students on a day to day basis would be more beneficial for me to learn and re-learn to not only help my students, the student population but also our staff. For me, in my profession, those are the PD's that have relevancy. Books that pertain to education, leadership, mental and emotional issues are relevant to my profession. Again, learning the apple apps were interesting but I feel there are more engaging PD's that I could take part in.

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Q3 Reflection-What has had real meaning?

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Q3 Reflection-What has had real meaning?

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I think the most important thing that has had real meaning to me is (after reading Innovator's Mindset by George Couros) learning is about taking risks and possibly those risks may end in failure.  It is all a part of the process. As teachers, we encourage students to take risks and step outside of their comfort zones.  However, I think we forget to do this ourselves.  We tend to choose to follow the same path of what works, but sometimes fail to experiment with new ideas. In Couros' chapter on strength-based leadership, he discusses the necessity for school leaders to build each other up and be willing to take risks.  He states, " Learning is messy, and we have to be comfortable with risk, failure, growth and revision."  In the book, this is aimed at school administration, but it should also be placed on us as teachers because we are school leaders in many different ways.

-What innovative ideas have you come across that can keep you professionally renewed and inspired?

Couros' has a list of "8 Things to Look for in Today's Classroom".  I don't see them necessarily as new an innovative, but more as ideas that should be a standard in each classroom.
1-Voice
2- Choice
3-Time for reflection
4-Opportunities for Innovation
5-Critical Thinkers
6-Problem Solvers
7-Self- Assessment
8-Connected Learning
After, reading about these 8 concepts, I have made it my goal to incorporate all of them into my curriculum at some point in the semester.  Also, I have attempted to explain the value of a few of these concepts to my students (through projects we have done) and how they could be helpful.  For instance, students had to reflect on a video project they completed by showing to at least 3 adults outside on LNC and the adults had to comment with ideas on how to improve their videos.  I think these are values that employers are looking for employees across many fields.  Why not help students to start recognizing them now.

-Open ended - share a thoughtful reflection of your choice.
I found this book study to be motivational and thought provoking at times.  I really asked myself if I incorporated any of Couros' ideas into my daily practice. I believe I have with some, I am still working on others.  Couros has a quote, "If we only teach students the curriculum, then we have failed them." The key is to remember to build on student strength by allowing time for exploration, according to the quotes suggestion.This reminder is worth reading the book for because we often forget this in our never ending battle to "get through the curriculum".  Even in high school, we need to let students explore to find what is important to them.  Give them the freedom to discover and fail, at the same time.  They are both effective teachers.

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-What has had real meaning? The chapter from Kids Deserve It entitled "Head Held High" had a lot of meaning to me.  We all have days that feel like failures or the child that you couldn't quite reach,  And because we care, that hurts!  But this chapter reminded me to focus on the lives we touch daily and how much of a difference we can make in the lives of children.

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-What has had real meaning? The chapter from Kids Deserve It entitled "Head Held High" had a lot of meaning to me.  We all have days that feel like failures or the child that you couldn't quite reach,  And because we care, that hurts!  But this chapter reminded me to focus on the lives we touch daily and how much of a difference we can make in the lives of children.

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-

How will this PD inform your instruction and impact your students in the future? I love the chapter that talked about putting the bat in their hands.  Too often we think something will be too challenging for them so we don't even give them the opportunity to try.  I was inspired to stop limiting them based of what I think they can do and to let them show me what they actually can do.

-

What is an idea you have had that you have wanted to try but haven't? One chapter discussed home visits. The book talked about the ways this can impact a student. I loved reading the chapter, but haven't brought myself to the place of asking to visit a child at their home yet.

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What opportunities do you see for yourself/ your classroom in this PD?
Opportunities that I see in the PD for myself is the use of Professional Learning Networks.  Although I have joined some Professional Learning Communities in the past I have not really taken the time to look for new ideas or followed them regularly to find new activities to use in my classroom.  I can use the professional learning communities that were suggested and explored in the PD to enhance the learning opportunities in my classroom.
How can you go "big" in your classroom, using some ideas you've gotten from this PD?
This PD focused on making connections to the real world and to other communities in the world. I think it would be interesting to find another math class that students could communicate with and create challenge problems for each other and try to stump the students in the other class and then present the problems solution to them. I think it would be interesting to have the communicate the share problems a couple of times a month. The issue I have found with this is North Carolina's math curriculum does not line up well with other math curriculum in the country.
What has had real meaning?
There was a section that discussed students have a strong knowledge of financial literacy so that they could make appropriate economic choices. They also need to understand the role of the economy in society. I completely agree that students should have a strong financial literacy not just for themselves to be successful but also for our economy to prosper. There was also a section on global empathy, which I think is very important and has a very significant meaning in real life.

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Q. How will this PD inform your instruction and impact your students' future?
The book study for Matt Miller's "Ditch That Textbook" offers several suggestions for moving away from traditional textbooks to technology based resources in the 1:1 format. His suggestion to "Share Everything" with colleagues in the building, as well as through technology is an area where I could improve. Ditching the Textbook is both a reality, in that it looks like we won't be getting new books anytime soon, and a practicality, in that our 1:World initiative redefines student and teacher resources.

Q. What will you add to make this PD even better in terms of meeting your needs as a professional?
As with most PD opportunities, I need to spend more time to implement the suggestions of Ditch That Textbook. Some of that time will be spent looking back at notes, and some will be spent looking at the book's companion WEBSITE DitchThatTextbook.com

Q What's a new way you can be creative in class and enhance your students' excitement?
Gamification is an area that Miller mentions in his book. So far, I have incorporated simple elements of gamification, such as using a web based dice roller to make choices in the classroom.

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Q3. What has had real meaning? The kids deserve it book has real meaning to me in terms of touching on aspects about teaching that make good teachers and different elements of teaching that promote a great learning environment for kids.  Like taking chances with units, reaching out into the community, enlisting peer help/sharing, and good relationships with your students in general.  Many talking points in the book were things that we tend to forget so it was good to read about personal stories which act as motivators for being a more effective teachers.  Reflection is also a big part of this and most of us probably could spend more time reflecting. 

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Q3. What has had real meaning? The kids deserve it book has real meaning to me in terms of touching on aspects about teaching that make good teachers and different elements of teaching that promote a great learning environment for kids.  Like taking chances with units, reaching out into the community, enlisting peer help/sharing, and good relationships with your students in general.  Many talking points in the book were things that we tend to forget so it was good to read about personal stories which act as motivators for being a more effective teachers.  Reflection is also a big part of this and most of us probably could spend more time reflecting. 

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What innovative ideas am I using? This year I am utilizing easyCBMs with my entire case load since we are moving towards the MTSS model of data gathering.  Its not really innovative but its a great tool for standardized data collection and helps give a clearer pictures of students ability.  The EC team is doing a good job sharing ways to gather this different information which enables us more leverage to back up our decisions in IEP meetings determining the best outcomes for the kids.

How will this PD inform my instruction in the future?  I am going to incorporate more ideas with reading groups when teaching reading comprehension using fiction literature.  There are so many ways to show knowledge of content when it comes to comprehension. Kids can use the medium they are the most comfortable with in the group, like making a video book review, drawing a comic, writing, acting out important scenes in the book, etc. Also, in general it also encourages me to reach out to other teachers to elicit ideas about how to tackle a particular concept or lesson.

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What has had real meaning?
Reading Kids Deserve it has taught me that not everything is going to be perfect, however just try it. If I want to do coffee cart, or have my students sell other items, nothing will be perfect, but you WILL be helping those students with learning opportunities. This book has taught me just try it! If you fall, just try something else.

-What's a new way you can be creative in class and enhance your students excitement?
Recently I have began allowing Ella to order her own coffee cart supplies online. She has a "budget" of money that she has earned from coffee cart. So we look on different websites to get the best deals, she also learns and keeps track of peoples favorite creamers, so we can keep up with the demand of certain flavors. Ella is also working on keeping track of other supplies like cups, and lids. Ella is very excited to do things for her "business". I can also incorporate other math topics into money cart, so she is applying her knowledge of math topics learned (like fractions, decimals, place value, and adding.)

-What is an idea you have had that you have wanted to try but haven't?
I would like to start creating a "real life" math application project weekly for my Study Skills students and my 1-1 student. I want to make math topics relate-able to them like fractions unit with my 1-1 student, I would like to bring in items like apple, orange, pizza, cupcakes and work on splitting these items equally into fraction pieces. I would also like to make graphs and charts based on relevant information from a "class sample". We also could start measuring items to "build" certain things. Since they are having fun it would make it memorable, and they might be more likely to remember certain things, because they have applied it in a different way.

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-What will you add to make this PD even better in terms of meeting your needs as a professional?

I wish we had the opportunity to also become a Google certified teacher. I think there is a fee for it, and it wasn’t an option this year. I would love the opportunity next year and since we are a G-suite school, maybe the fee can be waived?

-What has had real meaning?

In relation to PD, because it was a certification on a product we don’t have in school (MacBooks), I have not had real applications to the classroom. However, I did receive ideas on ways to incorporate multimedia platforms for one assignment, using what the PCs had. In addition, I hope to get MacBooks for my journalism class next year so I can teach Adobe InDesign and Photoshop; I plan to ask the PTO at the end of the year through the school’s standard process. I also utilized the ipads every month for video projects for my journalism class and this certification/PD helped me understand more with iMovie.

-What's a new way you can be creative in class and enhance your students' excitement?

I thrive on developing creative lessons within the classroom to reach all types of learners, but most recently have been working on writing skills in all three of my subjects. I used Flipgrid, NoRedInk, Google docs, Google forms, Google slides, and iMovie to incorporate additional skills and resources to improve my students’ writing.

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-What is an idea you have had that you have wanted to try but haven't?

After becoming an Apple Certified Teacher I never really knew some of the benefits of Garage Band. It was an app I knew was on the iPads and the students loved to play with, but I never tried to learn about it. I think Garage Band would be a great tool for students to record information for a project and bring in more dramatic effects into iMovie by app smashing. Next year when I do their Sections of Christianity Song Parody, I am going to implement the features from this app into their presentation. I have even looked on Teachers Pay Teachers about mini lessons on how to teach the benefits of Garage Band to the students. Right now, they just use it as a noisemaker, but it could be so much more in the classroom.

-What's a new way you can be creative in class and enhance your students excitement?

I have thought about having the students create podcasts about a topic we are learning about in social studies or a current event. I could use Garage Band and iMovie to put in sound effects, music, and record the student’s voice. Students would be able to enhance their recording to make it applicable and interesting for their peers. They could even drop it into iMovie to add images if they wanted to make it more of a visual experience instead of a podcast.

-What has had real meaning?

I think this PD Your Way had a significant amount of meaning. Not only was I able to refresh and learn about the iPads that I use every day, but it has inspired me to have new ideas in the classroom. I feel like it has refreshed my interest in finding new ways to use the iPad beyond what I already knew. Many of the features in Keynote I did not know like Instant Alpha, which is an editing tool with pictures. Furthermore, I have been able to expand my knowledge by cooperating in some EdWeb videos. Even though I did not write about EdWebs on my PD Your Way write-ups. I still watched many of the videos. I feel like the PD Your Way has made learning more tangible and meaningful. I have appreciated this opportunity to learn from home at my own pace and at my own choice.

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1. What opportunities do you see for yourself/your classroom in this PD?

I am very excited about my class this semester, Instructional Design in Special Education. I see many opportunities to use my learning in the classroom especially in the area of Active Student Response(ASR). ASR is an observable response made to an instructional antecedent. Some examples are choral response, response cards, read aloud and peer tutoring. ASR generates more learning, provides feedback to the teacher and creates on-task behavior. It is quick paced  and increases student engagement as well as learning. I can see ASR being used in the classroom daily with individual whiteboards, iPads, and peer tutoring groups.

2. How does this PD promote digital learning competencies? My research for next fall will be to use digital response cards such as Kahoots to measure student’s math growth. Using technology is a type of ASR in the classroom. It give teachers immediate feedback, is quick-paced and engaging and increases learning.

3. What will you add to make this PD even better in terms of meeting your needs as a professional? I will continue to use UNCC’s resources to further develop me as a special education teacher. I will use this course in Instructional Design to help students become more engaged in learning. I will also use this class to help in teaching strategies to students who are falling behind their peers.

Lesli Gration

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1. How does this PD Promote Digital Learning Competencies?
I participated in a webinar on edWeb titled Using Technology to Support and Enhance Small Group Instruction. I was introduced to Fluency Tutor for Google which supports my students in oral fluency. It enables them to practice reading aloud and record pre-assigned or chosen passages on their lexile level.  The program tracks their progress and gives immediate feedback. This has been a wonderful tool especially for students who struggle reading aloud in the classroom.
2. What has had real meaning?
Turning a worksheet into an activity has had real meaning by providing opportunities for students to collaborate and increase their self- confidence. One activity I implemented with my fifth graders is teacher-created puzzle strips to practice and assess sequencing. Students read aloud a Scholastic article and then collaboratively assembled strips in the correct order. To self-check they flipped the strips over and correct answers formed a picture.
Another example after reading a text from Newsela is turning answering questions into a game. Students collaboratively held academic discussions justifying why an answer is correct or incorrect. Correct answers earned their group points. This has encouraged them to use higher level thinking skills as they practice finding strong evidence to support their ideas.
3. What is an idea you have had that you wanted to try, but haven't?
I would like to incorporate stations with my fifth and sixth graders to increase their motivation and productivity. This will give them more learning experiences and an opportunity to collaborate and move around.

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1. What's a new way you can be creative in class and enhance your students excitement?
Currently, I have taken an idea from my multi-literacy class and have begun using the discussion forum via Schoology to allow my students to communicate with each other in an online room. They are required to respond to a post and to other students with thoughtful responses.  So far it is going well and the kids love it.
I am also using some new community building and collaboration ideas from my research class. Students have written down questions they want to know about each other and have a 10 second interview to report to the class about a classmate. It has been fun. We are also using classmates for assessment assistance after our first try on our own (when the assessment isn't super important). They love this too!
2. How does this PD promote Digital Learning Competencies?
My current class this semester is about using technologies in literacy. For every idea we learn, we discuss the benefits and dangers.  We are learning how to teach students the best ways to use tech as tools in literacy.
3. Open-ended reflection
I have enjoyed grad school so far even though it adds quite a bit to my workload. I learn so many new and fun strategies and ideas for my ELA and SS blocks. I continue to learn new things to try and love bringing the ideas to my students. I love being a learner again!