Genuis Hour - Elevator Pitch + Expect the Mutiny

Elevator Pitch - in class

Expect the Mutiny - Twitter chat

Genius Hour - We Are Learners

Man, this has been quite the eye opening experience! I never realized that organizing one thing in your life could be so motivating and rewarding. I have learned that the Elfa line at The Container Store has some pretty solid sales, so if you are ever interested in closet organization, wait for the sale!  Plus, they help you design your closet for free. I also learned that just buying the materials does not mean you are done. To make your closet really work, you should really spend time researching folding. I am currently working on folding my tank tops and leggings, so I can utilize every inch of the drawers. 

Marie Kondo's video on folding shirts and tank tops.

The one thing that has been a big bummer, is realizing the materials won't arrive until March 21st. I was upset to find out that my closet will not be installed until then, but I am preparing by folding, and getting everything set so that I can put it all away when it arrives. I have really been getting in to Marie Kondo lately - the video above was the best way that I have found to fold my shirts and tank tops!

Below is my dip chart, and perfectly describes how this journey has been for me :)

Genius Hour - My Sentence

Coming up with a sentence that fits how I hope to feel after my organization journey was easier than I thought. My sentence - She organized a piece of her life that helped her continue to find balance that she always strives to have for her family, and herself.

Balance is my One Word that we came up with at the beginning of the school year. This Genius Hour project is going to help me stay organized in one area that could spread to my whole start to the day! Just by having an organized closet, I feel it will save time in the mornings, which will make life easier for our whole family :)

The Container Store's magazine with my notes.

This past weekend I scheduled a meeting with a very nice lady, Theresa, at The Container Store to discuss the entire process of making a closet functionable. I brought in measurements, the magazine that I wrote notes in, and we got to work! She showed me all of the different ways to make your space something that fits the needs of my husband and I.

My diagram and measurements.

We worked through some key details from how many hoodies do we really need, to what each drawer could be used for and where to put them. These are all things, by the way, that I never imagined myself putting so much time and effort into. But I have to tell you - it felt amazing!

One style that I liked
from a display on the floor.

Theresa's knowledge and skilled eye helped me narrow down my ideas for the closet and I now feel like I can begin to take what I have learned (and soon purchased) and get to organizing!

Personal Genius Hour Selection - Week 1

POST 1:
I have spent the past week coming up with ideas for my personal Genius Hour, and boy did my brain run wild with ideas! I narrowed it down to three challenges- moving into a headstand for at least 30 seconds in Yoga, organizing my new closet, and learning how to make homemade sausage with a sausage maker. I tried to come up with three different ideas geared towards things I love.

POST 2:
After watching videos, attending yoga, and staring at a hot mess of a closet, I have made my final decision! What is boils down to is the fact that the one area that needs my attention the most is my closet!

Yoga is something that bring so much balance into my life, and is a time for me to do something for my body and mind. Although I would love to perfect my head standing abilities,  I would prefer to look at yoga as more of an escape than a project. So, at this time, yoga will continue to be just that. After attending yoga, and attempting a headstand in class, I realized that I will get there eventually, but don't want to make this my main focus.

My second idea of making homemade sausage is something that I really would like to learn with my entire family. My family and I love cooking together, and have been talking about creating a recipe that we could eventually pass on to future generations. The kids bought us a sausage maker for Christmas, so we are excited to use it together. I will still work on creating a family recipe worth passing along, but don't think I could dedicate lots of time to this enough to make it my Genius Hour focus.

Which brings me to my final idea- the dreaded closet! We bought a new house at the beginning of this month, and moved in 5 days ago. Since we have been living there,  I have spent so much time and energy on making sure my kids' rooms were decorated, organized, and a comfy place for them to sleep in, but have yet to even take a look at how to best organize my husband and myself to make life easier for us. We have never had a walk in closet before, which leads into also never having shared a closet- and we have lived together for 15 years! I would like to learn how to strategically organize all of our items in our closet. My hope is that I will walk away happy, organized, and with new ideas to carry over into other spaces in our home.

Organizing...here I come!

Digital Passport: Technology Plan

We created a digital technology plan that goes along specifically with the nonprofit organization, CommonSense, and specifically the Digital Passport learning tool. Teaching digital citizenship using a common curriculum is something that our district is lacking. We decided to use Digital Passport because it has a lot of tools to use with students that are interactive and student-friendly. According to CommonSense, “Digital Passport is an interactive learning tool for grades 3-5 that teaches the basics of digital safety, etiquette & citizenship. Students learn foundational skills from online games & videos [...]”.

We have created a presentation that showcases our technology plan on how to best implement this curriculum across the district. Since the state mandates that we teach Digital Citizenship in grades 3 and up, we feel that CommonSense Media is the most trusted organization, and we are confident in using this resource to meet the needs of our learners.

Creating a 21st Century Learning Space

Matching my students' learning space with 21st Century learning styles and standards is something that I feel very strongly about! I am on year 4 of a flexible seating learning environment, and each year I learn something new that will help benefit my students, as well as what I can improve on. In an ideal world with an unlimited budget, there are so many ideas I would address, and tools/resources/spaces that I would add into my room. Here is a list of things to consider when putting together a 21st century learning space, and what you can do!

1. Accessibility- students can move about the room freely.
2. Electrical access- there are 3 outlets along each wall, as well as multiple chargers at the iPad Charging Station.
3. Private and collaborative space- Flexible seating allows students to move tables, seats, working stations in different spaces of the room depending on the given activity. Tables will be set up to support Kagan Strategies for collaborative tasks, too.
4. Display/work surfaces- There is wall space to display student work, along with learning targets for the day/week, anchor charts, etc. One wall would be painted green for green screen opportunities and recordings. 
5. Connectivity options- Personal Wi-Fi for the classroom is a must! There will also be an Apple TV, document camera,  
6. Classroom technology- All students will have individual iPads and headphones. To share out there is a document camera, audio system, and Apple TV projector.  In the makerspace, there is a black & white/color printer and 3D printer.
7. Classroom environment- Lamps will be placed around the room for a dimmer light option. The room will be painted in neutral colors so that student work stands out. There will be a variety of flexible seating: scoop chairs, wobble chairs, rolling chairs, office chairs, ball chairs, rockers,  will be available. Standing desks, movable and adjustable tables, traditional desks, low and high top tables are also part of the seating options. There is a reading corner with couch and reading chairs, and a kidney bean table that I will use as my small group table.
8. Support for active learning - Active learning will naturally occur through all of the flexible seating options, and learning  spaces. 
9. Learning styles- This environment is meant to have a little something for every type of learning style. Students will learn what works well for them, and areas that work better for different activities.
10. Goals for teaching and learning- This classroom will be an environment meant for innovation, collaboration, high engagement, and creativity. 
11. Student engagement - The layout really supports student engagement. All listed in #10 really provides an engaging environment and experience for students.

Here is an updated version of my ideal 21st century learning space, and how it would look:

Course Reflection - 21st Century Educational Leadership

This was a fun course because we were able to create different professional development activities, and take on that leadership role for our colleagues. One activity that I found very beneficial was creating a Walk-Through Form. I think that it is important to be able to go into our colleagues classrooms, and learn from them! I love the #observeme movement, and I think it is important to spread this idea out to other educators. My Learning Walk-Through Form focuses on the H.E.A.T. observation rubric that is used to evaluate the level of engagement within a lesson, as well as incorporation of technology. I loved this rubric, and think that it narrows down the focus for the walk-through.

Another assignment that I was asked to complete, was a 4 Day Summer Institute Workshop.  The purpose of my institute workshop is to learn about a variety of ways to integrate technology into the classroom, that match the 4Cs model- collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and creativity.

 

*Image downloaded from David Lee EdTech

I used a TON of activities and ideas that I have learned throughout this entire cohort to plan the 4 days. It was actually a great time for me to reflect on all of the amazing tools, apps, websites, brain breaks, activities, that we have learned during our time in this cohort. I would definitely love to share out some of these ideas with other colleagues that are not getting their technology endorsement with us!