I know the saying is actually “sharing is caring,” but I am going to put it out there that if you care, then you share (i.e. caring is sharing).
I work with a wonderful group of fantastic educators. Over the six years that I have been at the school, I have tried several ways of sharing information with them and it has evolved over time. Here is a glimpse:
- First it was several emails a week with links to tools or tips– not terrible, people made me a folder in their inbox just to keep them from cluttering the rest of their mail
- Next the emails turned into a spreadsheet (blech- who was going to look)
- Then came the learning resource wiki (still up and running and regularly updated- love this)
- Weekly Wow Wednesday was my next endeavor- I invited my colleagues to my room to learn about the weekly “wow”. No one came. Ever. Not a soul. Sad.
- Not to be deterred, I turned my weekly wows into Web Wow Wednesday and shared my tips, tricks and tools via screencast which I then embedded on my wiki
- Which brings us to the weekly edition of the Shipley PLN Lower School Edition paper.li
Each week my paper.li updates which, as my tagline says, brings great information to great teachers. I eagerly await it’s arrival so that I can share it with my colleagues. Usually I open about twenty articles (or so), read through them, and then choose which to highlight. My motto with respect to this is not necessarily to pre-chew it as a mother bird might do, but to do the weeding and sorting for my colleagues, and then share what I think they will find “ready to wear” so to speak. OK, not so much ready to wear, but ready to use, read, try, ponder. Then I send an annotated email with links and a bit of humor (pretty much just to see who actually reads to the end) in the hopes that perhaps one or some of my colleagues will find something to use, try, or learn from.
Here is what I sent this week:
- Design Thinking for the Younger Crowd- this article brings the idea that design thinking is not just for the adult or teen, but also for the elementary student. The embedded TED video definitely gives some food for thought.
- Next, a Principal’s Reflection by Eric Sheninger- Eric Sheninger is the Principal of New Milford High School in NJ and author of the book I am currently reading, Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times. This post is about what kinds of exciting things are happening in his high school, but I am recommending the read for those of you that daydream about Maker Spaces and other STEM related ideas, and just to read about an amazing innovative school leader. If you can dream it . . . .
- Summer is right around a couple corners and that is a great time to get you PD on. Check out these workshops happening in Cambridge. Can’t get to Cambridge but still want to learn, just ask and I will happily make time for whatever you need.
- I’m not sure you know this, but I am a HUGE fan of Alan November and his annual conference, Building Learning Communities, also in Boston, is one of the best around. If you have an opportunity to learn from the amazing educators that Alan November brings together, then I strongly urge you to take it.
- Who is not a fan of the great Dr. Seuss?! Here is a s’more with 16 (SIXTEEN!) story videos.
- Create Thinglink channels and interactive albums with Thinglink EDU- Thinglink is a site I have shared previously but in a nutshell, upload an image and make it interactive by adding links of text, audio, video, links or other images. With Thinglink Edu teachers can create channels with the images your students create. This article shares the dets (that’s details in cool speak).
- Digital Portfolios– the time is coming. Here is why . . . And here is the how.
- I love livebinders- they are a great way to collect and share resources. Here is a whole library of binders that one teacher has created. Binders include resources for music, math, reading and more— actually, a whole school day’s worth of binders. And then there are mine. Want to make your own binders for your class or your grade level?? You know who to call (RIP Harold Ramis).
- From the man who never sleeps, Richard Byrne . . . This is a teaser; I highly recommend your clicking the link to see what he is sharing. I guarantee you’ll like it and want to start using it.
That’s it, my top 9 things for you to check out. Ta da!
photo credit: erika.tricroche via photopin cc
The Incidental Techie 