The Edification of Priscilla

Keep calm...life changes rapidly...and mine is definitely doing that right away!

2015-03-24T17:22:00.001-06:00

As I head off on Maternity Leave on Friday, I am reminded that life is definitely something that needs to be treasured. As busy and hectic as this week is and will continue to be as I prepare for my replacement, get report cards completed, finish up my extra-curricular commitments and basically just try to find some time to enjoy my students, I know how much I will miss this school while I am absent.

People make a big impact on you whether you want to admit it or not. You can fight against the bad people impacting you, and sometimes it is those who we are frustrated with that take the most time from us, but in their impact you can find something positive to take away. Even if that is just to not be that way to others. It is those positive people you encounter in your day that deserve more attention. They make an effort, a choice, to be positive and/or happy and that is something we should all strive for. It is a reminder that life has its ups and downs and you need to ride them as it comes. For example, I have been taking time away from blogging (I'm sure only some of you actually noticed), but I didn't feel like I had something of interest to write about! That may or may not have actually been true in the end because as I tell my students all the time "You always have something interesting to write about, you just need to choose a direction and go. Someone will connect to it!" I should listen to my own advice sometimes, haha!

Well here I am, writing to you on the Tuesday before I take a hiatus from teaching to have my second child. We are so very excited to meet this little one and start this next adventure in our lives. I've heard it many times that "life is a gift". But it isn't until you're faced with a huge challenge, huge change, or huge joy, that you actually believe or understand that statement. Well mine is coming up soon, and I am ready for it! After my mother passed away, I was apprehensive of going through this process without her. She was a big presence around us after our son was born in 2012, and I still can't imagine what this is going to be like without here physically present with us. I know she's around me, around us, but that pain is still acute when I miss her. I am not sure that will ever go away really, and in some ways I don't exactly want it to. She is going to be super excited when this baby is born and I can see her crying with joy once we get to meet him or her.

I guess the point I am trying to make is that life is short, life is precious and you need to take time from being busy to make sure you enjoy all the little moments that make up your life before it changes or ends. I'm filled with so many emotions this week that I can hardly express to anyone what I am feeling. I guess that is okay. If you know me, then you know it's normal, my being full of all kinds of emotion haha!
Cheers to life - here's to looking forward to new adventures! Chat with you soon!

On loss, grief, moving forward, and balance...

2015-01-05T11:34:00.003-06:00

Sometimes it can be hard to find focus on a writing topic. I have struggled with what to write about lately on my blog. What do you want to hear? What do I want or need to say?
Many times I am left floundering with half-written posts that never get published or simply keep myself busy with the million other tasks a teacher does in a day. But fresh off of a 2 week vacation, I feel like I need to write about something that has been effecting my life for a while now.

I have had a difficult year. 2014 was hard in many ways for me but the one thing that has kept me going is my students, colleagues, and my family. I lost my mother to cancer in December 2013, four days before Christmas. My mother and I were very close, she was my best friend. It was devastating to lose her after only finding out in September that she had developed lung cancer and had found tumours that had spread all throughout her body and bones from a very aggressive form of the disease. Those last 3 months with Mom really put my life in perspective. I dropped everything and was at her side as much as possible. I had to come back to work from my maternity leave in November 2013 and luckily Mom was able to come home for a week or so during my son's first birthday. Many people wondered why I didn't try to extend my leave to spend more time with my Mom, but I felt as though I needed some distraction. My job focused my day and got me out of bed and stopped me from crying every moment of the day. I was probably not the best teacher during the last 2 months (or more) from that year, but I found myself able to move forward (the way Mom would want me to). It is all about balance, and trying to find that during a traumatic time can be very challenging. My Mom was very strong-willed and was "keeping her head up and pushing forward" throughout the whole ordeal.

No one wants to feel days closing in but it happens for some people. A person's outlook on life can make a huge difference in how the situation affects those around you during that time. My mom had sad days for sure (who wouldn't), but made the choice to remain as solid as possible for me and my sisters. A commitment to living your life the best way you can is really the only solution to being happy. There is no day that goes by that Mom doesn't come into my mind, and make my heart hurt. Not many days have gone by that I haven't cried. Having my little guy William is the one thing that pushes me to smile every day. Mom told me to take him outside as much as I can, don't let him just play video games when he's older, and hug and kiss him everyday - so that is what I do. In 2014, I found out I was expecting, in April 2015. Again, I cried that the one person (besides my husband) that I wanted to tell first, was not there anymore. But I am reminding myself that she already knows, and that she is super excited for us and is telling me not to be upset but be very happy and look forward to the new bundle of joy coming to join our family.

I know that grief and loss is not something you get over, but something you live around and adapt to. You grow around it, you become someone maybe a little different than you were before. This is all coming to be a strong realisation for me as I just passed the one year anniversary of my Mother's death, and as I spent my first real holiday season without her. I kiss my family and hug them all the time. I love deeply and put more effort into things I feel are important, including a lot of things that I deemed to be "little things" before but are now finding to be the "big things". I shrug off the things I can not control and do not let them get the best of me, because if you can't control it then it isn't worth the worry - what will happen will happen and what will be will be. This can be a challenging outlook when life gives you lemons, but remember that there are always people who love you, and you just need to take time for re-balance yourself. You never know how much time you have for yourself or anyone you care for in your life, so be present. Live the moment as positively as you can, because it can all be gone in the next. Whether work gets you down, you're fighting with your best friend, partner or spouse, your child is throwing a tantrum, your car breaks down...whatever it is...it can always be worse so stay positive and look forward with your head up because good stuff is coming to you eventually. Hug your family, show them you care the best way you can and life will be full for you; I know I will.

School Year Start Up: How to Get Through It

2014-09-18T15:59:00.000-06:00

School Year Start Up: How to Get Through Why does the beginning of the year fly by? I wouldn't always say it is because we are having fun...yet I wouldn't always say it is because we aren't having fun either. Oh "school year start up", how we dread you as you approach, how we don't sleep well the night before, and how we feel so exhausted after you happen. Some things never seem to change. I can be over-prepared to the point of having the first month completely planned, or wing it for the first two weeks, it doesn't matter. I seem to hit a wall at some point anyway. Here is the wall: exhaustion!

Exhaustion not from the students themselves, they are usually still pretty happy to be at school and are not complaining too much at this point, but exhaustion from being torn in fifty directions. I live in a rural community and my family is involved in agriculture. As you can imagine, life in my house from the months of August-November are just insanely busy. My husband is extremely busy and I end up running my household as almost a single parent during these months. I'm sure you can imagine (if you don't have children) just how fun and simple that would be (those of you who do can likely relate well). But looking back I do recall school start up to be a thorn in my side from teaching year one. As I am entering my 8th year of teaching I hate to admit out loud but it isn't getting any easier (sorry new teachers, it's the truth).

The question then becomes how the heck can we fix this? How can we manage work, kids (if applicable), house, lawn, personal maintenance, exercise and general health? Oh the answer is easy, quit! Ok, just kidding (sort of). A person needs to really get a handle on the things that matter the most. Does tomorrow's laundry need to be done? Yes. Does getting a turkey for thanksgiving need to be done in September? No. Do you need to feed yourself (and family or kids) a healthy meal every single day? It would be nice to be healthy every day but the reality is "lets just eat food" most days.
To summarize, pick you battles. Choose where you attention really needs to be that day and what matters the most right now. The rest will fall into place. Let's face it, we can all multi-task when we need to and as we need to, the things on our list will get done. Put your feet up tonight because school start up days are winding down and it is time to settle in for the long haul. Enjoy your night

My life has changed....Google Docs are GENIUS

2014-05-06T10:45:00.000-06:00

I have been using Google Docs for years...I obviously have not been using them to their full potential! Wow. It is funny how you can miss things that are right under your nose.

Google Docs
You can research the words you write by clicking on the tools menu and choosing research. You can then cite your source! And choose the format for citing. OH MY GOSH! GENIUS! My students will LOVE me again!

This begs a bigger question....what ELSE do I not know about Google Docs?

SHARE IT WITH ME by Commenting on this post!!

Technology and Revival iTSummit14 -Keynote Day2

2014-05-06T09:59:00.001-06:00

Technology and Revival

R.Hurley iT Summit - Keynote Day 2 - May 6/14

What really matters is the nature of conversations. What types of conversations are you having in your staff room? People need to focus on positive things, and find common ground. That is how revival will happen.

Find the fun.
If you didn't think you need fun, then you definitely NEED fun!
Use your imagination. We always remember the teachers from our own years in school, who had fun. We need to inspire kids with our joy.

If school is predictable, then it CAN be boring. If we change things, it CAN be different. It can be better and more inspiring.

Neat Video
LEARN by Rick Mereki on Vimeo
Learning comes from risk taking
You don't need to be in a school to learn
Powerful learning can be from doing something physical
Self-direction and authenticity

GENIUS - Google Search
filetype: ppt
All results will be a powerpoint
filetype: pdf
All results will be a pdf

nextvista.org/resources

If you think about the moments of learning you remember. What was happening? Change the way you are teaching. Instead of 'more time', we need more 'good' time.

Caine's Arcade
A cardboard arcade made by a 9 year old boy.
Try the cool ideas. Get in the space and try it!

Every teacher should do one good PR assignment for your school each year. When kids have an audience for their work, they do better. Have them get into their community and make a difference, and reach their potential.

Will Richardson - Book:Why School?

My Name is Michael - Video about a child with Autism - from his perspective. Inspiring, touching.

Discovery Education Notes/Ideas - Good to know...

2014-05-05T11:17:00.004-06:00

Dean Shareski - DEN Presentation - iT Summit 2014 - May 5

Planet Earth, North America, Life, Frozen Planet - All parts of Discovery
All of these are aligned to Saskatchewan Curriculum. The content is in your service the next day after it airs on Discovery Channel.
3 Ideas: Great Instruction, Students, Community

GREAT INSTRUCTION
Wealth of information on discoveryeducation.ca
Curriculum Standards Search. Choose Saskatchewan, and then search subject areas and they will show you the aligned resources/media to the specific indicators! Awesome!
Not all resources will work in every classroom, but it allows you to see things that COULD work for you, and don't limit you. Add to your "My Content" folder.

H.264 300K - Download videos on this setting so that it will play on any device! Good to know!

Teacher Centre - Interactive Atlas - Turning content into interactive media. You can hover over any area (ie Saskatchewan), click the province/territory and videos will pop up about that area.
SOS - Spotlight on Strategies
Move past just watching a video. Try to engage students and take that video watching further. A-E-I-O-U weekly digital media strategy. DEN blog - Educator Network

STUDENTS
Differentiated Instruction You can assign videos to specific students in your class. When the student logs in, they can see the "assignment" you have given them (such as watching a video, doing an activity, etc.)
My DE for Students aka. The Student Center
Put some ownership on students to help find resources for the concept you are learning.
TECHBOOK
K-8 Science replacement for a textbook. - maps out a lesson, gives the objectives under the model lesson.
Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate tabs
Students can have access as well as the teacher. It is designed to work for both teachers and for students, no matter how your classroom is set up; whether you want to stand and teach or have kids take the learning into their own hands. The lesson/notes can even be read aloud!
login.discoveryeducation.ca/?TECHBOOK=1
- can do a free trial for 30 days. Can buy it after.

COMMUNITY
Builder Tools
Board Builder - Mix between Pinterest and Glogster. Add notes and videos. You can have students make their own or you make the board. Make sure it gets shared - and give feedback.
SHARE!!!! Build a community on Discovery Education. Share with the DE Community.
Discover Education - Educator Network
Creates a large impact when you engage on Professional Learning Communities

Get Interested!!! iTSummit14 R.Hurley-Keynote May 5

2014-05-05T09:55:00.005-06:00

R. Hurley - Keynote iT Summit 2014 - May 5

Don't let the steps stop you from following and finding the broader process. Everyone likes to follow steps with tools but it doesn't help students.

AUDIO
Audacity Ideas - From todaysmeet.com/RHSK

Podcasts for teaching persuasive writing- creating 'hot topic' radio style talk shows

Audacity-fractured fairy tales picture book. Record voice parts and change for each character. Use PowerPoint to display.

Made news articles about Macbeth/R+J/Hamlet

Used audacity for Foley recording (record sound effects for video production)

Soundation is free online software where students can create their own songs. We then imported the songs into audacity

I have been using Mobile devices to collect sound files with the kids. Then editing using audacity.

Storyrobe is a great app for using audio with a digital photo story.

Use Audacity to record a seasonal poem or song and add sound effects for interest.

Ex. "'Twas the Night Before Christmas"

Audacity linked to Inspiration webs

Radio Advertisements

IMAGES
Flickr
Not always wanting to hear the 'right' answer, make sure students are given the chance to share without consequence and keep them asking questions to be engaged, and not worried about other students' reactions.
Images are a way to connect without words. Show them INTERESTING things to think about - i.e. bicycle herding camels. It is as simple as choosing a topic like bicycles and finding neat/unique images to create a neat dialogue.
Find legal images: search.creativecommons.org
Cite sources with images as well as their information
tinyurl.com/NVcitingsources
From Today's Meet Participants:
Key concepts of intellectual property: http://mediasmarts.ca/intellectual-property/intellectual-property-key-concepts
Grabbing copyright friendly
images.http://nextvista.org/projects/Project-Citing_Copyright-Friendly_Media_from_Online.pdf
Fair Dealing for media education: http://mediasmarts.ca/intellectual-property/fair-dealing-media-education

SLIDESHOW VIDEOS
Narrable.com
VERY COOL--call to record - the kids can enter their phone number, it calls them and they can record their voice through their phone
"Narrable ... to engage students and to draw out important higher order thinking skills." It's not the tool, it's the application.-Alan Stange(from today's meet)
ex: voiceover of sports commentating, kidsnippits, record a conversation from a photo of historical figures in a meeting possibly discussing world decision (ex: Winston Churchill, Stalin, etc), narrate students critiques, "Bad lip reading" - http://bit.ly/1mvdEF5 watch this video later! a sample of bad lip reading videos! Very entertaining!
Teachers want the video to be good, but students want it to be "good enough". If you tell them that others will be watching it (audience), then students typically put in more effort.
Give them a 45 second time limit. If they want more, tell them to show you the script. Up it to a minute and a half. Go from there.
Implementing a Video Project
-time frame
-script
-audience
-poster option (they won't want to)
-partners
-time limits
-other rules (no violence!)
-links
Fostering Quality
-Look at other student projects ex) tinyurl.com/NVcareers No matter what your project is about, show them some other student examples and they will know what they like and what they don't like (strengths and areas for improvement) - how can these things be fixed - different approaches

"Am I done yet?" - want to hear "How can I make it better?" Make it a contest!!!Send feeback to the students

Great presentation - lots to learn no matter how long you've been teaching, what you teach, how old you are, how young you are, or a number of other factors. Keep trying new things!!!

WHY do we need balance?

2014-04-01T11:46:00.003-06:00

At least once a year I find myself writing about balance. Of course that doesn't mean I only feel the need to talk about it once because it only bothers me once a year. No, no. In fact, I find balance to be an ongoing struggle in my life (as it is with most people). I tend to have to stop what I'm overloaded with, just to write this post! I have previously written about HOW to balance your life, but what I'd like to talk about now is WHY you should balance your life.

I've been through a lot personally in the last 6 months. I've had a couple of extreme heartbreaks and changes in my life and have had to adapt my life from those events. When faced with a death of a loved one for example, your life changes very drastically. Many times people struggle to find balance again after what they've just experienced. You would have shifted your priorities to the situation you were dealing with, and then suddenly it is over, and it's the aftermath you need to deal with now. How to do that is very much a personal answer and I would not assume I know how any one person would handle it. I told myself that if I let myself go, that I would never get out of bed. So, I pushed forward. COMMUNICATION is a big part of finding balance. I created time for things I enjoyed, I did some of those things, and most importantly I asked for help when I needed it. If I needed a night out, an evening of silence, a day of distraction, I asked for it. The reason is WHY. Why I needed to do those things was because again, if I let myself fall apart too drastically, I would have trouble coming back from it. I would miss any lesson that life was intending to give me and I would lose more than I could get back. Everyone needs to understand and acknowledge their limits, and finding balance is critical to that. I say critical because when you get overloaded with work, family, relationships, extra-curricular/hobbies, friends, or whatever it may be, it becomes a critical situation for people without even knowing it. Let me explain myself. I am feeling overwhelmed right now. I am coaching drama, am the yearbook advisor, grad advisor, and am a teacher helper for our Jr. Baker program. This is all in addition to report cards coming out on Friday, starting to teach Shakespeare in my ELA courses (which is always crazy busy), prepping for my 24 curriculum's that I am teaching this year, AND I have a husband and a 1 year old at home. This leaves NO TIME for myself.

This is the WHY!

This is why I need to balance. A person will start to feel like they are losing their minds if they don't get enough sleep, relaxation, and balance. If you're busy, you don't get those things and immediately you start to feel anxious, worried, nervous, frustrated, impatient and feel as though you are starting to spin out of control. For your health, if not for all the other people who love you in your life, should you try your best to cut back on things of less importance and re-arrange your priorities to allow yourself some more time for you, and for your loved ones. Work is important, and so is being helpful, but in the end all that matters is who you spend your time with and how fulfilled your life is with love.

I finished my report cards today (a day early), now I cut back my drama practices (to give myself and my students more time off), and I am picking up my little boy early from daycare so we can spend time together. You just need to make a choice to be happy, balanced, and make it all work for you. Do it, people will understand because you know what? Everyone has this problem, everyone gets that it is important to balance your life, and everyone knows WHY it is important. Better physical health and mental health equals increased productivity and a better work environment. Things from other areas of your life tend to seep into each other so do it for you, do it for them, do it for always.

Happy Balancing!

Smiling and Education

2014-02-28T10:07:00.001-06:00

When I started my career, it was very clear to me why I wanted to be a teacher. I really enjoyed showing people how to complete things, and loved to see the joy on their faces when they "got it" or when they completed a goal, whether that goal was a shop project, an essay 'finally', or just a concept that they had been having difficulty with. Above all else, I am a social person and truly found that getting to know the kids and seeing them everyday was the BEST part of my job.
You probably think I am leading up to saying something like, "it is not like that for me anymore". But you would be wrong. It IS like that for me, every day. Obviously it goes without saying that if it weren't for the kids, I wouldn't have a job. But it also should go without saying that it is the kids that can help make or break a teacher (in part). I have been fortunate enough to have been in 3 great schools and feel like I have seen some ups and downs but for the most part I can say that I still love the work I do.

Things start to get a bit irritating when I start to think or focus on the more difficult parts of my job, and that being the curriculum and some of the mandates that have come down on teachers lately. I am not saying kids are perfect 100% of the time, by far they are not, but that should be an expected understanding when you are a teacher. They have bad days (or weeks!), and so do I. It is being a problem-solver and knowing when to pick your battles that helps to work through those times. Back to my concern of mandates and teacher expectations, I foresee many teachers jumping ship into different career paths, and sooner than they should if they are new teachers, because of what is happening in the teaching profession. The unrealistic expectations being placed on teachers some days is really overwhelming for someone like me who has been teaching for 7 years, let alone a brand new teacher who has a new curriculum that doesn't have resources yet! How can you teach from a curriculum with no textbooks, or resources besides a list of 50 websites to sift through? Who has time for that? I sure don't! I can only imagine a new teacher who has just finished university, ready to take on the task at hand and feeling very incompetent because of the lack of support and/or resources to teach from. I sound like I am being harsh but I'm scared. I am worried and scared for my colleagues and myself. I am worried and scared for the kids we are teaching. What would happen if we said no? Of course most of us would never dream of doing that, but the question is there - what

if? I can be a "debbie downer" (wah wah) and I know others can too, but I'm trying to say that how that can make you feel, isn't healthy. There can be a better way if you try. You can be scared, it is allowed. It is all in how you deal with that fear or anxiety or frustration, that is all your choice. And I'm telling you to choose happiness.

Let me stay positive, because the last 6 months of my life has taught me a few things. What I've learned is that you need to take situations and change in stride. It can be the single most difficult thing when that change is unexpected, painful, annoying, challenging, confusing, frustrating or sad, but IF you don't take it all in stride, IF you don't choose to fight every battle, IF you choose to let it make your mood swing deeply one way or the other, you WILL sink. And sinking can be hard to deal with. The range of emotions that change brings in one's life is astounding, and when you're faced with daily issues in your work, it compounds on you often and easily transfers those bad emotions into the other aspects of your life such as your family, friends, recreation/hobbies and to your soul. Don't let it be you.
I will say something in closing that I'm sure you teachers can understand, and those of you that aren't teachers would probably be able to relate to in some fashion:
I am making a choice, daily, to come to school and be the best I can for the kids I see. I am making a choice to smile, to try and keep those kids smiling, and to encourage happiness in my classroom. I will not let "the man" get me down, although I will admit I have bad days like anyone about what's happening around me in education. I live for these kids in my job. I truly love seeing them and enjoy having conversations with them; they are like my own kids, or my own family. In a small school the culture is everything, and if I let things sink in too deep, I will drown. And you know what? You know who I am taking with me? Everyone who is in my life and everyone I see in a day, including those kids. Sounds like a lot of pressure; to keep everyone else from sinking. It really isn't when you think about it; do you care? If you do, you will keep smiling for yourself, and for your circle. I think I will teach a little longer this way....

"Start every day off with a smile, and get it over with" - W.C. Fields

Creative Writing with Rory's Story Cubes

2014-02-05T09:50:00.000-06:00

A Creative Writing Activity

I just used Rory's Story Cubes with my grade 12 students in ELA today. They are always complaining we have so much boring work, and they never get to do any fun things in class anymore including just writing. So, I was in Indigo last week and I came upon this little game called Rory's Story Cubes. Basically it is a little box that contains 9 cubes (die), and you roll them all. Each cube has a image on it and the random 9 things that are face up, you write a story linking all 9 together beginning with Once Upon A Time...
There are a few variations to the game and how you can play it. You can use it to create superheros, you can use it in groups of 3 and have them write a story together, or you can do it this way. I'm sure there are plenty more ways but these are 3 that are on their website. I love this game because it is not just for little kids, it can be used for older students as well. It spices up my classroom and anything that does that, I'm into. Check it out! It was only $10!
Did I mention there is also an APP for this???? - iTunes store!

Making Connections....huh?

2014-02-04T13:18:00.002-06:00

I started watching House of Cards on Netflix last night. I enjoy the fresh perspective given by the main character (who plays a governor in the US) when he looks directly into the camera and talks to the viewer during the show. It really makes connections to the audience (obviously!) when he speaks to you like you are now a part of the program. You become privy to the insider information, you are inside the character's head. Sometimes this makes the show more predictable, other times it shows you just how much you do not know a person. I try to encourage my students to make connections in all areas I teach to my students. Whether it be me telling them the connection ahead of time, or telling them to create connections to their audience in their own writing.
Students really do struggle a lot of the time with making connections. I find this to be an especially difficult problem in smaller communities. Now don't get me wrong - I LOVE teaching in a small community, I came from one and I went to school in one. But, the problem lies in lack of experience, and lack of knowledge of the outside world. We don't see as many socially or culturally diverse situations in a small community as someone would in a larger one. When (as they say on CHEERS), "everyone knows your name" (and your business usually), it becomes more difficult to have unknown and unexpected experiences. Daily lives are much the same and the students tend to stick to their 'bubble' of friends, hangout spot, activities or lack-of activity, without much change to the schedule. I encourage students to read non-fiction books, to read on the internet and to watch programs on television that isn't Gossip Girl (I know, that is so 5 years ago) or Family Guy. Even if they can make connections with fake characters in a tv show, or connect to a video game, I feel like I have succeeded. Sometimes they need to be pushed. Sometimes it needs to come from home first. If the parents are globally aware (ie watch, listen or read the news daily), or have been fortunate enough to travel, I find the student to be more able to make connections in learning. If the parents are not, then the modelling that should happen to make the student more aware, do not occur as readily/easily. It can happen - the student can be the one watching the news and being aware - but it doesn't happen often if it isn't a priority at home.
I digress.
Everyone wants to feel connected in some way, to some thing. HOW to create connections can be extremely difficult. It is difficult to teach, it is difficult to understand and it is difficult to do. I always tell my students to pretend they are talking out loud to their audience in their writing. How would YOU tell someone how YOU felt in that situation? How would YOU explain the hurt/anger/frustration/joy/happiness/wonder/ excitement of that character and/or what you just wrote about? Empathy is almost impossible to teach as a separate or isolated subject because mostly experience can teach you empathy. So when a student needs to put themselves in others' shoes and explain it, confusion typically happens. Do any of my readers have any good suggestions for teaching how to make connections? Let me know!

I'm Back!!!

2013-11-13T15:01:00.000-06:00

HELLO EVERYONE!
Here I sit at my teacher desk after a year's maternity leave, and I think to myself what has changed in a year? The answer is.....a lot. The students grow taller, many mature (a bit at least), and the coursework is changing as new curricula is introduced as well as being given some new teaching assignments for this year. Change can be good as well as bad, I'm sure you all know that, but in terms of teaching - change is constant and therefore needs to be taken in stride.
I will say that not all change in education is great, but teaching is a profession that requires you to think on your feet. And let me tell you something, after a year's absence - and I mean absence (I didn't read a thing related to school until a month before coming back), thinking on your feet and adapting to change can be painful and confusing. I love my new family, my little boy William is just the best thing I've ever done, but after a year of one-ended conversation with him, I was ready to have some adult interactions. I played a scrabble game in the summer and my head hurt all evening! It was time to come back.
I started looking at the new curricula that I was going to be teaching, I was reading new novels, creating lessons and units and I was suffering from some of the worst migraines I've ever had. My brain literally hurt. I've talked to other teachers, to gain some resources and some 'heads up" on ideas for teaching this new curricula but I was hit with a lot of "I am just as confused and frustrated as you are", which begs the question, what are we supposed to do as a teaching community to help out each other, if no one else is going to help us from the top-down? The answer? Technology.
Now technology has changed in a year, but not a lot. Not to an extent that a person couldn't catch up easily enough. We got some different computers in our school, and our marks now need to be done using a specific program but all in all, (at least at the school level), not much has changed. Technology though, is that island of hope we are all looking for when it comes to sharing resources. Of course face-to-face is great, and I'm still a firm believer in it, but technology is that enhancement, made to make our lives that much less hectic and simpler. I can hear some of you yelling "wait a minute!! Isn't technology the devil that makes us slaves to our computers and phones?" My response is this: technology is here. It is not going away. Join it, use it, or you will be left in the dust. With the ever growing social media, availability of smartphones, and inclusion of technology into our curricula, how else do you expect to be relevant to your students? I've kept up what I've needed to, now the next step is sharing. I need resources, these new curricula are empty of resources! Even the website dedicated to it, has no resources listed for many of the curriculum out there! So the task is to us teachers, to create, share and use technology to enhance our teaching. I'm back and I'm ready, are you???

"I've Been In Grade One.." by Little Miss Higgins featuring Nokomis School Students and Staff

2012-06-26T08:52:00.001-06:00

Here it is folks!
"I've Been In Grade One..."
By Little Miss Higgins featuring Nokomis School Students and Staff

NOKOMIS SCHOOL from Red Hat Studios on Vimeo.

iT Summit 2012 - My Notes; Go Ahead, Use It!

2012-05-08T11:53:00.000-06:00

iT Summit Conference 2012 Saskatoon, Sk
May 7th, 2012

Keynote Address
The Power of Networks: Why it Matters to Education
Alec Couros
My Notes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/12i690Hn1eltdnI5StTFANmGzF9vRaMIjjCocHGPdRt0/edit

Breakout Session
Classroom Instruction and Technology: Tools to Support Research-Based Strategies
L. Forrest, D. Benko
http://technoteaching.weebly.com/
Teaching With Technology - Website for teachers, looking at teaching strategies and tools to help support classrooms with technology integration

Breakout Session
Welcome to the Inquiry, Flipped, Tech-Embedded Classroom
Shelley Wright
My Notes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XRIck6fqCGHUgLqKoGGiXP1rwzFW75pFbTuwhBVpgjY/edit
Very inspirational!
@wrightsroom
shelleywright.wordpress.com
wright.shelley@ prairiesouth.ca

Breakout Session
Breaking Down Walls: Collaboration Across the Planet
Lori Zbaraschuk
https://mp.srsd119.ca/ITSummit/Collaboration - view her powerpoint here!

May 8th, 2012

Breakout Session
SMART Notebook 11
Trish Shynkaruk and Jason Orbaugh
My Notes: Including a lot of the new features that are coming out in Notebook 11 - AWESOME!!!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MUC_w7qZ8MyMWLlaScEmN60oU5pzrksBI0UOTKcfb6g/edit

Breakout Session In The Zone: Using Technology to Differentiate
W. James, C. Walter, J. Byershttp://schools.spsd.sk.ca/curriculum/techyteacher -Find the PPT here!

Why are you interested in technology? Why am I?!

2012-04-23T15:15:00.002-06:00

I sit here wondering how exactly it is that I came to be so interested in technology. I never really used to be when I was in high school or growing up, besides the odd fun game on our old computer at the farm like Oregon Trail or Simfarm. Boy do those games ever bring back memories! When I was in elementary/middle years, we had DOS and learned very basic programming (not sure I remember much of that now!), and it wasn't until I was in upper high school that we got "new" computers that dealt with some other formatting and basic MS Word. I caught on quite quickly and continued advancing in technology as my years went on.

I had to do a lot more work on computers in University as I went through the College of Education at the UofS, and with a major in PAA (Industrial Arts) and a minor in ELA, it became a part of my everyday life. Whether it was in IA with drafting in AutoCAD, machining programs, or writing essays and creating projects and presentations in my ELA courses, I was always using a computer for some form of technology. I guess you could say I just sort of got better at it as I got older and I continued to work on programs more and more. I would never have said that my life was always filled with top-notch technology and opportunities, but that my perseverance and dedication to doing well (and sometimes the 'easy way') with computers, helped me see the proverbial 'light' about technology in education.

Now I have a laptop , a projector, speakers,and a SMARTboard I cannot live without, and soon to be a classroom set of iPads that I am sure I won't be about to live without as well. Maybe it doesn't matter how I came to be where I am, but the more interesting question or discussion to have would be why I am where I am in terms of technology. Education is a living organism. I truly believe that. It is CONSTANTLY changing, as long as those teachers who really care about the meaning of education take the time to stay up to date. Whether it be the curriculum that guides the content, to the far reaches of teaching styles and content delivery. Teachers have a wide-ranging job, more than a lot of other professions in my opinion. In saying that, it is also our job to try to stay on top of some trends and innovative teaching, which typically means with TECHNOLOGY! I must say that if I needed to pinpoint why my teaching style involves a lot of technology I guess I could say it is because of the students and their need for inspiration, engagement and advancement, but I might by lying if I said that was the only reason. Ultimately, with all these extra things put on teachers plates today, I use technology (and am interested in it), because it makes my job a whole lot EASIER!
What about you? Comment and let's talk.

Little Miss Higgins records new song at school!

2012-03-20T15:04:00.000-06:00

The students and staff of my school had the opportunity to be part of a great and unique experience when Jolene Higgins of the band Little Miss Higgins, came to the school on Thursday, March 15^th to record their new song! Setting up a home-made recording studio in a classroom, and along with a local recording engineering student Lisa Bart as recording engineer, Jolene and her helpers created an environment that was ready for some fantastic singing! The students and staff took part in the singing of the chorus and Lisa says she was able to get a lot of great recorded takes from the session. There were also a number of student soloists helping out Little Miss Higgins with the song, as well as our principal! A great time was had by everyone in the school and it was exciting for the students to get to see and hear the sneak peek of the new song, as well as allowing them the chance to be part of the recording of a new tune by Little Miss Higgins! How cool is that? Next up...video creation!

Texting/tweeting/facebook during meals?

2012-03-13T11:30:00.000-06:00

Whether it is texting, tweeting, facebooking, or any other social media usage on your phone, there may be a time and place for it, but it sure isn't at the dinner table!
I read an interesting article that talked about how Generation Y is changing social norms when it comes to using your cell phone at the dinner table. I have a problem with this when it really is a problem. You see I don't exactly have a problem with once in a while checking your phone if there is something important you're waiting to hear about or something but to have it sitting in your lap or in hands at all times at the dinner table is a whole other issue. A lot of times it seems these social media and technology is taking over our lives and controlling us, instead of us controlling it. This article stated that:
"Today, a study from The Hartman Group tells a much different story: around 29 per cent of respondents admitted to having used a social networking site while dining. If you zero in on Millennials (aka Generation Y), the scales tip even further. Nearly half of those polled said they’d used a phone, tablet, or laptop during a meal."
I have been on plenty of dinners with people, and I can tell you for certain that yes people sure do text during meals. I even told them to put their phone away at one point. Not all students, or adults for that matter however did text during the meal but had it out right before and right after sitting down. What can be so important that within 10 minutes as a teenager, you've received something of such critical importance that you needed to check your phone? The likely answer is absolutely nothing! Even as adults we are really guilty of not being good models to children about technology. This always just leads to a larger conversation but maybe that will be another post...
Oh I've heard them all, "My mom/dad/sister/brother is texting me!", "I just need to check this one thing...", "It's not my fault someone is texting me!", "I will only be one second..." and on and on.....blah blah blah blah blah. It seems as though young people do not get the social graces any more, such as how it may feel to that person sitting across from you when you whip out your phone when they're talking to you, or you're talking to them! I sure don't feel needed/wanted/appreciated when that happens to me!
Not only Generation Y....
I guess I need to admit that although this article focuses on Generation Y, the truth is that it is not only young people or teenagers who commit this error in judgement, the cell phones also lies in the hands of adults. Modelling is very important and especially in front of your own children. If you are a parent who brings the cell phone to the supper table and uses it constantly then you're likely the root of the problem here. The other issue comes from parents not only modelling but also from not standing up and saying something to their kids when they are doing it. Tell them no! Take the phone away. Make a statement and commitment that cell phones are best left elsewhere!
It used to be just taking a phone call during supper but this trend has now progressed into actually texting during meals and this just goes to show how face-to-face interactions are less and less important to people. The rudeness factor just jumped 3 fold!
Want a neat solution?
Some people are coming up with creative and unique ways to punish those who bring their phones out during meals.
The Phone Stack Game:"

Sick of people texting and talking on their cellphone during get-togethers at restaurants? A new game discourages such behaviour and can potentially cost the loser a lot of money."

The basic idea of the game is that you stack your phones on the table (you don't really have to stack it), and it starts right when you order your food. Once the food is ordered, you can not check your phone throughout the whole meal until everyone has paid and you're ready to leave. In this version by the kid who invented it, you pay for the whole meal (everyone's meal including your own) if you pick up your phone before the meal is done.
There can be a few adaptations, as this sync blog article goes on to describe such as:
"adopt this game at home if gadgets at the dinner table are an issue. Rather than needing to pay for the meal, the loser needs to do the dishes or some other undesirable chore."

This is maybe something to look into if you find yourself, or your company you choose to keep, having trouble staying off facebook, twitter or texting your friends during a meal. The consequences may be severe but probably worth it in the end.

What are your thoughts on all this?

What is a Leap Year? A great video to show students...

2012-02-29T10:20:00.001-06:00

Ever wonder what a leap year really is? I am teaching Social Studies 9 this year and our first unit is called Time. We learn about the Julian and Gregorian calendar, along with solstice and equinox, we dive into the world of time and how it came to be. The one thing that really interested the students though was the concept of leap year. I explained it, we read about it, we discussed it but here is a great learning tool....a youtube video that explains the concept really well. Simple language, use of drawings to help reinforce, and a fun approach equals a video of great instructional quality. I showed this to all my grade 9-12's today and I was actually a bit surprised by those who didn't really know about it fully or understand it before the video. Cheers to day 366 and Happy Leap Year Day!

Crunch Time vs. Quality Time

2012-02-17T13:41:00.004-06:00

I know this is a bit late but I wanted to come back to this post I started (and obviously became too busy to finish) at the end of January. The points remain valid to teachers so I thought I would share a food for thought that was floating around in my busy brain this year...

Teachers need to talk about this...
It is nearing the end of semester one and I am about 2 more weeks away from exams, and a switch to a new semester. During this time of year (every year it seems), I find myself wondering if I should be crunching all that undone material to my students or choosing a few key pieces and focusing on them more thoroughly. Seems to me that even veteran teachers come across this problem, and it doesn't just lie with new-10yr teachers. I think I find that a bit more comforting in that maybe I'm not doing such a terrible job and that possibly in reflecting like I am here on this post, that I am actually doing the right thing. It is the dialogue that needs to happen, talking about these sorts of concerns and then finding a bit of a common practice.

What do I do? What have I done in the past?
Hmmm.....Well for starters, I think this year finds me in a further behind spot than I have been in the past 5 years at this time in these courses. Possibly due to a number of factors that include new curriculum, student engagement issues (i.e. lots of boys in an ELA class who dislike ELA), spending more time on certain things than I did last year, and also I can not forget that some of this lies with me (the teacher). I am not naive enough to say that it isn't at all my fault that we are in this pickle, but that is not to say that I can control my whole learning environment and make students read, comprehend, or work faster because I want them to either. I can't even count on two hands, the number of classes that were taken away from me for things other than curriculum or education (in the traditional sense). We have missed lots and although this is a concern in and of itself, it leads me to the next question....

Crunch vs. Quality? End of Semester Concerns
Choose some of those really key pieces that need to be taught and focus your attention and time there with quality, or push through the rest of the curriculum pieces and hope for it to hit as many kids as possible....hmmm...concerns that are really trumping great education. The push from many different places makes delivering quality education difficult or at least more challenging than it ever used to be, creates unique learning environments when the end of semester is looming in the near future. I am not sure what anyone's real 'rule of thumb' is on this question, and it probably has a lot of factors that make this a not-straight-forward situation or example. How many kids, what age, which subject, what grade level, the kids themselves (attitude), your attitude, your experience, your administration, etc. can all affect how the students will respond to either you pushing forth crunch time or savouring the quality on a few pieces. Either way, whatever you choose in your situation, I vote that the teacher always makes the best possibly decision for their students, their class and for their own comfort level. Go for it, and don't let what other teachers decide affect your classroom and your own unique students because only the teacher knows best in this situation.

The Super Book of Web Tools

2012-02-17T13:30:00.001-06:00

This comprehensive tool-kit gives great web 2.0 learning and teaching resources to use with your students. It is separated according to elementary, middle years and high school grade levels, so this resource is really user-friendly and gives great descriptions of the tools.

Check it out, share it and use it!

http://issuu.com/ktenkely/docs/webtools?mode=a_p

Student Song-writing Experience with Little Miss Higgins

2012-02-10T15:09:00.001-06:00

Today we had a visit from the band Little Miss Higgins, who actually live in the community where I teach. Click on the song title if you want to hear a few of their songs such as "Bargain Shop Panties" or "Middle of Nowhere". They were here today sharing with us the song that was inspired and partially created by the students from my school! Jolene Higgins from Little Miss Higgins came out in December to work with the students from Kindergarten to Grade 12 about song-writing. She spent some time talking about her creative process and how she and her partner and guitar player Foy Taylor (David Mark), write songs. She wanted to write a song about the school and include the perspectives of the students themselves, so when she came to work with the kids we all were very excited.

Jolene gave the students 5 prompts, a few of them being 'what did you learn in school this week' and 'what is your favorite thing about the school' - they were told to just write down the first thing that came into their heads because that means the most to them and not to worry about sounding 'good' or being 'right'. It was the ultimate in free-writing because the students were making a connection to their lives without even realizing it! Jolene compiled all of the answers from all of the students in the school and took them with here to start her journey of writing this song.

She came to us explaining that she was done writing the song and that almost all of the lyrics (with exception of making it flow), were from the students' responses in the song-writing exercise. Jolene and David, along with Irv Fines on bass (another local musician, member of the party band Men Without Shame) and one of our own grade 11 students Cory Bart on drums, performed the song for the staff and students today in the gymnasium. In addition to just performing the song, Little Miss Higgins also had the students get involved and we all helped sing the chorus along with her. Her idea is to maybe use some of the process we did today with some students in the music recording and also in the video creation later on! How cool is that?!? I hope to get at least one of the videos put up here for you to see in the near future so stay tuned!

The kids were so inspired and excited to be part of such an amazing team of fun musicians. Thank you for sharing your talents with our future!

Investigative Study - Student-made Video

2011-12-20T13:18:00.000-06:00

My students finished their Investigative Study video! They had to investigate our school to see why it is so great and I think they did a fantastic job. Check it out and share comments below!

A Game of Hilarious Comparisons

2011-12-19T10:33:00.001-06:00

APPLES TO APPLES

It is kind of amazing to me, how little students retain sometimes. Especially when it comes to recalling that information back for a specific situation. I bring this up because as we wind down before Christmas break, I played a card game with my kids called Apples to Apples and I find myself explaining more than I feel that I should have to, to my senior students.
A Game of Hilarious Comparisons...
The game is based on green and red cards (just like apples). One player looks at a green card, which is an adjective, and shares it with the other players. The rest of the players then look at their hand of 7 red cards, which contain a noun, noun phrase or a gerund, from which they then choose which one of their red cards best matches the green card. The other players place the red cards face down for the person with the green card to pick up, read out loud, and ultimately choose which one they feel best fits the adjective. This game is hilarious as it states because everyone's opinion on what works best can vary (many times by a lot), making everyone laugh to no end.
There are some variations as to how to play the game and these can be fun after playing it a bunch of times with the same students, but for the most part each new session of the game is hilarious enough to entertain even the most shy or the most outspoken students.
Understanding...The BIGGEST Part of the Game...
The red card has clues on the bottom so that if you don't know the person, place, or thing on the card you can look down and read a small description to help you 'get it'. The problem being, many of these descriptions are meant to be puns or funny and are not always overly helpful to understand it unless you have some background knowledge.
Retention...Recalling...REMEMBER!
Students are expected to have some background knowledge, and much of that knowledge comes from reading, watching TV and the news and watching movies and things like that. The issues occur when students don't remember anything they've seen or read. It is the connections that are missing and it needs to be taught, how to recall information. I am not an expert by any means but I find that using visual clues in my mind helps, as well as acronyms and talking it out. It is not against the rules in the game to see if anyone playing knows what the red card means (or how to pronounce it for that matter!), but you can't say it if that card was yours. This is where sharing becomes a help and playing becomes more like a mind-game than anything else. Those who can bluff the best do well, unless you stay silent (which works as well).
Explain, Explain, Explain....
I spend a lot of time explaining to students what the red card means when no one else is getting it. I want them to learn, so I explain it in as great of detail as I know. Many times I connect the card to something I saw or read to see if the students can also make those connections and hopefully remember the red card explanation for next time. It is stunning how much TV or technology they view or work with everyday yet tend to not retain much of the information coming from them. Maybe it is stuck in the vaults in their minds and we need to give them skills to use the right key to access the vault of information. Either way, I absolutely love this game and every time I play it, the game tends to be a learning experience folded into fun which is the best way for students! If you've never played it, I suggest you just go out and buy it - it is the most fun you'll have in a long time. I play it with my family, my students, colleagues and anyone who's willing to!

Cheers to you, my lovely readers!Have a fantastic Christmas and/or holiday season! See you in the new year!

TES: An Xmas Writing/Role-Play Activity

2011-12-15T11:18:00.003-06:00

Christmas Writing...
I was rooting around on TES the other day looking for random writing activities to insert into my classes and lo-and-behold, I found a fun Christmas activity. Now, just so you know, I teach senior ELA which means grades 9-12 and to be honest, I do not do Christmas writing activities. It is time consuming and usually out of the theme of what we are working on. Senior ELA is so focused and full of outcomes to complete that there usually isn't time to work on holiday activities like there is the in the younger grades. But in this case, I will be making an exception!
Back to the the activity I found...
It is a bit morbid but quite fun, it is a Christmas Murder Mystery! The premise is that Santa Clause has been murdered! But who did it? What will happen to Christmas? - Each student is given a role to play (this is kind of like a dinner role-playing murder mystery game) with an explanation of what their details are. Students are then given a list of questions and must go around to the other characters and find out as much information as possible. After about 10 or so minutes, the students must work with the information they found out to come up with a written explanation of a plot and reveal the murder case and the guilty person (their opinion based on facts). There are clues that the teacher can give out randomly during the 10 minutes to help with the investigation. The teacher also has access to the solution to read to the students once they discuss their own plot revealing.
It is a fun little activity that gets students students interviewing, writing, moving around, acting and generally just having some interesting good times while using their critical thinking skills. I call that, a home run!
http://www.tes.co.uk/teaching-resource/Christmas-Murder-Mystery-6006393/
Sign up for a TES account for free - there are tons of resources for all grade levels - this site is out of the UK so for you senior teachers, it is KS3 or KS4 activities.

In Real Life - Finale Results

2011-12-15T10:31:00.001-06:00

Sydney didn't win first place but came in second on YTV's In Real Life! She may have not won that grand prize but she came home with a new tablet (awesome) and a sweet looking Storm watch. I was screaming and cheering at the TV on Monday when she got to fly those planes, what a site!
She had to cut through a roll of toilet paper with the propeller of the plane in one task, then the next task was to find the next plane in the hangar but with there being lots of similar looking buildings, it was fairly challenging. Sydney came through by being a farm girl and using her prior knowledge that the plane would have to be in a building with long/wide sliding doors and she actually found it right away while the two other boys took a long time figuring out where it was and how to get into the building. Sydney then had to fly an aerobatic plane which is a really neat thing because they had to perform tricks like rolls and loops! She did amazing and only lost out by 2 points!
I am super proud of her and know how this experience has changed her life. Congrats girl!