Ms. Wilson is absolutely one of the best teachers I have ever met. One of the traits that I love as a parent is her organization. Every student in Ms. Wilson’s class has an iPad. The way she integrates technology with organization for these students is top-notch. Maverick always has notes, and I can see his notes every night. If he has any problems that he is struggling with he can easily look back in his iPad at his saved notes.

“I take my lesson in SmartBoard and export to a pdf file. I attach the pdf file as an announcement in Google Classroom. The students open in Classroom and send to the app NeuAnnotate. They then take notes and work examples with me. The notes are then saved in either their Google Drive or iBooks – their choice.”

*Examples of what the notes Ms. Wilson send to the students before they annotate

this was a really great idea. They are using technology, but they are also helping one another out by designing study guides and tests for different grade levels.

I am in love with this lesson by Mrs. Abby Paben. This is her first year at WISD, and she brings a whole lot of awesomness. Her students love Nearpod. They love that they can see exactly what she is seeing on her screen. They also love that she is able to immediately see their corrections. Check out the following images. These are pictures of tweets that she dropped in Nearpod. Her students had to find the mistakes and make corrections. Not only did they look at incorrect tweets – they were able to look at correct sentences tweeted by none other than JJ Watt. After checking out celebrity tweets the students then corrected a few sentences that Mrs. Paben remotely sent them through the Nearpod app. I love Nearpod. If you are not familiar with it…you need to be!

*click on the pictures to make them larger

This is an infographic that I created to show you how to save your pictures in your Google Drive. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me via Twitter @daisyray215

Y’all know it is. So many demands. The list. The list rules my world. The time crunch. Many afternoons I get home and just crash and burn. No strength left to do the laundry or the dishes or take the kids to the park. Often the mundane tasks of just daily life can take a huge toll on us. We become whiney. We start to believe that everyone and everything is against us. We become joyless. We walk around with a puckered up face like we are eating a lemon. It is shameful to admit, but I get asked (a lot) why I have such a bad look on my face. I truly didn’t realize that I did, but I am guilty as charged. I think I am just in a constant mode of deep thought. I am checking off the ever-growing list in my mind while simultaneously trying to think of new ways to change the world, you know?!

Then this morning a bible verse reached out and smacked me upside the head. You know what I mean. That’s what God does to get our attention when we are focused on too many other things.

Matthew 10:8

“…freely you have received, freely give.”

And the conviction began. I instantly realized the state of selfishness that I often live in. How many times do I snap at people because I am stressed? How often do the people around me get the bottom of my barrel attitude? When I walk the halls of the school am I intentionally being a kind human being? Am I intentionally throwing joy around like confetti? Yikes.

When people push my buttons, step on that nerve, and just make me cranky…what is my reaction? How do I treat them? Do I disregard them and put my emotions and myself first? Yes, usually I do. However, Jesus said, “…freely you have received, freely give.” I am so underserving of everything he has given me, yet he gave. He gave freely. He gave regardless of how he felt day to day, and he did it without grumbling. He served the entire human race, always putting others first. He is looking down on us watching our every move. He doesn’t disregard us when we do the wrong thing or make a monumental mistake. He doesn’t give up on us. He is rooting for us. He isn’t rude or snide. He gives us another chance. HE is our biggest fan and our biggest cheerleader. This is one more reason why my prayer, my heart, my struggle is to be more like Jesus. Whether it is my family, my co-workers, the kids at school, or the babies in my AWANA group – please Jesus let me love them like you do. Don’t let me disregard them.

Life can be hard. It can be tiring. However, we were placed here to serve others. So serve joyfully. Kids deserve our best, and so do adults.

My challenge for myself –

The love that Jesus gives…freely give.

The grace that Jesus gives…freely give.

The mercy that Jesus gives…freely give.

The joy that Jesus gives…freely give.

The hope that Jesus gives…freely give.

The forgiveness that Jesus gives…freely give.

The patience that Jesus gives…freely give.

So, I have been quiet lately. Working harder than ever. Learning more than ever. The plan for the year was for Cherie and I to soak up every drop of knowledge that R.L. (builder & king of the Warren ISD technology movement) so kindly bequeathed upon us. Man, it was hard. Fast-paced and never ending. My brain hurt(s). He shook his head a lot at my lack of understanding (if you know him you are picturing this right now), but he had faith in me. He didn’t give up. He is absolutely one of the best mentors anyone could possibly have, and for that I am grateful. Most of this year I have been in survival mode with the words of Dori moving me along the way, “Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming.” Cherie and I have cried (a lot), we’ve laughed (a lot), we’ve failed (a lot), and we have learned (a lot). Through the past months there are four things that I have come to stand upon as truths and hope for the future of the Warren ISD Technology Department: R.L. built an amazing foundation for Warren ISD that will last for decades to come, Cherie can seriously figure out anything (genius level), I love to learn and get to learn new things every single day, and that the previous combination will ensure that Warren ISD will continue to grow in the area of technology.

One new endeavor that Cherie and I have been working endlessly on is a way to help teachers alleviate some of the stressors that come with having twenty students in a classroom with the world at their fingertips, which sometimes can be a good thing – and sometimes it can be a [bad] thing. Without using a bunch of technological jargon that makes me sound a lot more intelligent than I am – let me talk about our latest venture. We have purchased a management system for our school’s iPads called JAMF. In short, JAMF can help schools inventory, deploy, and secure each iPad that they have purchased with ease. We knew going into this project that it would be a huge undertaking. We also knew that it would be well worth it. Once we have completed the initial push the whole process of iPads will become smoother for us and for the teachers. When we decided to go ahead with JAMF we looked at the system from two points of view: the teachers and the students.

1.Teaches have a job to do, and they are incredibly passionate individuals that work hard and spend long hours planning out how to execute the perfect lesson for their students. Teachers are preparing future community members, doctors, engineers, etc. for a world that is in a constant state of change. We have TEKS and curriculum and testing and the list goes on and on. And more often than not, we feel like there just is not enough time in the day to get it all completed. Teachers need students to be focused on schoolwork during class time so that they can be successful; however, we gave the students iPads, which made them privy to social media and games and videos. Thus, taking their minds off of class work and on to more “interesting” subjects. Teachers need students to pay attention, so that they are able to prepare them for their future. After all, Snap Chatting the class period away won’t get you an A on an exam. The quote “There is a time and place for everything” rings true. A time to learn and a time to pin. A time to test and a time to “selfie.” I digress.

2. We want learning to be fun. We want to capture students’ attention. We want them to be creative, out of the box thinkers. So, we give them an iPad. We want them to WANT to use the iPad. We want the iPad to enhance their learning in a way that will prepare them for this crazy technology-driven world that we live in. We want learning to be at their fingertips. We do not want them to hate the iPad, so we (the tech department) are adamant that students do not lose their freedom per say. We don’t want to take their app store away, or their music, or their games. If we did then the iPad would merely be a textbook. They would not take ownership of the iPad. We want students to become good digital citizens. We want to teach students to make the right choices. We don’t want to make the right choices for them. So, we left the app store and the music and the social media. Because these things are not bad. They just need to be used (and taught) appropriately. Because “There is a time and a place for everything”.

So, the solution that we found is JAMF. This allows teachers to “Focus” students in on one thing at a time. If a teacher decides that students need to work in Google Slides for the class period then JAMF will allow this to happen. No straying to Instagram or Pinterest while you should be working on a project. However, when students leave that class and go to lunch, or home, or to the library they can then access their music and games and apps. They are free to dream big on Pinterest or design their dream country on Minecraft. It seems to be the perfect medium for teachers and students.

We are still working out the kinks and learning more about this program every single day. We are anticipating it to be a successful new component to the WISD Technology Initiative. We will certainly let you know.

Today I had the opportunity to go into a first grade classroom and work on a mini lesson with the class that incorporated technology. Ms. Reynolds had already introduced forming contractions to the class, so my goal was to bring a fun activity to reinforce this concept with her students. I came dressed as a doctor because doctors “fix” things, and we had words to fix. I wanted this lesson to be engaging to all types of learners. I wasn’t just going to bring technology because let’s be honest…technology doesn’t resonate with every student. So, I brought some cut outs, some little booklets, some stickers, and some technology. This way every type of learner was targeted throughout my mini lesson. I made some simple QR codes and taped them on an index card that had two words on it. The students had to form the two words into one. For example: I am  = I’m. When they scanned the QR code it gave them the correct contraction. This enabled the students to check their work before they wrote their word on the bandaid. The class was placed in little pods and worked together as groups to complete this project.

Each group had a broken heart, a “bandaid” for each student, markers, and iPads. The students looked at their words and tried to figure out the correct way to put them together. Then they scanned the QR code to check their answers. The next step was for the students to write their fixed word on their bandaid. They then put the heart back together by using the bandaids as stickers.

My point is that technology does not have to be some big to do in your class. It’s just a tool – like a marker, pen, or a sticker.

GUIDE TO SETTING UP YOUR COMPUTER

*This message has been RL approved

Walking into your classroom the first week of school and seeing a million cords everywhere can be pretty intimidating. I hope that this guide will help alleviate SOME of that stress. Don’t forget – email Cherie or myself if you need anything at all. Do not let this stress you out!!!

INTERNET

Ethernet Cable

Ethernet cables are used to hook up to the local area networks. You may have more than one of these cables in your classroom at the start of the year. One side of this cord will plug into the back of your computer, and the other side will plug into either a switch or the wall. Each computer requires an Ethernet cable.

Below is an example of a switch:

Above is an image of a VGA cord and a VGA port. VGA stands for Video Graphics Array. This transports video signals. We use VGA cords in the following ways:

• You will most likely have a VGA splitter that is black or a VGA switch that you will connect to the back of your computer
• You will then plug in VGA cord the VGA port on the wall (projector)
• You will then plug a VGA cord from your splitter to the ELMO

Below is a VGA Splitter:

Below is a VGA Switch:

Above is a USB cable. This is what the cord on the end of your mouse and keyboard look like. You will connect these cords into the back of your computer into the USB ports. This is also what one side of your iPad charging cord looks like. You can plug your iPad/iPhone into the USB port on your computer to sink data and save to “THE CLOUD”.

Above is a SMARTboard Cable

The above diagram shows you how to plug in your SMARTboard

This is what your SMARTboard cable looks like. It is a USB cord. The end that is square shaped plugs into the SMARTboard. The above diagram shows you where to look to attach the cord. The rectangular shaped ends plugs into a USB port on your computer.

*Images retrieved from www.kalvster.com

*Images retrieved from www.cables.com

Let me preface this blog by saying that I LOVE social media – when used correctly. There are tons of people that use it properly. Those people are modeling correct Digital Citizenship for children and adults all over, and for that I am thankful. Here is a conversation that I had to have with my 11-year-old son a few weeks ago. Maverick is a really good kid, and he hangs out with really good kids. But I am no fool. Pictures get taken, posted, skewed, and I am going to try and protect him from that as long as possible. The other day he asked me if he could get an Instagram account. Although I totally trust Maverick, and I feel that most of the pictures would be of Megatron, I had to tell him no. My number one reason is because I am not going to lie about his age. Instagram asks that you be 13 before you have an account. Maverick is not. I am not going to lie and say that he is 13, and I am not going to let him lie and say he is older. I told him this, and he totally understood. I also do not trust what other people are posting. He would potentially see things that an 11-year-old child does not need to be exposed to. You know that infamous hashtag? You never know where it is going to take you. I don’t want Maverick to type in something innocent that takes him to something- not innocent. This was an important conversation and moment for us as we were able to target Digital Citizenship, good morals and ethics, and Frank and I were able to give Maverick reasons that he wasn’t quite ready to navigate through social media. Although I am teaching Maverick daily about his Digital Footprint, as his mother I know that he cannot quite grasp how detrimental one wrong post or picture could be to his future. Instagram gets that, or they would not have made the age 13. As he grows and matures he will be put in situations where he has to make small decisions that could make a big impact. He will start to see how one wrong choice, even if it doesn’t seem like a big deal at the time, can change everything. These are conversations that we all need to be having with our children and our students. Internet sites like Google take snapshots of everything that you post. So, delete it all you want…but Google has it forever. Maybe it doesn’t seem like a big deal if Maverick posted something about a certain college “stinking”, but that one small post at age 11 could come back to haunt him later on in life. Let’s say he decides to go to that college and ends up in a competitive situation for a spot. The college WILL do a search of Maverick, and no matter how many years ago he posted that one little sentence, it WILL show up. Why would a college want someone talking bad about their school when they could choose a child that is saying positive things about their college? The same goes for students posting pictures of partying and other activities that maybe shouldn’t be publicized so freely. Extreme? I don’t think so. Why would a place of employment or a university want someone that is perceived as a partier when they could choose the person that looks like they will take things more seriously? People, the media – anyone can take a picture/situation and totally change the meaning of what was really happening. It is my job to teach my kids to be really careful when people are taking pictures, when people are “tagging” you in pictures, and when people are recording you. I love social media. I love being able to connect with people from all over and truly learn from them. It is my duty to model how to safely and successfully use social media for my kids and my students. Adults, they are watching us. They are looking to us for guidance. I challenge you to research the different apps that teenagers are using right now so that you will know what your child is involved in virtually. I challenge you to model how to properly use social media, and I challenge you to talk to your kids about this. We didn’t have to deal with this when we were children (thank goodness), but they do. If we don’t guide them then who will? Check out the following tips and apps that are circulating right now. Just remember, they are changing daily.

My number one tip to help your child when it comes to social media is to be proactive. Talk to them daily. Model the correct way to use these resources. And NEVER post anything that you would not want them to see. Show them how great social media can be when used correctly.

Here are the steps that a parent can take to prevent their children from downloading apps that are age restricted – or are supposed to be. Just like movies, apps have ratings. Kik is rated 17+ in the app store. If you use Apple products you can fix the App Rating restrictions on your devices to prevent your child from downloading apps that are not appropriate for them. Click here to find out how. You don’t have to do this every time. Once you have set it, as long as your child doesn’t have the password, you are good. If you use another device and do not know how to do this, shoot me an email and I will research it for you. When your child gets old enough, yes – let them know you can trust them and back off the restrictions, but for now we are the adult. Not their friend. Not cool at all. I cannot stress enough the importance of constantly talking about this topic together and the potential scenarios that could happen.

Kik – You are supposed to be of college age to use this app. Why? Because there is inappropriate content floating around on Kik. Kik is a free text messaging service. Why do you want a service to text message through when you can already text on your phone? Well, people that prey on small children love this. They find your child’s username and easily contact them. They can lie about their age, become their friend, ask to exchange pictures, then maybe addresses. You see where I am going with this. Your child can say that their username is private, but is anything really private? Most teens and tweens take snapshots of their Kik names (amongst other things) and then publicize to “follow” them on their other social media accounts. So, then someone can take a snap shot of that and repost it, and then so on and so on and so on. You never really know who is seeing your pictures and statuses. Your student may really believe they are “private” and safe, but it is up to us as adults to coach them on true Internet safety. This is a good chance to share with them different scenarios. Just Google Kik with your child and show them real life scenarios that have happened to other children/teenagers.

Ooovoo – These is a video app. Once again, I do not see any reason that my kids should be using this. The draw is that you can have up to 12 people on a video chat at once. That’s fun for kids, right? So, what could go wrong? Your child could see or hear something that they do not need to be exposed to. Your child could potentially say or do something that could go “viral” and follow them the rest of their life. Oh, that won’t happen to me? Just Google Justine Sacco.

ask.fm – This is the one I dislike the most. This is the perfect platform for bullies and pedophiles. First of all, a lot of parents do not know their child is even using this because you have to know their specific username. The claim to fame is that the app is anonymous, and kids can post what they want without others knowing that it’s them. Kids and strangers are asking questions that should not be asked. Example: Why are you ugly? You should kill yourself. That is so detrimental to tweens and teens. Even adults. To read more about ask.fm click here.

Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram – They all want you to be 13. They all save everything you post forever. Teach your children to choose their words and pictures wisely. How do they want to be perceived? These sites are easier to monitor what your children are posting, but you can never really monitor what they are seeing unless you are sitting right beside them the entire time. When my children start using these sites I will challenge them to “change the world” with their words. Show kindness and love instead of speaking hate.

Whisper Secret – Click here to instantly see why you do not want your children & teens accessing this site.

There are so many other apps and platforms that children and teenagers have access to on a daily basis. I could never list them all, but I promise to keep researching and staying on top of the current trends. I am obligated as a mother, a teacher, and an adult to be proactive when it comes to Digital Citizenship. It’s my job.