This Chapter is Done!

Today is my last day of teaching for the year.  I have thought a lot about this past year and all it was.  This was a tough year professionally and personally.  Professionally speaking there was a lot on my plate (what teacher doesn't?) and I branched out with new ideas and projects.  Through all the insomnia and sweat, I am prepared to finish this year on a good note.  August sits just before me and I am truly excited about everything that I am working on for next year.  That's the funny part of teaching for me; I am so extremely exhausted at the end of the year but there is this small flame inside of me that is ready to start the next school year.  It is excitement mixed with ambivalence and uncertainty.  Last days are interesting.  I am ready to kick my shoes off, work in my garden and sip some cold beverages (of the adult variety) and just relax.  However there is a lot to tackle this summer in terms of lesson planning,  and writing my world history e-text.  That aside, I'm one happy person.

Fear Not...

I have always been scared of failure.  It is because of this that many of the wonderful things I want to do in life were never done because of that fear.  Here is a wonderful video that shows us that even with our continued string of failures, can come our most beautiful successes.  Never stop trying people!

TED Talks: Why we should never fear failure

A Master Juggler!

This time of year is always crazy; trying to get seniors graduated, keeping the learning with the juniors going till finals and working on ideas for next year.  Lately, I have been working on a ton of stuff for next year.  Twitter has been great in meeting other educators and getting ideas from them.  Trouble is, I only have so many hours during the day.  I am writing a world history e-text for my students to use for next year and this has been taking a lot of my time.  The possibilities I can create with this (if done correctly) can be endless.  Standard textbooks are typically a snooze-fest and really not helpful to students in connections to the real world or in just relaying the story to them.  Texts tend to talk down to students and not energize or excite them.  For me, I want it to be entertaining and yet, make it to where they get those "a-ha" moments.

Creating projects for next year has already begun as well.  My World History classes just finished an Xtranormal and Livebinder project in our classes and are presenting them.  They are no where near perfect (in terms of rubric and design) but the students did a great job in presenting content in their own unique style.  There was so much that I learned, that I did not know about.  When I learn from the kiddos, it makes it worth while for me.  Another thing I want to do with the kiddos next year are digital portfolios.  Students should have a sense of pride in what they create and have a place where they can not only demonstrate their learning, but show off what they did.

Starting this blog and keeping up with Google+ is something else I am spending time on to keep growing as an educator.  It's strange putting my thoughts down on this page, but I have always believed that reflection equals growth.  Hopefully other teachers will read this and maybe collaborate and share ideas with me.  I want to keep moving forward as a person and a teacher.  Can't go forward standing still!  Have a great day!

Cristina SkyBox

This is the blog from a lifelong learner (Ana Cristina) who truly cares about education.  Be prepared to be overwhelmed (in a good way) with tons of resources and posts!  I found out about her on Twitter and have been enjoying her posts every day since.  Spread the word!!

http://cristinaskybox.blogspot.com/p/for-educators.html

EdTech Livebinder

Here is a Livebinder full of EdTech that you and your students may find useful.  I'm still not done with it, but take it, change it and use it!

http://www.livebinders.com/edit/index/308552

Is this really Monday?

My first blog post....Now this is cool.  Hopefully I can keep an online journal of ideas and items on the web that interest me and I can share.  Here is a neat article about using technology to help ALL students learn:

http://www.educationnews.org/technology/google-apple-technologies-aiding-special-and-regular-ed/