Tag: educator

Posted in Edublogs

Art, Poetry or Music

Posted on by Mrs. Ruiz

desert-749692_1920EduBlogsClub Prompt #18:

Prompt: Write a post that uses art, music, or poetry.

Write a poem or song, draw a picture, create a meme/gif. Get creative!

Or write a post that shares how you use art, poetry, or music in the classroom.

I love art, music and poetry. I remember the few classes I had in those categories over my K-16 career with much fondness. I wish I had received more formal training in those areas and that they had not been treated like fun “extras.” It’s that sentiment that has me rather hyper focused on the arts for my 7th grade son. He had expressed an interest in music from a young age. In my school district, students are not provided any music education until 4th grade. So I asked around and eventually my son ended up at a local university for their community school of music. There he spent a few years learning piano, which served to be an excellent foundation for him picking up other instruments as he got older, including saxophone, trombone, and guitar.

In elementary school I remember being so excited to be a part of the choir. I had wanted to learn how to play the oboe, but family finances prevented that from happening. I also remember enjoying dance, but again, money stood in the way of any extensive lessons. In middle school, I remember balking at home economics (it was the young feminist in me) and signed on for art. I enjoyed the class, but felt I was rather bad at it unfortunately. In high school, my interests turned more toward writing. I really enjoyed my English Composition and AP English classes. I recall enjoying the depth that we dove into various texts. Then during my undergraduate years I remember loving my humanities courses, especially art history and philosophy. It was in college when I finally became a published author, it was a poem I had written for our local literature publication. I could not find it in time to share with this post, but it had been called “La Gitanita” (the gypsy) a poem I wrote in both English and Spanish to represent both sides of my life experience.

There seemed to be little room in my life for art after that. I have to admit I rarely did art in my own classroom for a few reasons…one of the big ones being the fear that doing too much art would be frowned on as the connections to state standards wasn’t strong enough, and the other main reason being having to manage 30+ elementary students excited about art and doing whatever they wanted with the supplies instead of the intended task.

I wish my students would have just been allowed a time for art, just to explore and create, without having to be held accountable for standards. The maker movement makes me think that education is finally coming around to allowing students to just explore, without standards needing to be a major factor.  They key is being at a school with an administrator who supports student exploration. I was at a school like that, and I was allowing my students to explore. While my experiences with traditional art were not strong, my experiences with technology are. I soon realized I preferred my art creation digitally. I ran an after school Minecraft Club, and while I tried to focus the students in my club on activities, I found they just wanted to be free to explore and build. They produced art digitally in Minecraft, and that is not any less valuable than traditional manifestations of art.

This leads me into what the prompt actually asked for, a sharing of art. While I can’t paint or draw or sculpt, I don’t play an instrument, and only sing in the car with the music turned up so loud I can’t actually hear myself, I can take digital photography in a virtual world that I consider art.

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How does art manifest itself in your personal and/or professional life? Share with me in the comments below. 🙂

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Posted in Edublogs

Project Based Instruction

Posted on by Mrs. Ruiz

idea-1876658_1920EduBlogsClub Prompt #17:

Prompt: Write a post that discusses using problem-based or project-based learning in the classroom.

Have you had your students complete open-ended projects or answer open-ended questions? Share your experiences, lesson plans, student work, or reasons why you haven’t yet. We can’t wait to hear about it!

Project Based Learning (PBL) was just coming to my classroom when I left it to become a teacher on assignment. I had heard little bits about it and had purchased “PBL in the Elementary Grades: Step-by-Step Guidance, Tools and Tips for Standards-Focused K-5 Projects”. Since then I know some of my district leaders have attended PBL World and that our district plans on moving in the PBL direction. Aside from teachers doing it on their own, throughout the district, I have not seen an organized move in that direction. As a matter of fact, a small team of teachers and the principal of my previous school site went to PBL World this last round, and I must admit I was a bit jealous. I would have loved to have gone with them. I will have to check in with them to see how they have implemented PBL into the innovative work they do at their school.

I had never had the chance to dig much into the book I had purchased on PBL, due to my new position and my own studies, but it has been one of those things I really have wanted to dig into. I wish my position would allow me to learn it and coach teachers through it. I know if I was still in the classroom I would enjoy a instructional coach helping me implement it.

I listen to a lot of podcasts (as I have mentioned in other posts). PBL is a hot topic in education, so I am not at all surprised that I would have a PBL themed podcast in my listening lineup. It’s an 10 minute episode of the “10 Minute Teacher” by @coolcatteacher called “#146 Get Motivated to Do PBL Right #MotivationMonday”. Give it a listen. Are you looking for motivation to start PBL? Are you already doing PBL? Share your PBL experiences with me in the comments below. 🙂

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Posted in Edublogs

Tell A Story

Posted on by Mrs. Ruiz

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EduBlogsClub Prompt #16:

Prompt: Write a post that tells a story. 

Tell a story about a time in your career as an educator that you want to share. It can be a positive memory, a time you wish you could change the outcome, a student you remember, or just a class lesson you want to share.

(The following post was written as I was flying back from from Arizona. I had just completed my second and final residency week @ Grand Canyon University in mid June 2017.)

Hello, my name is…

“…Dr. Melanie Ruiz, and my area of expertise is online learning.”

That was how Dr. Mark Schmitz had us close our weeklong second residency. He warned my 16 classmates and I that he had a powerful 5 minute exercise that could bring us to tears. He walked us through 5 cleansing breaths, and then had us write our names on a blank sheet of paper. He instructed us to leave some space at the front of our names. I jokingly whispered to my neighbor “I want to put Dr. there!” Not to long after that Dr. Schmitz had us do exactly that. He then had us silently read our names with doctor in front 5 times. Then he had us introduce ourselves that way to our classmates and state our area of expertise. Then everyone in the room had their turn. He was right about the tears. I was not the only one tearing up a little at the idea of introducing myself this way. I have only ever referred to myself as Dr. Ruiz in jest. I have even repeatedly reminded my dad that I am not a doctor yet when he calls me Dr. Ruiz on Facebook.

“Hello, my name is Dr. Melanie Ruiz, and my area of expertise is online learning.”

I tried to hide the quiver in my voice when I said that out loud, but I know my classmates heard it. Even writing about it now brings tears to my eyes all over again. Dr. Schmitz encouraged each of us to keep the paper with our names on it and write more papers with our name written like that and post them all around us, to remind us that this is real and it is possible. This week of my second residency made me really understand the work ahead. My dissertation is not just an idea in my head, it is a very real and valid research project that will make me Dr. Melanie Ruiz and a scholarly writer.

I often think back to when I was a child and I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up. I remember only being able to think about being a lawyer or medical doctor, neither of which suited me. As an older child I loved reading and do to this day. I remember thinking about being a writer, a notion I dismissed when I figured there was no way I could make a living doing that. I had to be more practical. I went all the way to my bachelor’s degree not knowing what I really wanted to do. The topic of career guidance is a whole other issue I won’t go into here, but it amazes me how life works. I am sure my classmates at Grand Canyon University (a Christian university) would chalk it up to God (like Lynette – my Facebook feed is not complete without a “Love God! Love Fam!” post from her). Maybe it is God or the will of the universe.

After working in finance for 4 years and not seeing a future for myself, I knew I had to do something. So off to the bookstore I went, like I did anytime I had something that needed investigating. (The Internet was young in those days, so the library and bookstore were my favorite places.) I soon was taking a Meyers-Briggs assessment that told me I was an INFJ and of the careers that suited my personality writer and educator were among the top 5. Again I reminded myself that I could not earn a livable wage as a writer and dove headlong into teaching. I have never regretted that.

Over the years since then I have dabbled in writing, mainly in the form of blogging as well as through my virtual reality experiences. In 2014 I took my writing to the scholarly level by enrolling in my first online program with GCU, to earn my long desired second Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction: Educational Technology. It was over in a year and then I began to dabble with the idea of a doctorate. I had never wanted a doctorate before, I had never considered it. But there it was, a viable option. I looked at the higher ups in my district, many of them doctors and thought “I can do that too.”

So here I am in the middle of my online doctoral program and realizing that I am a writer and that me introducing myself as a doctor isn’t a joke.

The universe has a funny way of showing you the way, even if it takes decades. You just have to be open to seeing it.

What story do you want to tell? Share with me in the comments below. 🙂

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Posted in Edublogs

Assessments

Posted on by Mrs. Ruiz

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EduBlogsClub Prompt #15:

Prompt: Write a post that discusses “assessments.”

It can be your feelings on the accountability climate, informal assessments, assessing student projects, or anything else related to testing, feedback, and measuring learning.

Or maybe a good old-fashioned rant 🙂

I wonder how most teachers feel when they hear “assessment.” My first reaction was to think of the standardized state tests we all need to oversee our students taking as a way to be held accountable to state standards. I personally have mixed feelings on assessments. I do not believe one big standardized state test should be the end all be all snapshot of student achievement, and I feel like I am beginning to see a shift in that thinking, at least in California.

As I have previously mentioned, I am a part of the Career Technical Education (CTE) department of my school district. As many educators are aware, CTE is a big deal right now. It is getting a lot of attention as the focus nation wide is on college and career readiness. I forget where I first heard the following comment, but I agree with it completely: “college and career readiness” should really be “post secondary readiness” as the current naming still makes it sound like college for all. I understand the intent is that we are no longer tracking students into vocational programs or college prep programs, but we are working to prepare them for life after high school. That life after high school can go a number of ways, but it should be grounded in a student’s interests and passions coupled with economic realities.

Prior to being a teacher on assignment in the CTE Department, I was an elementary educator. It might seem strange to some to have an elementary educator in the CTE Department as CTE work tends to be associated with secondary students & secondary teachers, but the idea is that career readiness starts in the elementary grades with career awareness. While many elementary teachers wouldn’t call the career-related things they do CTE, they are.

WBL Continuum

(For a more detailed continuum click here: work_based_learning_continuum )

CTE has often been left out of the assessment equation, because as I said earlier, the success or failure of a school or a student was strictly tied only to the results of that one big state test at the end of the year. While I know that big state test is important, I never accepted it as the end all be all of my students’ success. You cannot accurately gauge a person on one big test. That is not a true snapshot of how that student is doing. Considering MANY factors is a much better way to assess student achievement.

The California Department of Eduction (CDE) has recently introduced a new way to assess students’ readiness for college and/or career:

College/Career Indicator Performance Levels

There are three levels that measure postsecondary preparedness in the College/Career Indicator (CCI):

  • Prepared
  • Approaching Prepared
  • Not Prepared

Prepared Level – Does the graduate meet at least 1 measure below?

High School Diploma and any one of the following:

  • Career Technical Education (CTE) Pathway Completion plus one of the following criteria:
    • Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments: At least a Level 3 “Standard Met” on ELA or Mathematics and at least a Level 2 “Standard Nearly Met” in the other subject area
    • One semester/two quarters of Dual Enrollment with passing grade (Academic/CTE subjects)
  • At least a Level 3 “Standard Met” on both ELA and Mathematics on Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments
  • Completion of two semesters/three quarters of Dual Enrollment with a passing grade (Academic and/or CTE subjects)
  • Passing Score on two Advanced Placement (AP) Exams or two International Baccalaureate (IB) Exams
  • Completion of courses that meet the University of California (UC) a-g criteria plus one of the following criteria:
    • CTE Pathway completion
    • Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments: At least a Level 3 “Standard Met” on ELA or Mathematics and at least a Level 2 “Standard Nearly Met” in the other subject area
    • One semester/two quarters of Dual Enrollment with passing grade (Academic/CTE subjects)
    • Passing score on one AP Exam OR on one IB Exam

Approaching Prepared Level – Does the graduate meet at least 1 measure below?

High School Diploma and any one of the following:

  • CTE Pathway completion
  • Scored at least Level 2 “Standard Nearly Met” on both ELA and Mathematics Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments
  • Completion of one semester/two quarters of Dual Enrollment with passing grade (Academic/CTE subjects)
  • Completion of courses that meet the UC a-g criteria

Not Prepared Level

Student did not meet any measure above or did not graduate, so considered NOT PREPARED

I am glad to see my state moving in a direction that considers multiple “indicators” related to student achievement. I recognize the value of assessment. It is necessary to making sure our instruction is meeting the needs of our students. What I object to is using one assessment as the final ruling on the level of success of my students.

What are your feelings on how we assess student achievement? How does your state assess student achievement? Share your thoughts with me in the comments below! 🙂

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Posted in Edublogs

Give It Away Now!

Posted on by Mrs. Ruiz

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EduBlogsClub Prompt #14:

Prompt: Write a post that includes a “giveaway,” whether that is a lesson, a PDF, or something else. 

Just make sure it is something you’ve created (preferably) or something you have the copyrights to share 🙂

Some ideas to get you started:

  • Write a post about the importance of sharing ideas to create better student outcomes for everyone.
  • Discuss times when you felt you did not want to share your ideas and why “giving away” this one is important.
  • Share a time someone used an idea without permission and why plagiarism in the real world matters.
  • What value do ideas have and why does giving them credit matter?

I wish I had something to give away. I spent a lot of time thinking about it, wracking my brain for anything I have created that I could possibly give away and I couldn’t come up with a thing. That made me wonder though, why don’t I have things to give away? I’ve been a teacher long enough, I should have things to give away. What it boiled down to for me is that I do a really good job of borrowing from here or there to create things for my students. Those mash-ups of resources are very specific to a task and not anything that I feel is worthy of giving away, though I would absolutely credit the sources they came from.

Teachers Pay Teachers always made me feel like I should have something cool to share like the teacher creators on that site. Something that other teachers would find useful. But I turned out to be more of a consumer on TpT than a creator. I think perhaps that has to do in part with thinking that whatever I have created is not worthy of sharing. I know that sounds like I have low self-esteem and I don’t, I just have very high standards for my work and I don’t want to put something up on TpT or even this post that is not something truly significant and unique. I am sure there are some reading this post that would argue that I might be judging my own work too harshly or that someone out there might find something I have created worthwhile, but I really just want to be sure that if I am sharing something in such a public forum, that it is of the highest standard and quality.

In speaking to the first point of the prompt,  (sharing ideas to create better student outcomes) I am reminded of the 3rd grade PLC I used to lead at my former school. Those meetings were rich with ideas on how we as a team were going to achieve our goals and continue to see our students perform at their best. Each one of us would come with our own unique ideas and we would mash them up into something usable for all of us. I created a number of things for my PLC, all things relevant to what we were doing, none of which I would want to post publicly.

Teachers are great at sharing ideas. I love that the Internet has maximized the sharing experience. I have learned about so many cool new tips and tricks that I have incorporated into my practice because of my virtual PLC.

This post definitely has me thinking about what I can share publicly going forward. As a teacher on assignment, my work presently is very specific to Career Technical Education, and once again I don’t feel I have anything to share, beyond cool websites.

Do you share your work publicly? Tell me about it in the comments below. 🙂

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Posted in Edublogs

The Pendulum

Posted on by Mrs. Ruiz

ball-1015283_1920EduBlogsClub Prompt #13:

Prompt: Write a post related to constant changes and the pendulum effect in education.

Some ideas to get you started:

  • Write a post about learning styles and your thoughts on the recent research suggesting they are an ineffective teaching/learning tool.
  • Discuss another topic where you have seen the pendulum shift in your time in education.
  • Share about a subject where you have changed your mind and describe why.
  • What is the next great pendulum shift you expect to happen over the next five years?

I just had a whole course in my doctoral program on educational paradigm shifts and the notorious pendulum. The class cited my most favorite educational thinker, Sir Ken Robinson. I had the pleasure of listening to him speak at an educational leadership conference a couple years ago and even had him “sign” the Kindle edition of one of his books for me! (I rarely buy “real” books anymore, preferring Kindle versions so I can add to the library I carry on my phone. The ability to whip out a book of mine on any interest at any moment is just too much power for me to pass up.)

Sir Ken

It was when I saw this video years ago that I felt validated in my thinking about our educational system. It put everything I had been feeling about education into a very precise and shareable format:

My class on the educational paradigm shifts also highlighted another of my favorite Sir Ken clips:

One of the most powerful articles I read when in this class was one I located by Yong Zhao called “A World at Risk: An Imperative for a Paradigm Shift to Cultivate 21st Century Learners.” In it he has the following very powerful quote:

If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the misguided policies that threaten democracy, turn American children into robotic test takers, narrow and homogenize our children’s education, encourage standardization instead of helping the needy children and stimulating innovation, value testing over teaching, and scapegoat teachers that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war. As it stands, we have allowed this to happen to ourselves. We have squandered the opportunities brought about by technology, ignored research evidence, and paid no attention to what the future needs. ‘We have, in effect, been committing an act of unthinking, unilateral educational disarmament’ (National Commission on Excellence in Education 1983, p.1).

Sir Ken Robinson and Yong Zhao are speaking my language. I have been in education for 17 years, I have seen the pendulum swing many times. However, I am not of the mindset that I am a victim of that pendulum. I am a firm believer in being the change I want to see in the world, and specifically in education. It may not be easy to be that change, but I can take steps to put myself in a position to help others who want to make big changes in education. I started making changes in my classroom, as many teachers do. As I have mentioned before, I aspire to be an administrator and am taking active steps to make that happen. I know what it feels like to work for administrators who want to change the way our children are educated and I want to add to those ranks. The more of us there are, the more change we can bring into our outdated educational system. We can work together to harness that pendulum and make it more of a spiral, taking the educational change that comes and building on it, always making education the best it can be for our children.

How do you react to the educational pendulum? Do you feel helpless and suffer through its swinging or do you feel you can make educational change?

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Posted in Edublogs

Embed Something

Posted on by Mrs. Ruiz

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EduBlogsClub Prompt #12:

Prompt: Write a post about any topic where you embed something.

That’s it! The topic is completely up to you, but we’d love to see your use of a tool or service that lets you embed.

If you really need a hint as to service that allows you to embed, here are just a few:

  • Animoto
  • Storify
  • Livebinders
  • Twitter (embed tweets or timelines)
  • Padlet
  • Voki
  • Voicethreads
  • AudioBoo
  • Soundcloud
  • Bitstrips
  • ToonDoo
  • Google Forms, Docs, and Slides
  • Prezi
  • ThingLink

The list above is a great one for tools that can be embedded. I have had some limited experience with some of them, so my approach to this post was to find out how each one of the tools on the list could be used on a website (or platform that allows for embedding).

ANIMOTO
I have used Animoto a little in the past, possibly for both personal and professional use. Not sure what Animoto is? Let me EMBED a YouTube video for you! 😉

STORIFY
This is a tool I had not heard of before and it sounds really cool! Not sure what it is? Here is a video of course!

Storify seems like a VERY cool tool I am eager to try out. I will have to embed one of those in a future post.

LIVEBINDERS
This is another tool I had not used before, though I had heard of it. Of course I looked for a video on it that would explain it quickly to me:

It seems like a cool idea and one that I will have try out in the future post.

TWITTER
Part of me doesn’t think Twitter needs any introduction or explanation. I have had a Twitter account for many years and I know I can embed my tweets into the sidebar of my website (I have chosen not to). My Twitter account is both personal and professional, though for the longest time it was strictly professional. Then the 2016 elections happened and Twitter quickly became the place to get a lot of information quickly as well as a place to join the dialog. I have never used my Twitter account with students or directly in relation to my classroom unless it was to tweet out a post from my blog. So that made me curious…what are some ways educators are using twitter?
As a PLN:

Twitter Thoughts from Alec Curious:

PADLET
This is a tool I have used more as a participant than the creator. In my experience it has been used at staff developments and professional developments. I do enjoy the tool and had been looking for ways to incorporate it more into my classroom and even the workshops I deliver now.

VOKI
Talk about a throwback for me! Voki was a tool I was introduced to years ago when I first became a part of the Discovery Educator Network (where I learned the most about Web 2.0 tools and it rocked my world). I created a Voki, but beyond that I never really used it again.

VOICE THREAD
Another throwback! I also used Voice Thread ages ago and did use it with my class. The kids really enjoyed it. When I was searching out a good explanation of it I encountered an entire playlist by fellow #edublogsclub blogger Michelle Pacansky-Brock. She always does an amazing job in her videos so they are worth a watch for sure.

AUDIOBOO
Another cool tool I had not heard of! Here is a quick intro to it:

I really like how no account is required to use it. So students can simply use it without sharing any of their personal information.

SOUND CLOUD
I have actually used Sound Cloud before for my podcasting needs. Here is a video that shares some ways teachers use it:

BITSTRIPS
I am an avid user of my Bitmoji, and had made a Bitstrip or two in the past just to amuse myself and my family. When I went to look at Bitstrips again for this post it turns out it was taken offline over a year ago. 😦

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Don’t worry! Here is a video on how to use Bitmojis in your classroom!

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I am not shy about using my Bitmoji in various places and I would totally use it with students.

TOONDOO
This is another tool I had not heard of, but after some research it seems like the perfect tool to fill the void left by Bitstrips.

GOOGLE
Like Twitter, Google really needs no explanation in my opinion, at least not in this blog post. We don’t use Google products in my school district, but I know a great many do and entire training programs are dedicated to how to best use the Google family of tools to enhance education and student achievement. Google tools are the tool of choice for me personally and I have used it quite extensively to collaborate with people all around the globe.

PREZI
This is another tool that I have used in the past, but not so much anymore. It isn’t that its not a great tool, but more so about time and the immense variety of tools that exist to accomplish my various teacher tasks.

THINGLINK
The last tool on the list is one that I have heard more about lately, and have seen in action but never used myself. After watching the following video I was inspired to create a ThinkLink for a future post.

An interesting aside to all of this is that an article I was reading as a part of my dissertation research, actually listed some of these tools. The article is titled “Understanding the Roles of Families in Virtual Learning” by Rachel Currie-Rubin and Sean J. Smith. The article was relevant to me because my dissertation topic is K-12 online learning and also because I have recently enrolled my middle school son in an online school. The article lists Voice Thread, Animoto, and ToonDoo among its list of “technology-based solutions for social skill development.” Just struck me as an interesting happenstance…here I am catching up on blog posts and just so happened to read an article related to my dissertation that addresses some of the very same tools.

Anyway, I would love to hear how you use any of the tools above, or how you might be planning on using one now that you have read this post. Share your thoughts with me in the comments below! 🙂

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Posted in Edublogs

Giving Feedback

Posted on by Mrs. Ruiz

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EduBlogClub Prompt #10 was a catch up week and since I am already in catch up mode, here is Prompt #11:

Prompt: Write a post about giving feedback to students.

Some questions to jumpstart your thinking:

  • What is your favorite type of assignment upon which to comment? Why?
  • Do you have any tips to share on using rubrics, alternative assessments, or anything else related to feedback and grading work?
  • How do you balance constructive criticism and sensitive students?
  • How do students respond to your feedback? Do you have any thoughts about changes that could strengthen your feedback?
  • How do you give feedback “in the moment” during classroom activities? What are the most effective strategies you’ve used?

One of my favorite ways to give feedback when I was in the classroom was on a rubric. Given a specific task or project, I would develop a rubric and review it with my students. There were times I would even create the rubric with my students so we all had a clear understanding of what the assignment expectations were. I think making the rubric available beforehand (and even creating it with students) is a great way for students to prepare and be successful.

I would take the time to write notes on my students’ work and/or the rubric. My notes contained both praise for what they had done well (and I always found something they had done well) and feedback on what needed improvement. I would talk to the students individually as well, which of course took a good deal of time, so I had to be judicious on which assignments merited this sort of feedback.

If I had to do it over again, I would give audio feedback as well. I am currently in a doctoral program working toward my Ed.D in K-12 Educational Leadership. I recently was fortunate to have an expert in the field of online learning agree to be my content expert for my dissertation committee. I have been sending him parts of my work so far, and he has sent his feedback in the form of audio files, which are short little recordings no more than 5 or 6 minutes long. They are chock full of valuable feedback and in a way that makes immediate sense because I feel as if I am sitting down with him and he is telling me what he things of my work. It has been so powerful for me that I know if I were in the classroom again I would incorporate that into my feedback in some way. Especially with so much of the classroom being digital.

How do you give feedback to your students? What forms of feedback have you experienced that you have found powerful? Share your thoughts with me in the comments below! 🙂

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Posted in Edublogs

Popular Culture

Posted on by Mrs. Ruiz

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EduBlogsClub Prompt #9:

Prompt: Write a post about using popular culture in the classroom.

Some questions to jumpstart your thinking:

  • What kind of popular culture do you bring into the classroom? How do you use it?
  • Do you have any comic books or graphic novel favorites that you use for reading and textual analysis? Why do you choose those?
  • What are your favorite television shows or movies in your classes? Why do you find these helpful tools?
  • Do you have any favorite songs that you bring into your classroom? How have students responded to your music? Why do you bring in these pieces?

This December will mark 2 years since I left my elementary classroom to become a teacher on assignment in my district’s central office. There are several things I miss about working at a school site.  Two of the biggest ones are collaborating with other educators and working with students. Sure, I collaborate with a few other educators now and I work with students through periodic workshops, but neither is the same as being at school site with my own class. I am an aspiring administrator and I find myself looking forward to getting back to a school site in that capacity so I can engage with other educators and students in the ways I miss most.

One of the things I enjoyed about having my own class was getting to know my students and learning what they found interesting and cool. I always prided myself on staying up to date on pop culture, but there was always room for my students to educate me and I always enjoyed those conversations. Our day was so driven by standards and pacing guides that at one point I resurrected the concept of “Show & Tell.” I just wanted us to have some time one day a week at the end of the day to share our passions. It was wildly popular and it seemed like we never had time to hear from everyone in the detail they craved. In hindsight, I would make more time for that in my own classroom. It seems like a lot of teachers are making more time for that in their classrooms so that learning is more personalized and engaging. Genius Hour comes to mind. I had only heard of this after I left my classroom and it is something I would totally do if I was in the classroom again.

Now back to the topic at hand: pop culture! I always enjoyed playing music in my classroom. I enjoy a variety of genres, but not all are appropriate for the classroom so I kept that in mind. I am a longtime Pandora subscriber (and I am sure my students would tell me Spotify is where it’s at if I was in the classroom right now) and have always enjoyed the ability to create stations based on a musical genre, a musical artist or a particular song. I was thrilled to find that Pandora has stations specifically for children, and my go to station had always been Kidz Bop. I enjoyed playing music for my students so that I could introduce them to other musical genres and I would often mix up the stations to match the month’s national theme when possible. Over the years some students would make requests and I would always joke with them about how I am not DJ Ruiz and it was Pandora so I could not specifically play any given song (although now I think you can with an upgrade in the subscription). My playing music in the classroom also got a lot of conversations going about my students’ musical preferences. There was a heavy preference for rap (which I found surprising for grades 3-5, but clearly I was out of touch), which I know is one of those genres not fit for the classroom in many instances, but the conversations about what they were listening to was always lively and a great way to get to know my students a bit better.

What ways do you bring pop culture into your classroom? Share with me in the comments below! 🙂

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Posted in Edublogs

The Listicle

Posted on by Mrs. Ruiz

 

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EduBlogsClub Prompt #7:

Prompt: Write a listicle.

Some helpful notes:

  • Write about any topic at all that interests you
  • A list can be as short as 3 entries
  • Be helpful, make the list a resource your readers may want to bookmark and come back to
  • If you aren’t up for a list, write about lists, list keeping tools, or tools to embed lists
  • Marketing tests prove that putting a number in your title will often increase shares and clicks

Deciding what to make a listicle about was a challenge for me, but in the end I decided on making a short list on podcasts. My husband has been into podcasts for a a number of years and I only just warmed up to them about 2 years ago. I listen to all kinds of podcasts, but I thought the best ones to list for you here on my educator blog would be those I listen to for educational reasons.

  1. The Getting Smart Podcast “Where we unpack what is new and innovative about education” This podcast covers a variety of topics related to K-12 education. It consists of interviews with educators who specialize in different types of innovations in education.
  2. 10 Minute Teacher Podcast I have been a fan of Vicki Davis since I came across her on Twitter years ago. Her newest podcast is the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast and it strives to share innovative educational ideas with teachers in convenient 10 minute or less interviews with various types of educators. Its the perfect format for getting pitched ideas in a very brief amount of time. Perfect for busy teachers looking for new ideas.
  3. TED Radio Hour We all know TED Talks, and if you are anything like me, you just don’t have the time to sit down and watch full videos of them. One of my favorite podcasts is the TED Radio Hour because I get to take in amazing TED talks on a variety of subjects while driving, or working at my desk. While TED Talks are not always aimed at education, a great deal of them are and are incredibly powerful. This podcast is more than just the audio of TED Talks, but have a host who walks you through a topic and highlights a few TED Talks that all address the same issue. What’s cool is if there is a TED Talk on the show you want to hear in its entirety, you can easily access it online.

I have become a real podcast junkie over the last couple of years. I am always looking for podcasts on a variety of subjects. What are your favorite podcasts? Educational or otherwise? Share them with me in the comment section below! 🙂

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