Training Opportunities

Good morning colleagues! I hope you are having a rested weekend! I am up in Fort Collins visiting my in-laws and blogging in a great little coffee shop. Yesterday the Air Force Academy football team played against Colorado State (here in Fort Collins), so my father-in-law purchased tickets for us to go to the game. The weather turned out perfect, Air Force won, and I even got a little sunburn on my face in late October. Win, win, win!

I haven't blogged in three weeks, so I have many things to catch up on. But one thing that caught my interest this week is the free training opportunities that I've run into! I felt like I needed blog about how you can get more training, often for free, to become comfortable with technology or add a little innovation to your content!

I do, however, have to give a brief disclaimer. I am not teaching full-time, so I know that I have much more time available than my colleagues. Is it difficult to find time for training while also lesson planning, grading, having a life, and so on? Of course. So take this with a grain of salt.

Friday Institute: The North Carolina State College of Education provides free MOOC-Ed courses. I am currently working on a class called Coaching Digital Learning which is helping me learn how to more efficiently support others that I work with. I have a full week to work on a unit, and each block takes me about 3-4 hours. They open a new unit on Mondays, so if I want to wait until the weekend to work on the assignments, I can. They usually offer six-seven courses each "semester, " and they are not the same every time. These classes are worth looking into whether you are coaching or teaching (Note: I saw a Teaching Mathematics with Technology course that looks very interesting. Pass this on to any 1:1 math teachers in your building!)

EDpuzzle Coach Program: I am presenting "Flipped Learning with EDpuzzle" at the Colorado Google Summit next weekend. I've used EDpuzzle before, so as I'm designing my presentation, I stumble across this coaching program. WHAT?! So, of course, I'm intrigued and immediately sign-up. I have not finished the whole program, but I completed two modules, on Friday, in probably 20 minutes, and that was with students randomly asking me questions during a homeroom class where I have no students! It's an excellent way to learn more about using EDpuzzle in your class. I highly recommend EDpuzzle if you flip your content (using your own videos or not) or if you use Google Classroom!

Edcamps: I just missed an Edcamp yesterday in the Springs.

Sorry I missed #edcampcos yesterday because, you know, football. #goairforce pic.twitter.com/sM2VU23DD5

— Rachel Jeffrey (@historicalipad) October 29, 2017

Edcamps are a GREAT way to be introduced to new innovative ideas, tech or not. They are entirely free with great swag, conversations, and even lunch! Edcamps are called "unconferences" because there is no set schedule. The schedule is created on the spot by the attendees. Yes, you have to give up a Saturday, but you will walk away completely overwhelmed with a million ideas. Just go!

Apple Teacher: If you use Macbooks or iPads with (or without) your students on a regular basis, it is worth looking into Apple Teacher certification. It will take you less than two hours (as long as you're comfortable with the various applications), and you can learn some great lesson ideas through their free iBooks. Even if you don't complete the certification (which you should - you can complete it on your own time - one test a day!), the iBooks are free and are a great resource!

Google Training Center: It does cost money to get the actual Google Teacher certification, but their training center is completely free. You will get some great ideas, tips, and tricks for using Google apps in the classroom. The best training is to actually use the applications in class, but if you're hesitant, start with the training center. There is both beginner and advanced training with applications and even training for Chromebooks and becoming a trainer (a goal I have in the spring). And if you use technology often in the classroom, there is a course on digital citizenship to keep your students safe.

Have any other ideas for free training? Please leave a comment below! I love to hear about new ideas!!! But I do hope this inspires you to look into some free training in the coming weeks and months! Thanks for reading. I'll see you next week :)

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website

Stepping out of my comfort zone...

Good EVENING tribe!

When I started this day, I was completely unsure what I was going to blog about. It was a rough week, friends. I would imagine that each and every one of you (including me) had fires to put out this week. What I needed this weekend was to play catch-up; to grade and lesson plan. What I got instead was attending a conference down south for EdCamp Summit Colorado.

I've always enjoyed attending EdCamps. Whenever I leave, I usually feel overwhelmed with new ideas and thinking, but feel refreshed at the same time because I am around like-minded people. I am around my tribe, my people. So imagine, if you will, my genuine excitement for this weekend. I'm meeting new people, discussing ed and ed tech.

Then imagine my horror when this person walks up on the stage and talks about how he's from an improv group(ish). I had to do improv once for PD at Skyview, and I wanted to slit my throat. I am an introvert at heart and hate looking like a fool in front of anyone. I barely let myself look foolish in front of my close friends and family. It's a curse.

So then imagine my further horror when he tells us that we are doing a group presentation! We have to stand in front of the group, state a problem in education, find a solution, and create a call to action. We are split up into random groups of five where we have to create a Google Slides presentation in thirty minutes.

As we are getting these directions, I am looking for an exit. I am trying to figure out how I can quietly escape the area, hide in my hotel room, and cry myself to sleep. Improv is my personal version of hell, and I CANNOT ESCAPE!

I am incredibly lucky, though. I worked with a fabulous group of ladies. We are looking through the random images that we have to use when one teacher mentions that her students are bringing fart spray to her classroom. Apparently, they have farts in a can, and her students have been spraying this in her classroom. Anyone that teaches middle school knows that flatulence is already an issue, but this was icing. I had never heard this before!

So we think of how we can prevent farting in our classrooms, and find images that best represent our presentation. And we are LAUGHING hysterically. I am so grateful to those women because I was able to get in front of the group without worry. Our Google Slides presentation was hilarious.

The whole point of having Anthony Veneziale at EdCamp Summit was to get us out of our comfort zone, and boy did he do a good job with that! He provided some fascinating research that made me realize that I have to, HAVE to put myself out there. I cannot keep hiding because I have something important to offer my students, my colleagues, and the rest of the world. All of us cannot hide because we are all valuable. So my advice? Stop hiding in the dark.

It feels validated to be seen and heard, whether you are a student or an adult! #edcampSummitCO

— Rachel Jeffrey (@historicalipad) November 12, 2016

Thanks for reading! I'll see you next week :)

- Rachel
@historicalipad
My Teacherspayteachers website