Connecting with Students Years Later

We channeled our inner 2nd grader for this picture!

Meet one of my many former students! I first met Sam in 2nd grade when I transferred to Marble Falls ISD in 2006. Sam was a bright eyed cutie that kept me on my toes with his wit and humor. I made a connection with Sam and his mother. Once Sam "graduated" from my classroom, I continued my friendship with his mother occasionally getting updates on his extracurricular activities, specifically football one of his passions, and his education career. As the years passed, I continued to form a tight bond with his mom, but as many teachers know you lose contact with your former students. Skip ahead 8 years as I'm walking through the hallway of the high school and who do I run into, Sam! This version of Sam is much taller, but still acknowledges me with the same 2nd grade smile. Little do I know that I would be visiting his classroom later that day to start a welding project with his class. When I introduced the project I made sure to point out that Sam was one of my former students, which I'm pretty sure he didn't appreciate but that's what we do! 

As the welding project progressed,I continued to check on the class to check on progress and of course I made sure to check on Sam. He would happily tell me about his progress in the coolest way possible because his friends were watching. Little did he know I wasgetting updates from his mom about his project. The excitement that she had for the project was the same excitement I saw when Sam was a 2nd grader.

Here is a part of his mom's email from my Wiki Seat blog post:

Sam with his welding project! 

Jump ahead one more year and as I sit down to dinner with Sam's mom, I ask about his Junior year in high school and what he is currently working on. Sadly, she tells me he is lacking passion and desire now that football season is over. I see and hear the same thing from so many high school parents and immediately think of the 2nd grade Sam. How can I help Sam find that love of learning again and fast? Sam's mom tells me about his favorite class, construction trade, where he is looking to double block the next years because he enjoys it so much. I went home that night thinking about my former student and worried that his love of learning would soon be completely gone. 

As I drive to work the next day it dawns on me that I want a chicken coop and that Sam needs a project! I immediately text his mom and she thinks its a great idea but suggest that I contact him directly. After a few text Sam has agreed to build my coop, has contacted his teacher, and then asks me to contact his teacher to make a plan. 
As I walk into my campus I realize that 5 minutes of interaction with Sam has potentially changed his attitude and outlook for the day. I'm excited to see this project some to life and to publish the changes in Sam's life! 
Stay tuned....

Please stop using the iPad as a TV!

We've all been there, you sit down at a restaurant and see a 3 year old staring at an iPad screen. I of course casually glance at the screen hoping to see one of my favorite CREATION apps in use but no. The 3 year old is watching a cartoon or a movie. I've seen this so many times I want to scream.

Is it time to take movies off ipads? 

Let's all say it together..... YES!!! 

As a parent I know how difficult it is to have a peaceful dinner but I am tired of seeing children given a device as a TV. Kids have plenty of time in front of the tube, lets do something amazing with this device.

I have a crazy idea, let's start learning from our device. Has anyone been on Youtube lately? My daughter struggled to make her first bracelet using all of the million colorful bands laying around the house. I attempted to help her but I to lost patience. At this point I encouraged her to use her device to help solve this problem. After multiple how to videos, failures, and more attempts guess what..... we have now mastered making bracelets. And the cool thing about Youtube, she will never run out of bracelet designs to conquer, its a never ending resource for her.

Since I brought up Youtube lets continue with that resource. How many students/children do you know that feel confident presenting in front of their peers? Unfortunately that is a skill that is lacking in children due to many factors in our society. Let's us Youtube to give each child a voice and practice those presentation skills. You would be surprised how long it takes to make a perfect 30 second video but the impact that video has on their confidence once it is viewed is immeasurable. Encourage your kids/students to make a how to video, tell about their day, or just share how they feel. I have personally seen the impact of making videos in my own child, she stands a little taller in each video, spends time looking at camera angles, plans her script, and then edits the video for appropriate content. And guess what, their are free apps that help kids do this safely and securely.


I think this is a obvious one but their are apps for student to learn how to read. Who knew? Kids are sponges, download those free alphabet apps and let them learn their letters and sounds. In my opinion you can't start this process too early. If they can manipulate a device on their own, they can click on a letter and hear its sound. While you are working on those letters and sounds why not throw in a counting app or app that reads stories to your child. Exposure is everything, give that opportunity in a fun platform.

Lastly, have your child CREATE something with their iPad. Creativity is a skill that drops drastically from age 5 to adulthood. It almost completely goes away if not used on a regular basis. I consistently hear adults say that they are not creative. We are all creative you just have to practice the skill occasionally, kind of like riding a bike. Let that 3 year old take pictures with all the different camera settings, use a drawing app to draw (digital drawings take up way less space than the paper ones), use the whiteboard apps to "play teacher", create a video, just make something!!

I will warn you that creating equals noise, questions, and a million items on your camera roll. I think that is a small price to pay for the positive outcomes.

Here are some of the positives attributes a child can acquire through proper iPad use:

• Problem solving
• Accepting that failure is normal and how to overcome it
• Presentation skills
• Effectively communicating with others
• Research skills
• Self confidence
• Creativity
• A really, really great brain

Let's make a difference in kids lives, delete those movie watching apps and encourage deeper skills in our kids. Tell you child this is a creation device and show me what you can make. I think you will be surprised what they can do. 

TCEA 2015.... Make the best of your presentations

A year ago I set a professional goal to present at the annual TCEA ,Texas Computer Education Agency, conference. I have attended the convention numerous years and always thought that there would come a time for me to share my knowledge. I sent in three proposals to the agency and then waited months to see if they would "choose" me.
To my surprise they wanted me to present two different sessions, One based on a makers project and then another about changing attitudes about tech integration. I have a passion for the makers movement and quickly created my presentation, complete with pictures and even a physical sample.
The other presentation was a little more complicated and I drug my feet for a month trying to figure out the right angle to come from. Obviously I had a struggle and I overcame it, but I wanted a way for the audience to relate in a positive manner.
I bounced some ideas off my coworker and created a pretty lame slide presentation with some cheesy pictures. Yes, I know, death by power point. I justified it because adults should be able to pay attention better than kids.
Jump ahead to one hour before the presentation. It's 4:00 PM and I see people half asleep roaming around the convention center. I'm trying my hardest to get pumped up about the presentation but find myself trying to calculate when I will get home and how soon I can be in my pajamas. It then dawns on me that I am turning into one of those teachers. The ones you look at during workshops and they are either zoned out, on their phones, or staring at the ceiling. This was my chance to make a difference and make some teachers happy to be at the convention at 5 PM!

Here was my plan (Take in mind its 4:45):

1) Play some super cheesy music! Thank you Vanilla Ice and Spice Girls!
2) Make the audience feel important! Thank you to my camera on my phone!
3) Make the presentation interactive! Thank you Poll Everywhere!
4) Make a connection with the audience! Thank you to my theory of "keeping it real" and being "Honest Cari"!


It's go time and I let Vanilla Ice finish his famous Ice Ice Baby and then jump into the middle of the room and tell the teachers I need a favor. I need to prove to my coworkers that the room is full and that people really stay at TCEA until 5:00 PM! Everyone eagerly jumps up and takes a silly picture with me. I'm feeling like I woke up the audience and that they may pay attention.

Yeah!!! 

Next, I pull up the back channel and let them know that this session will not be beneficial unless they participate. I told them I don't want to stand up here and talk all night, they needed to have a voice. The back channel was a hit and people were sharing their struggles and commenting that they shared the same issues that I had. The back channel also allowed me to put a face with a name. Being able to see the person and looking at them in the eyes was huge! They knew I cared and wanted to personal address their issue. Lastly, I kept it real, I didn't sugar coat any of the difficult answers. I owned the fact that not all teachers were on board with tech integration but that we were getting there slowly but surely.
Did I do anything difficult and mind blowing in my presentation? No, but I did the things that help people feel important and engaged. If you are a teacher, principal, parent, or trainer you can easily do the four things mentioned above. Next time you attend a conference or prepare a presentation think about how to make your content engaging. Even the most mundane content can be fun, you just have to give it a fair chance!

Wiki Seat... One year later!

I know we all get busy and forget to finish our 3 part blog post. However I feel like the Maker in me prevented me from writing this last post for a good reason!
I presented my Wiki Seat experience in a session at TCEA a few hours ago and feel like this is best time to wrap up my 3 part blog post.
In review, I learned about the Wiki Seat one year ago at TCEA and found a way to make it happen at the our district High School welding class. The project was a success but it was not an easy process to even start, get kids excited about, or have kids finish but definitely worth all the effort.

At my presentation today the audience was small but interactive. I would rather have a small group of excited teachers than a room full of bored people looking at youtube. (Yes, I did that during a slow session today.)


Here is some of the feedback today via Twitter!

If that doesn't make you smile you need to go back and read it again! 

After reflecting for a year I am able to go back and analyze all the positive things that came out of the project. Students were engaged (even if they didn't want to admit it), students made a home/school connections, students surprised their teachers, and most importantly they FINISHED the project with pride. 

In closing, don't be afraid to share the cool things that you do. You never know who may read it, get inspired, and then run with it. 

Here is a link to my TCEA presentation! 

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/12tKNoFjM1y-w4MVHkEpQ_byWXsrk7gIFszvM-i3DcOU/edit?usp=sharing

I was NOT teacher of the year and that's okay!

This week  I sat through our yearly beginning of year Convocation. I watched as teachers were being commended and given the coveted title of TEACHER OF THE YEAR!!!
Now that I can no longer be nominated for this title I sat back and reflected what warrants a teacher of the year? Of course the students have to love him/her, they have good test scores, and they get along with all the staff. Sounds good right?
I started thinking about my first year of teaching way back in 2002 and how I secretly wanted to be teacher of year some day. I thought that would be the day I said, "I have made it in the teaching world!" As the years went by I volunteered for numerous committees, sat on the board for teacher organizations, and worked after school programs all in hopes of getting that big nomination.
The nomination did come around year 6 or 7 and sadly I felt zero excitement.
Why? I realized that I didn't need my peers to tell me I was doing a good job I needed it to show in my students!
Those of you that read this and know me well can agree that I don't always follow the rules. I don't break the rules but if I see an opportunity to make something happen I will not stop until it is accomplished. Some people call it stubbornness, I call it passion!
I may have not followed my team's lesson plans to a T, most likely I thought up a cool project that my students actually enjoyed. I may have not posted my TEKS exactly like everyone else, but my students still scored well on test. I may have not sat quietly in the back of a room during a meeting, instead I spoke up and suggested a new way to solve a problem. I may have given that problem student a different assignment so that he could be successful and that assignment may have been totally different than the other kids'. I may have called parents too often but they knew that I cared and that their child could do better. I may have volunteered my team mates and co-workers to help me plan crazy but fun fundraisers for the students.

And I may not have been labeled teacher of the year, ever.

However, a parent walking up to me 3 years after I had their child with tears in her eyes telling me that I was the reason her son is successful feels pretty good. Or the parent that says "You were the first teacher to ever call me from the school" feel pretty good. Or the co-worker that lovingly says "You are on crack you have so many ideas!" feels pretty good. Or the principal that emails me at the beginning of the year and ask me to make signs for all the new staff because she knows I will without question. Or watching the student who had her classmates speak for her at the beginning of the year successful stand up and give a speech in front of the class feels pretty good.
So as far as I am concerned I am happy to never be crowned Teacher of the Year! I would rather be known as teacher my students think about years after they have left my classroom.
So all of you teachers out there don't be upset if you don't get nominated or crowned Teacher of the Year this year, those moments will come when you least expect it and will leave a lasting impression on your heart!

Homework...Blah

As I sit here in my short 3 week summer I begin to wonder about the Fall and what my daughter will encounter in 3rd grade! I taught in a regular ed classroom for 10 years, in a variety of grade levels, and always wondered about homework. Yes, homework.

Here are a few questions that I always pondered...
1) Did the kids even care to finish their homework?
2) Were they getting anything out of their homework?
3) Did they remember anything from the school day that was reviewed in their homework?
4) Why do teachers call it a "homework packet"?  (I hated that name and refused to use it)
5) Did parents even look at their child's homework?
6) Should I even send homework home?


The answer to most of the questions above is NO! Homework was just another "thing" for the kids to forget at home and then for me to hound them about until Friday. I tried to be creative when I sent homework home and gave out prizes for kids that returned it early. I went the complete other direction and gave harsh punishments for late homework. But in reality the kids didn't get anything out of their homework and I didn't even grade it because the district I worked in had a no grading homework policy.

The real question is....Should homework being meaningful and dare I say FUN???? And the answer is a loud and strong YES!

This whole theory of meaningful homework really hit home with me this year with my own child. She would sit down knock out her "packet" on Monday night and then wait to turn it in on Friday. It was the typical spelling words three times, reading passage, and then some math worksheet. (You know you are guilty of the same crime.)

For the first couple of months my daughter would take care of her homework with ease. Then came November...The 8 year old comes home and says that she doesn't want to do her homework because it is not for a grade and it is boring. We now have a problem! I of course knew the homework policy and agreed with her about the boring aspect but we pushed through and got it done with lots of whining and persuasion.

As the months went on homework really started to become an issue. My kiddo that could sit down and knock it out in 20 minutes had to be persuaded to sit down on Thursday night to start her homework. I asked her what she wanted to do for homework and she said she wanted to research pigs and make a poster with QR codes. We sat at the computer together for 30 minutes with no whining, crying, or pouting. Dare I say she even smiled while doing homework.

It then occurred to me that homework needs to change. I'm not asking for an elaborate project every week (we all know that parents like to "help" a little too much when it comes to home projects). I wanted something meaningful for my daughter that gave her "choice".  Maybe practice the same skills but give the student the ability to be creative or inventive. Crazy idea I know!

I tried my hardest to push this issue but their came a point where I didn't want to push my daughters' teacher to far because I know overwhelming teaching can be. I sat back and reflected and knew that something would come to me in the future.

Jump ahead a few months and I am sitting in a conference listening to a speaker who tells the group that the word homework should not be used anymore. I was so excited because someone was on the anti-homework train with me. She encouraged us to assign missions instead of homework. I envisioned sending home 10 minute task that students could complete on their own or with minimal parent help. This form of homework would be fun and give you a quick snapshot into the students' head. I also envisioned students coming to school excited to share their completed missions and everyone having their missions completed. Of course the missions would take a little time to plan but I feel like the end products of the missions greatly outweigh the time spent planning.

I do hope that this blog post encourages teachers to think outside of the box and encourage you to make changes with your homework. Homework doesn't have to be mundane and boring. It can be creative, include higher ordered thinking, and be fun for students if you put forth a little effort and give students choice.

As you start planning your classroom for the fall think about missions. What are some missions that you want to see your kids complete? Would you rather complete a mission during inservice or fill out a worksheet?

The Amazing Wiki Seat (Part 2)

At this point I FINALLY had a teacher willing to participate in the Wiki Seat project/adventure with me and I was ready to dive in head first. I knew the initial introduction may be a little different and too open ended for most students. I prepared a short hand out with "guiding questions" to help facilitate brainstorming for the students.
The guiding questions included:

• What materials will you use? Will you use new materials, materials from other projects, or recyclable materials?

•  What additional materials will you need? Paint, fabric, etc.
• How much weight does your chair need to support?
• What is the purpose of your wiki seat? Chair, table, or something else?
• Would consumers want to purchase your seat? Are you designing your chair for a certain consumer group? 
• If a furniture designer wanted to reproduce your design how much would it cost to replicate? 

I made my copies and with my catalyst in hand prepared myself for 3 classes of high school students. (I just came from a 5th grade class so I figured the personalities were pretty much the same.)

Monday morning I walked into the welding classroom with anticipation that the students would love this project and would think it was a nice change from the normal class projects.
I gave my short spill about the background of the wiki seat and then passed out the guiding questions to help get the kids going.
This is the part that scared/disappointed me.....

I started getting questions and "the looks":

• What are we making? My response: A seat or other structure using this as your starting point.
• Can I see an example? My response: Yes, but don't you want to create something of your own.
• What are we suppose to be doing? My response: Use this catalyst to create a structure.(Sound familiar?)
• Do we have to do this? My response: (not appropriate for this blog)
• Do I have to fill out this whole sheet? My response: No, this is just to help you get ideas.
• The blank stare x 10! My response: In my head " Did I just miss something here?"

Blank stare??? Really, have we sucked all the creative juices out of students by the time they reach high school?? I taught in a classroom for 10 years, I am pretty sure I gave good instructions while still keeping the project open ended to allow for student creativity. Why weren't they getting it? Why were they still asking questions? Why weren't they collaborating with their neighbors and giving each high fives?

Then it dawned on me....the students were so use to step 1, step 2, step 3 assignments that they lost the ability to THINK!!! They were so use to questions with ABCD answers that they didn't know where to begin when it came to problem solving or creation.
I took a step back and started asking the students what they enjoyed doing when they were not a school. I soon discovered that I had a class with a football player, fishermen, music enthusiast, a gamer, a horse rider, a ping pong lover, and countless other unique students.
The juices startign flowing at this point and students started sketching designs for their wiki seats.

 As they started sketching their faces were lighting up. This project was now meaningful to them and they wanted to create something unique to their personalities.

You will see this finished design in my next blog post!

I really loved the tailgate design! I thought this was a great way to recycle used objects and use more than one wiki seat.  
At this point I started Tweeting the sketches to @WikiSeat in hopes to encourage more students to finish or at this point even begin sketching.

I particularly enjoyed watching this student sketch because he wanted his sketch perfect before I took a picture!

Fire pits were a popular item in the 3 classes!

After the students finished sketching they started to prepare their material list and calculate the cost of the metal they would need to complete their project. Many students realized quickly that the cost could be an issue and began thinking of items they had a home.
I  was feeling more confident about my decision to begin the project (at one point I thought about leaving after the first class and heading back to my office to hide.) . After the third class I convinced myself that the kids were going to "get it " eventually. It would just take time and patience.
The welding teacher and I decided that the students' first task would be to weld the catalyst and then take the wiki seat home to create their structure. I told the students that I would be back each week for the next 4 weeks to check on progress.

Stay tuned for the results of the project and parent feedback!