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Thank You for 20 Years.

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After 20 years of teaching at Brookfield Central, I am saying goodbye. Although I spent the majority of that time in the physics classroom alongside my learners. That changed for my last 18 weeks. I ended up in a place similar to where I started, teaching chemistry and biology. So, rather than dealing with juniors and seniors at the end of their high school careers, I was in classrooms with freshmen and sophomores still trying to find their place. At the same time, I was learning and teaching a set curriculum I hadn't taught in over a decade. So, we were learning. But, of course, I already knew the content.  The point of this post is to take a step back, take in, and share the gratitude from the last students I had in my 20 years at Brookfield Central High School through the cards and notes they made for me on my last day with them.  I don't take many yay me moments. But after 20 years, I think I'll soak this one in.
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Best of InstructureCon: Episode II

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So, I finished watching the last of the 119 InstructureCon 2015 Sessions on YouTube today.  To be honest, I didn’t watch every single one beginning to end.  If I realized that the session had nothing to do with my current role as an instructor, I went to the next session.  What this meant was I didn’t watch many sessions about configuring Canvas to work with my SIS.  But, on many occasions, I was mesmerized by a the great presentations and realized by the end that I would never be doing any of this because I am not a tech integrator for my district.  It is very interesting to see how we all work together to make learning happen in the classroom. It's a side I don't get to see very often. In the end, it's wonderful to see passionate people talk about their passion for education. So, this will not be a trilogy of reports. In the end, these are the best videos from my perspective. I can't recommend highly enough that you go to YouTube and find the sessions that speak to your needs.
I can’t thank the Instructure team enough for making these sessions available online. I have learned so much over the last month watching these video.  More than that, they’ve inspired me to do more with the tools I have.  There are so many great ideas presented. I hope you are able to find one to use in your classroom.

Rock out with Groups
In this video, Shannon Hight gives a wonderful talk focused on groups in Canvas.  It has lots of great information for anyone from novice to expert.




 Developing Research Scholarship

Leslie Bofill provides excellent examples of how teachers can use Canvas to promote quality research from students.  As a teacher who is looking to improve digital and media literacy, this was a very useful talk.
1:1 BYOD Classroom Management
When schools discuss going 1:1, many times the focus is on the logistics of the roll-out.  Jason Thompson’s instructive session focuses on the change from a classroom teacher perspective through the lens of classroom management.  Great strategies and tips are presented.


Wicked Plan for Professional Development and Eat Your Own Dog Food

These two sessions provide some great ideas and models for rolling out Canvas to staff and how to support staff with quality  professional development for teachers at different levels of comfort with technology.







 Cool Lessons for Cool Kids
This is a fantastic session for teachers looking for inventive ways to use Canvas in their classrooms.  There is something for every level and discipline.





Tips and Tricks for Assignments, Assessments, and Student Feedback
Nathan Silvers presents his expert use of Canvas to create a paperless classroom. His innovative uses of the LMS and apps was truly inspiring for me.

 Flipping Woodshop

Jeremy Perkins provides a full view of how he has incorporated Canvas into his tech ed course. It’s a rich incorporation with videos and authentic assessment using outcomes with rubrics.  He also highlights his use of Magic Marker.




 Reduce, Re-Use, and Re-Commons: Content Sharing with Commons
Kate McGee provides a wonderful introduction to Canvas Commons in this session.



Humanizing online Instruction

Whitney Kilgore and Robin Bartoletti present an evidence and solution based view of how to keep students connected to each other in an online environment.  The session is full of great ideas and background knowledge.



Now, it's time to implement some of what I've learned. Looking forward to InstructureCon 2016.

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