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Showing posts with the label PLN

Thank You for 20 Years.

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.

A World of Learning in 2018

As 2018 comes to a close, I think of all of the great resources that have helped me reflect on and improve my practice. Although the year is over, I know these will continue to be wonderful resources to come back to in 2019 and beyond to continue growing. Ive inserted single slides so that the links would be live unlike a static image. So, please click on the names to access these amazing resources! Blogs Whether I read them on my phone or laptop, I always love reading the stories of bloggers. Blogs are the number one way I've grown my PLN starting with the first IMMOOC run by George Couros and Katie Martin back in the day. BTW I'm still looking for the best way to curate the blogs that I follow on a mobile device so that I can keep up to date rather than relying on bookmarks and email newsletters. Who's got a good tool for that? Presentations I was lucky enough to attend several conferences this year. I heard some great presentations and had lots of great ...

Thank You for Amplifying My Voice

Student Voice is a major buzzword in educational circles. A primary use of educational tools is to amplify student voice in the classroom and broadcast it to the world. As educators, I feel we need to not forget the importance of our voice. We all have stories and lessons we have learned. Just like a classroom can benefit from hearing the voice of every student, the educational community can benefit from hearing the voice of all educators and their experiences. I have been publishing this blog for 4 years now. It has been great for reflection. Although it doesn’t reach a very large audience, it has allowed my voice and story to reach others across the globe. This year, I have been extremely lucky to have my voice further amplified. But, it has not simply been due to technology. It has been due to a number of wonderful people who thought what I had to say could be of some benefit to a larger audience. I would like to take this opportunity to thank those individuals. It has probably...