How Twitter Makes Me a Better Educator

Twitter has changed my life in the past few months.  Not because I now know what this One Direction is the girls in my class keep talking about (I thought it was a religious group for a few days.) and not because I learned about horrible/awesome/train-wreck television experiences like a man tight-rope walking across the Grand Canyon or the special effects setback that was Sharknado.  The life-change brought about by Twitter is not even directly related to sports, although it has improved how I watch live sporting events.  Even better than all those things, Twitter has changed my life by connecting me to educational gurus from all over the world and making me a better teacher.

Any teacher will tell you that we are always looking for that next great lesson or a new idea for our classroom.  Even in the seven short years I have taught this has evolved from taking ideas from co-workers in the teacher's lounge to Googling "3rd grade lessons about area and perimeter" to now having the ability to learn every minute of every day from another teacher, principal, even district administrator from a neighboring district, or another state, or even Germany.  Seriously, when I got a follower who is a teacher from Germany, I almost threw a party.

My journey to becoming a Twitter addict began about 4 years ago.  I attended a session at an MSTA convention led by Eric Langhorst (@ELanghorst) in which I first heard the term "PLN" or Professional Learning Network.  In the session he talked about the power of connecting to teachers all over the world and I thought that sounded pretty cool.  So, I created a Twitter handle (@bmcd25 - hit me up, yo!) and decided to give it a try.  Within months I had...ten followers.  I just couldn't get into it.

A couple of years later, I attended a one-day seminar led by Kevin Honeycutt (@kevinhoneycutt) and he spoke about, among many other great educational technology tools, Twitter.  In fact, he sent out a tweet and within seconds teachers from across the country were saying hi to teachers in an auditorium in Grain Valley, MO.  Once again, I thought that sounded pretty cool.  So, I tried to remember my Twitter user name and password (took at least six tries) and within months had...twenty followers.  I still couldn't get into it.

Don't get me wrong, Mr. Langhorst and Mr. Honeycutt had inspired me to use Twitter and were great speakers about its power.  I just failed miserably at trying to set up a PLN.  Then, this past spring my school district awarded several teachers a classroom set (2:1 student to iPad ratio) of iPads.  I was one of the very fortunate teachers to get the iPads.  This motivated me, so I sat myself down and had a talk.  Don't worry, I don't talk to myself too often, just when I really need it. I told myself, "If you want your students to get the most out of those iPads, you're going to have to have as many resources about them as possible.  Where would be a good place to find people who know a lot about technology and a lot about education?"  The obvious answer was Twitter.

This time, I went about setting up a PLN differently.  I once again (eventually) entered my Twitter user name and password.  Then, instead of sending out a tweet saying "Hey world, I'm a teacher looking to meet other teachers" I searched the site for "educational technology".  In other words, I stopped treating Twitter like some sort of sick teacher-only dating site and started treating it like what it can be - the biggest and best teacher's lounge possible (just without coffee).  Once I found someone who seemed like they knew what they were talking about, I added them and checked out who they followed in the education world.  Within months, I actually made it over 100 followers of my own - and almost threw a party again!

I am still a newbie at the whole Twitter thing.  I just recently participated in my first #MOedchat, and it was great.  I don't tweet a lot yet because I don't want to make a fool out of myself, but I do get a ton of information.  For example, I learned about genius hour and 20% time on Twitter, something that I am currently trying to figure out how to fit into my 3rd grade class.  Twitter has taught me all about standards based grades, something I have become passionate about as well.  Of course, Twitter has allowed me to find a seemingly never-ending amount of resources about technology in education.  Most importantly, I have found access to some of the brightest minds in education today who tweet out their knowledge all the time.

If you are a teacher and you aren't on Twitter, I highly recommend it.  It can be confusing, even intimidating at first, but it is well worth your time to figure it out.  Like I said, I'm still a newbie in the Twitterverse, but I am already benefiting from my PLN and look forward to it continuing to change my life.

Do you use Twitter for professional learning?  I would enjoy hearing your experiences in the comments section.

Give Me One Good Reason

Over the past two or three years, I have focused more and more on the "why" of learning.  This happened for many reasons.  It happened partly because of a guest speaker I heard at my school district driving home the importance of telling students the purpose of any learning activity.  It also came about partly because my school district started asking us to visibly post the “why” of each lesson.  I’m not going to lie, I was extrinsically motivated to focus on stating the purpose of each lesson in order to keep my job!  However, the main reason I have focused so much on telling my students why we are learning whatever it is we may be learning is that I believe in it – I guess you could say I “bought in” immediately when I started researching the power of why.

I can only remember one teacher who ever told us why we learned a subject – and he didn't so much as tell us as have a poster on his wall listing what jobs used math every day.  Almost daily in high school, I would wonder (in my head), “Why do we have to do this?  I will never use this in real life, will I?”  If someone was brave enough to ask these questions out loud, the response was usually some form of “because I said so”, which I don’t have to tell you doesn't really go over well with high school students. 

After researching information on stating the purpose of learning and thinking about my personal school experience, it quickly became my goal to make sure my students always understand the reasons for learning.  I strive to make sure they understand why we do what we do all the time.

I focus on - almost obsess over - giving students the reasons for learning.  At the beginning of each of the past two years, my 3^rd graders and I have listed what we all want to be when we grow up and talk about whether or not these jobs require reading, writing, or math.  (Spoiler alert:  every job requires all three.)  At the beginning of each unit or objective, we decide as a class why what we are learning is important.  The impact I have seen from these changes in my classroom has been tremendous.  It may or may not be measurable by an assessment, but I have seen the impact in the engagement levels of my students.  When they understand why we do what we do, they are automatically more engaged than when I just give them a project and tell them to get to work.

This year, I want to take this a step further.  Or farther.  I never really know which of those is correct…

This year, it is time to make the kids tell me why.  Why are they learning?  Why do they think the way they do?  Why is their answer correct?  Why are they in that trash can?  (Okay, let’s hope the last one doesn't happen…again…)

After watching a video during a recent math boot camp session, I was inspired to create the poster (with help from my friend and colleague Miss Cattron and Office Max) at the top of this post.  We watched a video during this district PD session of a group of 4^th graders working on division – a concept that so many kids struggled with.  Among the many things I took away from this video, the one that stuck in my mind was a simple statement that the teacher probably says every day.  The teacher, Lynn Simpson, said “Now remember, if you think it's true or if you think it's false, you want to have a really good reason.” 

It was, and I hate this phrase but I will use it anyway, an “aha!” moment for me.  Good learners – successful people in general – always have a reason.  I have always made students give reasons for behavior (see the trash can question above), why don’t I do it for everything else?  Don’t get me wrong, I have students explain answers.  I have students tell me more details, but I have never worded it as a “reason”.  If it is powerful for me to tell kids why we are learning, wouldn't it be just as powerful (if not more so) for them to tell me why they think what they think? 

This has become a classroom motto for the upcoming year:  we have to have a reason for everything we say, do, and think.  From our behavior to making inferences to multiplying, we have to have a reason.  I’ll let you know how it goes…

If you are interested, check out the video I referenced in this blog.  Reasoning about Division

A Recurring Question with an Open-Ended Answer

It first happened about 7 years ago now.  I was wandering the aisles of a certain big-box superstore in search of Halloween-themed window clings.  It was the fall of my first year teaching 3^rd grade and I was only 23 years old.  At that point in my life I was your typical 23 year old male, and I don’t think I have to explain what that means - use your imaginations and be creative.  However, as I turned right down an aisle of kid-friendly fall decorations, the question came screaming into my head:  “What have I gotten myself into?”

I am now 30 years old and beginning my eighth year teaching 3^rd grade.  The same question still pops up every now and then – usually when I walk into a fabric or craft store looking for supplies for the next learning activity or crazy idea my teacher friends and I have created; or when something off the wall happens in my classroom (which is often).  If you would have told me 10 years ago that I would be okay with 25 to 30 short people hugging me daily, or that I would wear dresses/wigs/tutus for school talent shows, or that I would even have a clue what the inside of a fabric store looks like - I would have laughed you to scorn.  If you would have told me that I would enjoy, even love, nearly every minute of it and this crazy career called education would become my passion – I would have had you committed!  Here I am, though, 7 years into a life I never expected; a life I am thrilled I found.

This blog is my attempt to share my passion for teaching and learning with you and to try and give what I think is a unique perspective on the elementary school life.  I am proud to be a male (or “boy” as my students call me) teacher in an elementary school.  In my opinion, we need more men in the classroom earlier, but there will be more time for my thoughts on this in future posts.  My goal for this blog is to be about the life of a teacher – encompassing many areas:  technology, classroom management, curriculum, instruction, and of course the stories that make me laugh or that inspire me to keep going.  It may be a bit random, but it is all one big open-ended answer to the question posed in the title of the blog.  What have I gotten myself into?  An amazing, challenging, and rewarding career that I enjoy every day.

This post was (most likely obviously) my first attempt at blogging.  I tried to keep it short and sweet while still introducing this blog.  I greatly appreciate any feedback, tips, or suggestions for post topics.  Check back for my ideas and stories soon – thank you for spending part of your day with me!