The Power of Branding

The Power of Branding was a well written book by Tony Sinanis. I really enjoyed reading this book and I hope you find this summary helpful.

I have to say that the Power of Branding has been the most personal of the books that I have read thus far. Author Tony Sinanis talked about many tips and ideas for school to brand itself. Three of the ways or very important to me. One Tony mentioned is telling your schools story to from the perception of your school. Another is leading by example. The last tip that stood out to me was during things heartedly. On the other day we had a major issue to take place outside of our school. Because of the toxic perception of our school the incident was chalked up as an expected outcome. Tony Sinanis that school’s should use the many resources available to share the learning experiences that are taking place within the school on a daily basis. Tony also mentioned that he ensures that he is visible in the classroom, lunchroom, recess, gym, and hallways. He talks about how he try to know each of the students by name and know something about each of the staff members personally. It is my opinion that Tony is modeling for his teachers exactly what differentiated instructions should look like. That why he is able to say he try to lead by example. He talked about how it is an expectation that each teacher use small groups as often as possible within they’re classroom. In my opinion he has already laid the ground work for what differentiated instructions should look like. The last point is about doing thing heartedly. Giving that I am a man of faith and whatever I do I try and to it as if I was doing it for my lord. Tony mentioned that most of his idea about doing things heartedly is theoretical opposed to quantitative data, meaning that he does not have lots of research to back him up. That was shocking for me to hear with our data driven profession that someone is actual living exactly what they are teaching.   

Blog Presentation

This is information about the technology resource that I have found to be most helpful to me. It is an easy to read presentation about blogging. My 4th graders have really enjoyed blogging. When they go to long without blog they let me know. I really hope that you find this presentation useful.

All hands on deck!!!

I just read an amazing piece of literature. Read this post to learn about my personal experiences as it relates to this awesome read.

Just a few weeks ago I received an unsatisfactory evaluation. On my TKES evaluation I received a score that was below proficient for communication. My school principal came into my room during planning and ask me was my school wires page up to date. I quickly responded that it was not up to date. After reviewing my rating I begin to update my school wires page. After some of my parents commented about the information, I quickly realize the important of real time communications. This like Brad Currie mentioned gives me the opportunity to tell my classroom story. Brad Currie is the author of All Hands on Deck and tells up how social media has and can help connect the 21^st community to the local schools. Currie speaks on how old school and new school methodology have integrated to give schools a plethora of ways to communicate with parents, community members, and most importantly the students. Currie says that “ Today’s 21^st century parents and other school stakeholders look to social media, websites, blogs, and other forms of innovative communications to stay current and informed.” Currie also mentions how face-to-face, voice-to-voice (phone), and email are all still effective ways of communicating with stakeholders. I agree with how this portion of the book was written because the author did not try and say that old school ways of communicating with stakeholders should be replaced by 21^st century methodology of communication. With so many stories in the media about public school cheating scandals, and failing grades, Currie says that Social Media gives schools leaders the opportunity to tell the story before someone else does. One of the most meaning parts of the book is how Currie not only talks about how schools can become more effective communicators, but also how parents can become connected. To list a few suggestions on how Currie says parents can get involved, are following the social media feeds of your school or district. Volunteer to become a committee or board member in order to impact policy. In conclusion I think that this was a well written piece of literature.     

Gaming in the Class

In my opinion it is a fine line for educators to walk when it comes to allowing games into the classroom. I say that with an understanding of the mere mentioning of the word game engages most students. I also understand that there are very important skills that students learn while engaging in some of the games. What makes it a fine line is when educators try to keep up with the technology instead of the skill. I like to say “if it is not broken, don’t break it.” The article “Future Proof Your Learning Environment” the author gives tips on what educators should think about when implementing games into the classroom, and of the most important tip is what skills the students are trying to learn. I do believe that it is easy for some educators and spectators to say that school should be fun. I don’t think that school should always be fun. For some students school is the only formal setting they are a part of, and for that reasons it’s difficult to having games in the class all the time. With all that said games should be used in class. For all the reasoning I mentioned in the beginning and a few more. One more reason for having games is how long the games keep the students attention. That would teach patients, durability, and perseverance. The author of “How Minecraft teaches kids real work skill” mentioned that students participate in some game and have to come up with plan and see the plan through. This also allows students to reflect to see if the plan work. Some students talked about trying new things. I believe that there is a place for games in the classroom but it is up to the educator to remember the underline goal is the skill are concepts that students should be learning. 

The Relevant Educator

Out of the three books that we have read so far this book has been the hardest read. I don’t know why. In the being of the year in my department we didn’t have common planning, or collaborative planning. My administrators believed that we could or should be able to stay after work or come in early so that we could plan. I did not support that idea, however it did cause for us to be more creative in the design or format of our meetings. Often times we would group text, or email. Steven W. Anderson (2014) writes that it does not matter the time, and distance between two or more individuals, because technology has allowed people to meet and collaborate without being in the same room. Anderson also talks about how creations such as blogs allow teachers to share their thoughts and ideas. I really like that idea because as he mentioned some people are afraid to share their ideas in open or face to face, however blogs allow teachers to remain anonymous. I have recently started a class blog with my 4^th grade students. We mostly share our thoughts on science and social studies related topics. This has been informative for me to gain background knowledge of particular topics about my students. In my opinion this would serve our staff vital in that we don’t have to always sit in the media center and listen to the same people talk. With the use of blogs teachers within the building can share their thoughts and ideas with each other. Anderson talks about Professional Learning Networks. I believe this is a great way for our district to share ideas and thoughts about teaching our students within this district. It is also helpful within our school, but with such a high transit population in our district it allows teachers to share best practices so that students are less likely to fall through the gap with they transition. 

Professional Development

The name of the session was "Featured Teacher Mary Beth Hertz. The host of the session was Peggy George, Lorie Moffat, and Tammy Moore. The date and time of the session was February 21, 2015 at 12:00 p.m. Eastern.

This session really hit home with me mainly because with the rolling out of the newly assessment ( the Georgia Milestone) my students have been selected as part of the 30 percent of our school that has to take the assessment online. Within the near future all students will be taking the assessment online. In this session Mary Beth Hertz talks about how she is using technology at both elementary and high school levels. Mary Beth Hertz shared rubrics, and software programs that she has used within her classroom. I will say that Mary taught from a computer lab. For most of us as educators that do not have access to a computer lab I highly recommend that you read " Teaching the iStudents" by Mark Barnes. In the book Mr. Barnes shares was to implement the use of technology within a classroom when the is minimal access to technology. I have recently started to use technology in my classroom on a daily basis in all subjects. I only have four computers and twenty students. Mr. Barnes refers to the model that I use as the rotation model.

Starting Classes

I am really looking forward to starting class. What is most exiting about this class is that I am looking to learn how to implement some of technology with my current students.