Utah Compose

At UCET I went to a class on Utah Compose and I learned SO MUCH!

Implemented it right away the Monday I returned with my students.

Success!

I would have to say that my most favorite part of it is after you log on, you can scroll down at the bottom of the page and there are sample essays. The most improvement I ever saw in my students' essay writing was when I showed them previous essay examples that students had written, and what their scores were. I showed them highly scored and lowly scored ones. I didn't tell them why they received the scores that they did-the students were easily able to see what was 'wrong' or 'right' with the essays. Anyways, these sample essays that are on Utah Compose show a student's essay from the lowest points, and how she was able to change-through feedback-to get a high score.

As soon as I showed my students these essays, they focused more on the details of their essay writing and all significantly improved.

All because I went to UCET.

I love technology!

UCET

I find myself like a kid at Christmas waiting for this conference each year.
I'm going on several years strong!

Love the excitement there! 

Love the new technology!

Love the stuff I come away with!

I am in awe of the many things that teachers are doing for their classes to bring new technology in and immerse it into their daily routines. I used to be so afraid of trying anything new-in fear of not doing it right or not knowing everything about something before I try it. Well, I've shied away from that because I have learned that once you learn something, if you teach it or use it, it sticks all the more! That is what technology does for me. I love trying something right away. I find that if I try something out and use it for more than a day or so, I am that much more apt to actually use it with my students.

I loved all of the classes that I attended, and I can't wait for the next year's conference!

Just. Do. It.

Ever since I started my technology endorsement, I have been exposed to SO much technology! I can't even keep up with it.

Sometimes. Its. Overwhelming.

With that being said, I have decided to Just. Do. It. Just take the plunge. Any time I learn something new, instead of waiting for a while to try it out with my students (because I am either afraid to try it, or unsure of how to do it), I have just plunged into it.

And, it's been amazing!

We are lucky at our school to have 3 chromebook carts, so I have been able to have many days in the week where I can experiment trying out new apps/websites with my students. This past week I started frontrowed.com. I couldn't believe how much they all loved it! They instantly wanted to get the right answers so they could earn coins. I kept reminding them to work smart and slow and take their time through each math problem, and noticed that slowly, one by one, students started getting out their notebooks and not just 'guessing' the answers. They were working better and more focused.

This new website will allow me to observe where they are at individually in their math while letting them think they are just 'playing a game'. It was so much fun watching them and I am so excited to see their results!

Twitter

I read a blog post that I totally related to: "To tweet or not to tweet"

http://mrsfintelmanteaches.global2.vic.edu.au/2014/09/09/to-tweet-or-not-to-tweet-using-twitter-to-build-my-pln/

I have really really struggled to like Twitter. 

I joined Twitter a few years ago at the UCET conference when I attended George Couros's (@gcouros) class on Twitter. In the main meeting, he was one of the speakers and he just really inspired me. Then I went to his class and he had everyone sign up for Twitter. Of course I had heard about Twitter before, and just like Mrs. Fintelman said in her blog post, I thought, 'what's the big deal about Twitter?!". 

But, I signed up. 

I made myself more than just an 'egghead', and sent my first tweet. Since then I've jumped on Twitter a few times for assignments in our class, etc., but I haven't really gotten into it. 

I loved this quote from Mrs. Fintelman's post:

"Twitter is exciting because its full of thousands of brilliant people with brilliant ideas, and I can share in them without having to leave my chair. Every time I read my Twitter feed, it is humming with the ideas of educators who are pushing boundaries, taking risks, being leaders in their field, loving what they do and transforming learning for their students. They are educators who are not afraid to share ideas in case someone else gets the credit. They are educators who do not have all the answers but are still happy to have a go at your questions. They are educators who believe in change, and are not going to allow things to stay how they are. They are inspiring. They are also educators who love inspirational quotes."

I guess I'm ready to dive back in.

My twitter name is @karenlouise49

Lifelong learner.

I have a lot of blogs. A LOT. 

Ok, I have 3. 

That may not sound like a lot. I didn't want to start another one because I'm not so great at my 3. But now, I have 4. 

My blogging consistency needs to change. I realized that because I am currently working on a Technology endorsement. As an educator I am constantly trying to better myself. I want to be better for my students. It took me forever to decide on a name for this blog! I listed all the things that I am as a teacher, all my passions about it, and I finally decided to relate it to my most favorite quote, "Live well, laugh often, love much", changing it to Teach well, inspire often, love much. 

Because that is what I am striving to do. 

Daily! 

This blog will be a compilation and a record of my change as an educator.