Encouraging Scripture

As we approach a new school year, keep in mind, and close to your heart, you are more than a teacher! You are there to counsel and guide students through this phrase of their lives. You make an impact! Sometimes we see students more than their parents see them. 

Consider your classroom habits and how you can work to connect with your students individually to help guide them in their journey this year. Pray for your students and love them!

Celly VS Remind - Classroom Communication

For the past several years, I have used Remind in my classroom, but at the GRITC conference I was introduced to Celly. They both offer a great resource for connecting with students outside of class time, but they have different features. What is the best fit for your classroom? Let's have a look!

The below information is what I have found through online articles and using the sites myself. If you have additional or different information, please share! I am still learning.

Remind

I'm starting with Remind because it is my tried and true platform. 

Remind started as a one-way text/email service, but they have recently added a chat feature. The one-way messaging is a great way to get a message out quickly without having to reveal your phone number, worrying about replies, or typing in emails one by one. I've enjoyed using this to remind students and parents about due dates, field trips, and upcoming events. 

The new chat feature opens the floor for one-to-one communication. Teachers initiate a chat session with a student (or if you change your settings, students can initiate the chat), and they can essentially email each other via Remind. I don't find this feature useful to me as I already have my school email address forwarded to my iPhone, and I can reply quickly from there when I am available. 

Students and parents sign up for Remind by texting a class code to a specific number or sending an email to the class code email address. No account is needed and sign up takes only a few seconds. This is very useful as creating an account takes time and no one needs another password to remember. Remind also has an app students/parents can download and messages can be read from there.

You can also schedule Remind messages to go out (I typically schedule a set of messages for the week on Monday) and add attachments to the message.

Celly

Celly is very new to me. We used it at GRITC, and I enjoyed it! I played around a lot, joined a few education topic cells, and began reading reviews. 

With Celly, you create "cells" or groups. Students join the cell, and everyone in the cell can chat together. Collaboration is key to a successful classroom! Celly also offers private chats for one-to-one communication. 

There are three cell types in Celly:

1. "Curator" - The cell creator (teacher) receives all messages privately first - then he/she decides if the message needs to be sent to the whole group or left private. (This is my favorite for classroom use.)
2. "Open" - All messages are sent to the entire group.
3. "Alert Only" - Only the cell creator can send messages - no one can reply. (Great for large groups where replies would be overwhelming.)

Celly provides a joining guide for parents and students.  It can be accessed through the website, app, or text messages. If you use the website or app, you must create an account. You do not need an account to use the text feature.

Celly also offers options to send attachments, photos, and POLLS! I love the idea of the poll feature. You can also schedule messages.

This program will be wonderful for classroom collaboration. Students can answer each other's questions (as I approve the message), make comments on readings and homework, and see that everyone needs to ask a question sometimes!

Pros/Cons

Remind - Pros

• No account needed for sign up
• One-way messaging feature is fast, simple
• Schedule messages
• Add attachments

Celly - Pros

• COLLABORATION
• Different cell types for different situations
• Mass messages can still be sent to the class
• Add attachments/photos
• Send polls

Remind - Cons

• "Chat" is the equivalent to email (I don't need another place to check)
• No Polls (without app)
• Lacking collaboration

Celly - Cons

• I have not experienced the text feature yet, but I feel it may be overwhelming if you are a part of several cells and receiving texts for all messages.
• Creating an account to use the app/website can take time and may deter parents from signing up.

Both programs offer great resources for the classroom! This year I am going to venture out with Celly and see where it takes us. I can still send mass messages like Remind, but it also opens the floor for collaboration and students to ask questions that can benefit the entire class at once. 

What about you? Do you use Remind? Do you use Celly? Are you thinking of switching from one to the other? I want to hear about it!

Back to School

The time is here my friends. I've fought it as long as I can! Next week I will be working in my classroom and at the school helping with schedule pick-up.

Summer - has officially ended.

When is your first day? What is one thing you are excited about for this school year?

I have many things to be excited about this year!

• New principal and assistant principal (both amazing!)
• New elective - Leading & Succeeding
• Disney Field Trip (second year)
• Applying strategies from my MA in Gifted/Talented education in my classroom

Please share your positive outlooks on your upcoming year in the comments below!

Middle School Yearbook - Organization

Middle school is a slippery time. In our school 7th and 8th grade is middle school, so we don't get to keep our students for very long. This makes the yearbook staff a challenge. I have one year to train them and one year to really use their knowledge and talents before they leave me. Thankfully there are a few things that have made my yearbook staff highly successful and efficient. I plan to share several yearbook blogs over the next few weeks.

• Organization of the Book (today)
• Staff Selection & Set-Up
• Team Building & Management
• Advertising (Ad Sales & Student Sales)
• Grading

I am passionate about yearbook, and I keep high standards for my class. I do hope you will check back for more updates on the other topics over the next couple of weeks!

Today's topic:

 OF THE BOOK!

Quick Background: My staff is made up of 12-15 7th and 8th grade students plus one 8th grade editor. I have a 50 minute class period for yearbook that is also shared with my newspaper staff (separate staffs - same class time). The application processes is rigorous. We typically have between 30-40 applications for yearbook. The 8th grade editor must be a student who was also on staff as a 7th grader.

For our staff, we have one unifying theme for our book each year. That theme is developed through:

• Cover Design
• Yearbook Title
• Section Titles
• Image/Photo Scheme on each Page

Part of the application for editor is to develop an entire theme - complete with color schemes, cover design, yearbook titles, and section titles. The editor applicants present there theme idea to the staff in May to be voted on. The winning theme and its developer become our new editor in August.

Since we keep our current year theme under lock and key (and threaten of staff removal), I can not currently discuss the super-awesome 2016 theme currently under development (check back in May 2016 - you will NOT regret it!).  Therefore - I'm going to use our 2015 to explain our organization process.

Anatomy of a Dolphin

Our 2015 theme was Anatomy of a Dolphin because we are the dolphins! We used a sectional organization method for this yearbook. Each dolphin section was labeled with a yearbook section, and each section page referenced back to that dolphin part.

1. Mouth - Student Life
1. Who's Who, Baby Pictures, Dances, Pep Rallies, ETC
2. Brain - Academics
1. Core Subjects and Electives
3. Spine - Clubs
1. Because clubs bring the school together and add support systems for those that need it
4. Eyes - Portraits
1. We love seeing photos!
5. Fin - Sports
1. Fear the Fin!
6. Tail - Community Support
1. Ads

This theme concept and design was completed by a 7th grade student in May 2013. She guided her staff through the 2014-2015 school year to develop and complete this theme through a 100+ page yearbook! I really can not speak of how proud I am of the hard work and dedication these 11-13 year olds put into their yearbook! (More on this in the next blog about yearbook staffs!)

Each of the six dolphin parts listed above reflected a section in our yearbook. The theme was carried through section titles and dolphin photos. We also hid a small dolphin silhouette on each page then challenged students to find them all!

There are two main ways to organize a yearbook:

1. Sections
2. Chronologically

The 2015 design called for a section organization, so that is what we did. Each page fits into one of the categories. A table of contents in the front of the book directs students to section page, and each section page is a mini table of contents for that section. 

Our 2016 theme calls for a chronological organization. This year we will follow all events, sports, and happenings as they unfold through the year. Since clubs are all year long, they will have a special section in the back right before ads. All other dances, sports, portraits, ETC will be placed in the book in the order they happen through the year. 

Our 2015 yearbooks completely 

How do you organize your yearbook?

Walk & Talk with Flipped Classrooms (from GRITC)

Engaging, collaborative, and interactive Professional Development is my absolute favorite! PD taught by teachers who really have a passion for bringing their students into the center of learning and creating meaningful experiences warm my heart and kick me into gear for the school year. I love the motivation!

This type of PD is exactly what I get at GRITC (Gulf Regional Innovative Teaching Conference) each year. GRITC is held in Robertsdale, AL by the Baldwin County Board of Education Technology Department (my county!). It is open to anyone and everyone. The conference opens with an incredible keynote speaker (this year Dr. Lodge McCammon), offers 100+ different sessions, food trucks and live music onsite, and sessions taught my teachers who are passion driven educators. They love their job! I feel blessed to present at GRITC and to call presenters and attenders my colleagues!

If you haven't had the change to attend GRITC yet, check it out for 2016! The conference is free, and they give out amazing prizes! Today I won a tripod from tweeting! They've also been handing out goodie bags and free t-shirts. At the end of tomorrow's sessions, they have drawings for iPads, bluetooth speakers, a drone, and a ticket to ISTE! GRITC 2016 will be July 27th and 28th!

Our keynote speaker, Dr. Lodge McCammon, has incredible ideas about flipped classrooms, student engagement, transparency in the classroom, active classrooms, and so much more! He is inspiring. Check out his website, twitter, and youtube account!

One session I was able to attend with Dr. McCammon was Walk & Talk. This activity gets students literally - walking and talking. Studies have shown that during exercise our brains are more active and engaged. Walking helps stimulate the brain and get the blood pumping. Through the use of a flipped classroom and videoed lectures, teachers can have students simply walk around the school or outside while discussing the topic.

How much do you hate sitting through PD sessions? How do you think your students feel stuck in a desk all day?

During our PD session, Dr. McCammon had us walk and talk about the walk and talk strategy. We discussed challenges and solutions with using this strategy in our classroom. I felt energized as we walk while having our discussion. It also took away the distractions of computers, phones, and doodling when I should have been talking.

This is an easy to implement strategy I plan to use in my classroom at the start of the school year along with videoed lectures (blog to come later). Check out this video from Dr. McCammon about walk & talk:

Can you use walk & talk in your classroom? What would you have students discuss? What challenges and solutions can you see with this strategy? 

Classroom Improvements 2015-2016

Each summer I work to improve and update my classroom. I've never felt that my classroom was "wrong," but there are always ways to increase student engagement and develop organization in your classroom. You can checkout my 2014-2015 classroom under the classroom tab above. I will update my classroom after my classroom is set up again!

There are a few question I ask myself (and my students) when I am planning my classroom redo:

1. What did my students enjoy?
2. What did my students not interact with?
3. What problems arose in my classroom this year?
4. What fun ideas have I found on Pinterest?
5. Is there a goal I'd like my students to reach during the next school year?

Here are my answers for the 2015-2016 Classroom Plan:

1. My students enjoyed the reading corner with beanbags, the timeline and they enjoyed the graffiti wall we used while reading Uglies.

At the start of last year, I had a reading corner with bean bags and a tree created in the corner. My 8th graders loved the beanbags, but the tore up the tree by the end of first quarter. I will be keeping the corner, but using inspirational quotes to decorate the area instead of a tree. Each year I've taught, I have kept a running timeline around the top of my room. We always cover at least two walls! I update it at the end of each month with photos and comments about what we have covered, field trips taken, and ideas we've shared. 

The graffiti wall was something I saw on Pinterest from Katie's blog. It was such an engaging activity! Each time a student found something in Uglies that brought something to mind - they wrote it on the wall (black sheet of butcher paper hung on the wall). It could be something they felt foreshadowed something that might happen, something with positive or negative connotation, something they connected with in their real life - anything the student felt was important! It added to conversations and discussions on the novel and had a strong impact on how they remembered and connected with the story. 

2. My students did not interact with my Info Board.

I have one small bulletin board in my classroom. I have been using this board for school/class information: schedule, uniform policy, lunch menu, upcoming events, ETC. The only thing the students actually look at is the lunch menu. This year, I am going to post this general information on the wall behind my door and using the bulletin board for exit slips.

3. Problems: Students randomly grabbing (and taking) books from the bookshelf, trash inside the tables, and missing exit slips.

I am building my classroom library, and I love to see my students reading! Unfortunately, students have been taking a book from my library when they are finished with work and randomly flipping through it instead of reading. When class ends, they put the book in the book bag, inside my tables, or on the floor - rarely back on the shelf. Since my students are required to have a book to read at all times, this year I am going to put a sign in/out log at the book shelf. Students will only be allowed to go to the shelf if they would like a book to completely read or have finished the book they had. I will ban picking one up because they forgot to bring their book to school or did not check one out on library day. 

I love, love, love my tables! They bring students closer together and work wonders for grouping. Unfortunately, my tables also come with a hole in the top middle for cords to go down and a tray underneath to run the cords out the side of the table. My students have a bad habit of putting trash, crumpled paper, and their belongings inside the table. Talk about aggravating! This year I am attaching boxes over the holes to hold classroom supplies and cover the holes! I'm so excited about this new addition. 

Sadly, I have numerous students who refuse to complete exit slips and will just leave the classroom. I'm busy collecting those being turned in, and I often miss those who slip out the door. This year I am going to turn my small bulletin board into an exit slip board. Each student will have a specific thumb tack to put their exit slip under. I will be able to glance and see who should and who should not leave my room.

4. Pinterest ideas: Cute red/white/blue nautical theme, meme rules, early finishers poster, and boggle.

Pinterest ideas are always fun! I have heavy red curtains that I love and blue cabinets I can not change. I've been searching for a theme that would tie these two colors together and not be too 'childish.' I'm excited to have found a fun nautical theme! 

5. As a staff, we have decided we would like to see our students take more accountability for missing/unattempted school work.

Our elementary school has a no zero policy that allows students a great deal of time to turn in late work. Our high school has a no late work policy that requires students to turn in their work the day it is due. As the middle school, we have to take the students from what they are used to and prepare them for what is to come. This year I am going to implement a missing work binder. Students will sign if they did not complete an assignment, and I will assign the time which the student will show up to complete the work. This will be a structured system moving through break detention, working lunch, and before/after school detention.

I'm thrilled to have plans for the next school year, and I look forward to seeing how they improve my classroom! What are you changing this year? What goal do you want it to accomplish? Share!

Periscope

Have you heard of the new Periscope craze? It is hitting the ground running and getting attention from around the world! I first heard about it through Instagram from teacher friends. Periscope is an app in both the App Store and the Play Store. It links from your Twitter account. You can watch live streams on your computer if you find a link from a twitter post (you can't watch directly from the Periscope site).

Yesterday I watched the sunrise in Miami, church clips from three different states, waves rolling on the shores of California, the sunset in Australia, and several teachers chatting about many different things! Just this morning I have walked the streets of New York, swam in Puerto Rico, watched others swim in Lake Placid (I've seen that movie - I'm not swimming there!), driven down a country lane in Europe, got stuck in traffic while listening to the radio in Moscow, and ended up in too many bedrooms. 

The premise of Periscope is to explore the world through someone else's eyes. It is a lot of fun seeing life happening anywhere around the world. 

Lucky Little Learners streamed this morning and posted about a blog with 25 Periscope tips. I joined her stream too late to comment (she filled up really fast!), but I did enjoy watching it and following along on her blog. She has wonderful tips on kicking your Periscopes up a notch. I posted my first Periscope last night, and it didn't go well - but I look forward to implementing her tips and trying again soon!

Will I be using it in my classroom? -No.

Periscope is a wonderful experience, but it is a live experience. There are too many things that could go wrong (inappropriate comments or images) to display or "let students loose with" periscope in the classroom. There are also many student privacy rights that must be considered if you display your classroom on periscope.

I've heard several other teachers discuss working closely with another classroom/person to do private periscopes. I use Skype for this, and I don't see any reason to fix what isn't broken. 

Are you using Periscope? Who is your favorite person to follow on Periscope? Post your Periscope name below! Follow me at @ReevesintheMiddle.