Techie Tuesday

Back in October at the Kern Tech Fest, I had the opportunity to hear Christine Pinto speak as the keynote. She is a Kinder teacher who integrates technology and has her kinders using the Chromebooks for activities, reading, and projects, but also does the regular, fun hands-on activities. I really enjoyed listening to her and loved some of the ideas she shared.

Then she made this surprising statement. She said that she shares because people need to see what is going on in her classroom. While that in itself is not surprising, she continued on saying that people assume she does technology all day long because she is a 'techie' teacher so by sharing she is able to show people the variety of activities her class is doing.

Listening to this, I realized how right she was! I was one of the ones that pictured her kinders doing tech projects all day long, but seeing their hands-on activities made me realize there is more to her classroom and her teaching than technology. This made me think of comments I have heard about my classroom.

Many people think my students are on technology all day long because that is a lot of what I share. They do not see the hands-on Science and Math activities we do, or how we are still taking notes by hand when reading or watching an educational film.

I feel that there may be a stigma out there about sharing activities on Twitter. I worry that people think they can only share technology activities on Twitter because the edtech community is so large. That couldn't be further from the truth. People on Twitter share ALL activities. The important thing is to share!

We need to show others what is going on in our classrooms all day long. We need to share the good activities and the ones that totally flopped. People out there need to see that there is someone else going through something similar.

Don't be afraid of sharing on Twitter, I know that is easier said than done. Still, I overthink about what I am sharing and am working on getting past that. We worry what others are going to think or if it is going to get any 'likes' on Twitter. As educators, we can feel so alone and isolated. Sharing on Twitter helps break down barriers and connect us to others. We need to come together to support each other, sharing on Twitter or any way is a great way to start!

~Sarah Camp

Check out this AMAZING resource that Brian Biggs has put together.
Click HERE to visit the calendar and see what goodies he had put together to share.

This week is the Hour of Code, where student across the world will participate in learning how read and write computer programming codes.

Why? Computer Science is a huge part of everyday society now. Math and critical thinking skills are reinforced as the students solve problems and figure out measurements, angles, rotations, and more.

Check out this great HyperDoc with more activities and information. Thanks to @RaeFearing for sharing!

Students get to code with fun characters that that love such as Star Wars, Minecraft, Disney, and more! Sign up at the link above and get your class started!

From the website:
The Ditch That Textbook Digital Summit is a nine-day, FREE virtual event. It brings together some of the brightest minds in education to discuss technology, pedagogy and more.

You’ll get one new inspiring, practical presentation each day. Take your own notes, or download a one-page “key takeaways sheet” from each video. Plus, you can get a certificate for professional development credits for each video you watch.

Register HERE

If you have anything you want to see here or have something to share please email me at scamp@pbvusd.k12.ca.us

Be sure to share all the great things you are doing in your classroom using our school hashtag: #BerkEagles

Join CUE (Computer Using Educators) for free until January. You will get discounts on conferences and other professional development, plus a subscription to "On CUE" their magazine. When you sign up mark Kern CUE as your affiliate to receive notifications of upcoming events and meetups here in Kern County. Register below.

Email: scamp@pbvusd.k12.ca.us
Website: shuttersandscribbles.blogspot.com
Twitter: @CampsCrusaders