Blog Archives

Sketchnote: Year in Review

6/30/2016

In our very first BubbleUp Take5 post, I mentioned that I had attended a sketchnoting session at edCamp NOVA. Driven by the in-person energy of Margaret, a fabulous FCPS colleague who exudes pure inspiration in everything she does, I decided to try it out. I promised to share my first attempt on our blog. The end of the school year is a good time to look back and reflect, thus, my first sketchnote is a year in review.

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BubbleUp Take5: Professional Growth through Summer Reading

6/24/2016

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We are so close to summer, I can taste it...I can feel the sunshine...I can sense the adventure. I love this time of year for a chance to step back, spend more time with my own children, and slow down a bit. But, I also love what I do for a living and am grateful to have summer to be able to focus more on growing as a teacher and a librarian. I read a lot of middle grades and YA fiction for fun, but I like to consume professional development books when I have more breathing room (shocker: this librarian loves to read!). There are some phenomenal recent titles (and one less recent but still on my list) out there that I know will help me to be more creative and are certain to energize my practice as an educator.

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Lessons Learned from Project Based Learning

6/21/2016

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Today my students finish up a three week long Project Based Learning assignment called "Shark Tank." This project, which I adapted from a lesson created by Tiffany Lee and Adam Schecter of FCPS, challenges students to create their own company and product and then pitch it to potential investors or "sharks." This is the first time that I have done true PBL with a general education team taught class.

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BubbleUp Take5: Ideas for Administrators

6/17/2016

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Earlier this week I had the honor of speaking to the leaders of Fairfax County Public Schools Region 2. This group included Principals, Assistant Principals and Directors of Students Services from elementary, middle and high schools. This was an amazing opportunity to celebrate our collective achievements. It was also a chance to put forth some ideas, offering an unvarnished teacher's perspective of how administrators can better support teachers in our role.

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Making Our Makerspace Even Better

6/14/2016

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We are closing out on year two of the Kilmer Library Makerspace. Ours was one of the early library makerspace initiatives in FCPS and it is incredibly exciting to see makerspaces become more common additions to school library programs in our district. I believe passionately in our maker effort -- it allows our students to build their critical and creative thinking skills, to collaborate and communicate as they work together. It is in direct alignment with the 21st century skills we talk about so often in education and meets the student needs that we were not previously addressing. It serves as a safe haven for many students and brings others in who have not been traditional library users.

However, our makerspace is no longer new and novel to Kilmer and I am at the point where I need to become more reflective in order to sustain our maker efforts.

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BubbleUp Take 5: Screen time, Homework, Museums, & More

6/10/2016

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You would think that the end of the year would have me focused on flip-flops, the pool, and vacations, but instead what's caught my attention this week is homework. museums, movement, screentime and yes, (I know you don't want to hear it) elections!

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It's Never too Late to Tweet

6/7/2016

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So I am late to the Twitter party. While I've had a Twitter account for years, it was dormant. I just didn't get how to use it really and frankly didn't see the value. Then I saw what my daughter's school was doing with Twitter and decided to give it another shot. I set up a classroom Twitter feed this fall to share the occasional photo of my students doing something fun or creative.

I didn't jump into Twitter completely, instead I dipped my toe in....very slowly. But baby step by baby step, I found myself immersed and it has changed by teaching practice by tuning me on to a world of innovation and creativity that was happening in the Twitter-sphere. If you are the me of the past, wondering how the heck Twitter can help you teach, read on...

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BubbleUp Take5: A More Permanent Fixture

6/3/2016

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Last week we rolled out our first BubbleUp Take5 post and it was so much fun that we thought we'd make it a regular thing. We will sometimes include a random collection of links, periodically we will have a theme of some sort; our overall goal with Take5 is to curate and share resources that we find valuable.

So, do you have a moment or two? Check out this week's BubbleUp Take5 -- we talk innovation, summer camp, primary sources, and more!

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Sketchnote: Year in Review

BubbleUp Take5: Professional Growth through Summer Reading

Lessons Learned from Project Based Learning

BubbleUp Take5: Ideas for Administrators

Making Our Makerspace Even Better

BubbleUp Take 5: Screen time, Homework, Museums, & More

It's Never too Late to Tweet

BubbleUp Take5: A More Permanent Fixture

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