Teachers are Innovators

I came across two inspiring Apple commercials on YouTube.  As I watched each video again, I found myself thinking about the important work we do each day as educators. Take a look. How does the message in each clip relate to the work you do each day?

“Here’s to all those who have seen things differently. The ones who follow a vision, not a path. Where others perceive first as valuable, you value the first thing that actually matters. While others are distracted by the new, you focus on the significance of a whole new take. Even before you could see how, you never doubted we would change things. And then we did change things together again and again. Relentless optimism is what moves the world forward. So keep seeing things differently. Keep trusting there is always another way, a better way, a bigger way. One that lifts up humanity, breaks down our barriers and heals the landscape. You are the difference between the world as it was and the better place it will become. And being different is the one thing about us that will always be the same.” (source)


"Inclusion Inspires Innovation"

These interesting commercials remind me of how important relationships, reflection and perspective are to the effectiveness of teachers and their students.  I often neglect reflection in my lesson planning.  How can I improve this lesson for next time?  I also see the importance of working with colleagues from throughout MASH to gain different perspectives on how our students learn best.  This is another reason why I think our #MASHteach tech day was a meaningful day for almost all of us. We were able to collaborate, create, and explore. Taking educational risks for our students can make a major difference for our learning community.  I recently read a blog post by Eric Sheninger, a technology integration specialist, that encourages teachers to move forward by letting go. Check it out!

To what extent do we model for our students different ways to approach problems? Also, how effective are we at mobilizing our classroom learning communities, identifying strengths, and developing relationships? I am convicted on both accounts. I believe technology can help us with these challenges. Teacher and Google Education Innovator Alice Keeler frequently shares that "good teachers can't be replaced by tech. What tech does is allow teachers to spend more time focusing on their learners & building those relationships.”   

Actions Steps: 

For this Tuesday Tech Tip, I encourage you to explore and experiment with at least one of the EdTech tools on Alice Keeler's page and/or Rich Kiker's page. Each educator works closely with Google and is familiar with many tools and strategies meant to deepen student learning through authentic and meaningful experiences. Examples from Alice's page include free resources such as StoryBoard That, Adobe Spark, Book Creator, ReCap (it's like Flipgrid), math applications, and more. I plan to experiment with Google's Tour Builder.  Rich has other unique tools such as this human anatomy resource and so many more. 

I hope you are inspired to try something new.  A great reminder is to think about your learning outcomes first and then search for ways to help students reach the goal.  

As always, thank you for reading. Please feel free to post below and share ideas or strategies. Let me know how I can support you. I look forward to learning with you.