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If you are interested in more ISTE Tips, please take a look at my posts:  ISTE 2018 Tips and Tricks  and  The Awesome Session Facilitators at #ISTE18 . Conversations with exhibitors can add so much to your ISTE learning experience. The ISTE 2018 Expo is an incredible experience. The exhibitors are friendly and the swag is out of this world. There are also many incredible mini sessions and presentations in the Expo center. You will want to dedicate some time to explore and learn about the incredible things that are happening to support teaching and learning.   While there is nothing wrong with wondering, I quickly lost track of who I talked to the first time I attended, so if you are attending I recommend exploring the Expo Map and Exhibitors before venturing into the space.  You can search by name and keyword. I love the category drop-down menu.  You can click on each exhibitor to learn more about them. You can also view all exhibitors in a ...

3 weeks ago I got rolling with a curiosity question of the week. You can learn more about my why in this post .  Last week's question  had some great responses.  If you had the power change only one single thing about this world, what would you change? Why? Here is this week's question. This is kind of the deserted island only bringing one thing question.  If you could only choose one television series box set to watch during this time, what would you choose? Why? When considering this question, imagine that you have been sequestered as a member of a jury. The trial is expected to last about a month. The budget only allows for one complete DVD box set of any Television Series to help the days go by. This will be the only electronic entertainment you be able to access for the next month. Please share your answer and your why in the comments below or using the Hashtag  #CuriosityQs .  Each Tuesday I will share a new question that I hope will inspire y...

Planning your schedule for ISTE can be a daunting challenge. There are many incredible educators sharing so many incredible things and it is hard to even know where to start. This post is my second connected to my ISTE 2018 Planning Experience. My first post was 10 Tips for the Engaged Educator #ISTE18 .  Here are a some of my favorite presenters that I have had the chance to learn from in the past. I love these educators! I highly recommend visiting the ISTE Presenter Page and exploring their sessions.  Tanya Avrith @TanyaAvrith  ( Sessions ) Carrie Baughcum @HeckAwesome   ( Sessions ) Stacy Behmer @sbehmer   ( Sessions ) Kasey Bell @ShakeUpLearning   ( Sessions ) Johnathan Bergmann @jonbergmann   ( Sessions ) Monica Burns @ClassTechTips   ( Sessions ) Charlene Chausis @cchausis   ( Sessions ) Holly Clark @hollyclarkedu   ( Sessions ) Michael Cohen @thetechrabbi   ( Sessions ) Lee Cook @MsLeeCook   ( Sessions ) Geor...

Questions Are More Important Than Answers! If you have been reading my blog over the last several years, you know that most of the posts typically focus on either EdTech resources or classroom reflections. Last week a was inspired to start exploring something new. Long story short I am hoping to inspire readers to explore a new question each week. These are not educational questions but instead, questions that I hope will spark conversations. I am also hoping some of the questions will inspire new questions as part of the process. You can learn more about how and why I started in this post .  The question last week. If you could only listen to one musical group for the rest of your life, who would it be? Why? This question led to some great questions and some fun discussions/debates on why each of us made the choices we made. I've posted my answer on Twitter using the hashtag #CurioistyQs . Here is the question for this week. It is a big one and might require so...

It is ok to take care of yourself before taking care of others.  Have you started a countdown to summer break? How will you grow as a teacher and learner this summer? Teachers work hard. Many of us work too hard. We do deserve a break. We deserve to escape our scheduled lives this summer. It is ok to disconnect and take a break during the summer, but the best educators are life-long learners. They do not spend the entire summer disengaged from learning.  How will you recharge this summer, but still find the time to grow as a teacher and leader? This post has some tips and resources to support educators as lifelong learners this summer. Attend a Local Conference Find at least one conference this summer to attend, learn, and make new connections. Maybe even challenge yourself to present somewhere? If you can't attend, mark your calendar and jump into the Hashtag during the conference. Here are a few local conferences I will be attending as both a learner and a facilita...

Questions Are More Important Than Answers! Don't get me wrong, I love to solve problems and discover answers, but too often the joy of discovery is short lived when finding the answer is an endpoint. I always hope to find answers that lead to more curious questions. In my world, the best questions lead to more questions before, during, and after my exploration of the original question. Why am I sharing this? Today, I was inspired by ESPN's Golic and Wingo Show to start something new on Tuesdays. I was listening to the radio on my way to work and they were playing a game that had something to do with NBA ping pong balls, questions, and candy this question came up:  If you could only listen to one musical group for the rest of your life, who would it be? Why? My first thought was that this is a great question. I didn't know who I would pick, so this led me to ask more questions about who and why I would chose my musical group. I asked my office mates the ...

My students frequently struggle with assessment questions that rely on Tier 2 (Academic Vocabulary) and Tier 3 (Subject Specific Vocabulary). This leads me to the conclusions that  students must have have a solid foundation in all Three Tiers of Vocabulary Development .  It is important to assess on Tier 3 words, but I never want one of my students to miss an answer because of a tier 2 vocabulary word The research is clear, vocabulary has strong connections to student learning across content areas. If you teach, you understand how strongly vocabulary knowledge is connected to student success in your classroom. I am not just talking about memorizing and regurgitating vocabulary words connected to your curriculum. I am thinking about students reading, applying vocabulary knowledge, and analyzing text to draw conclusions based on their vocabulary understandings.   I am not a reading specialist or in anyway an expert on the best ways t...

I teach mostly high school seniors. They are great kids, but they believe in this fictional disease called "senioritis". I also teach AP Environmental Science, so the kids are a bit cooked after we take the exam in May. The start asking in January if we will still be doing anything after the AP Exam. (Yes, this does drive me a bit crazy!) I, on the other hand, do not believe that learning should ever end. That is my curse and my challenge to overcome. I am always looking for fun an creative ways to engage my students at the end of the year. The challenge is to create a project that is engaging and fun for us all.  Last year I had students who had the potential to be great advocates and activists. They actively cared about many of the issues we explored and were engaged in classroom discussions. With this in mind, we decided to engage in "Passion Projects". You can learn more about the project with this link.  APES Passion Project - Be The Change Most of my kids shru...

When I have some extra time, I love to explore YouTube videos connected to teaching and learning. I am always looking for something new to inspire, motivate, or just to explore something new.  My PLN has helped me compile this YouTube  playlist of favorite educational videos. We have also organized two Google + Collections with some favorite videos that we use with students. One is for Inspiration and Motivation and the other is connected to some great TED Talks . We have also been exploring Classhook , which looks like a great resource for videos connected to teaching and learning. I am also always exploring and compiling videos connected to different aspects of teaching and learning. Explore my playlists to learn more.  What are some of your favorite videos connected to teaching and learning?   Feel free to add them to the collaborative  playlist or in the comments below. Here are some of my current top choices connected to teaching and learning.  ...