Signs Posts, Literally, for the Modern Classroom

When I go to an airport, especially a busy one, I start looking for signs before I even get out of the car. Which lane gets me to the dropout? Which airport entrance is closest to my airline? Where do I print my ticket? Where's security? And the list goes on. I am sure many of you are the same way. In fact, we'd probably get angry if there were no signs. I'd rather have some signs than have to hunt down someone who's not too busy to help me. And even if we are frequent flyers, we still subconsciously look to signs for assurance that all is well and nothing has changed.

It's the same way when we drive. Where I live the transportation department has been working on a new road for over ten years. It was finally finished last month, and trust me, I have been depending on all the signs, old and new, to let me know what changes to watch out for. But even on my regular, unchanged routes, I still find myself watching signs and signals for direction and reassurance.

So why do we think students are any different? In fact, lacking the maturity of adulthood, they need signs and directions even more. Today's classrooms are ever changing - no phones allowed at all, to tablet carts, to bring your own device (BYOD) and 1:1 schools. In just a few years, things have changed drastically in many schools. And I see teachers, and students, being frustrated by those changes. Some days, teachers are telling the students they don't want to see any phones, while on other days, students are asked to use their phones to answer surveys or calculate math problems. Being a person between the ages of nine and nineteen is confusing enough, add to that technology itself, then different teachers with differing preferences and rules, and it's no wonder students and teachers get on each others' nerves.

My suggestion - give them signs, literally. Here are some things to think about, and some signs you can print out and use (click on the words, not the pictures, to get the signs. They were made in Google Drawings. If you can't open them, contact me and I can email them to you).

1. If you are a BYOD school, what are your preferences? Make those preferences visible to students. If you never want to see phones in your class, make it known. If you use the devices some days, but not others, have a reversible sign. Just flip it around so students know what to do in your room and when.

Device Allowed                                                                                No Devices

2. You need to have your mind made up regarding headphones. I would suggest, really beg, that you do not allow students to wear headphones while you or anyone else is instructing. It sends a huge message of disrespect. Think about how you would feel if your doctor, mechanic, bank teller, waitress, or any number of professionals or service providers was wearing headphones while serving you. We are preparing students for college and career. We can not teach them that this is acceptable. If they say the music is off or it isn't plugged into the phone, great, there is no need to have the headphones in their ears. There may be times you allow headphones, like when students are working independently, and certainly that is fine. But I have seen an alarming number of students wearing headphones while their teacher is instructing. Set the tone for respect in your classroom - and set the signs so students have no excuses. If there are times headphones are allowed, make the sign reversible.

Headphones                                                                                 No Headphones

3. Insist that students use real names when participating in interactive activities such as Kahoot or Socrative. Now I am all about having fun in my class. You can ask any of my past students, but even in the midst of the fun, we need to set the tone of taking work seriously. Think about it. Even at a professional development workshop, we may play a fun game, but we would probably (hopefully) be considered unprofessional if we starting calling ourselves by strange names like Sexy Girl or The Man. Set expectations high for your students. The majority will rise to meet them. Obviously, an exception to this would be a foreign language class in which students go by language specific names.

4. Finally, think about other things that get on your nerves. Communicate your expectations to students and expect them to follow through. You may want to make a short list of rules, like the following (feel free to copy, paste, adjust to fit your needs):

• Devices stay face down on the table or in backpacks/purses until instructed otherwise. No keeping them in your lap. Staring at your crotch is weird.
• Use real names when engaging in student interactives. I will delete anyone who does not appear to be a member of my class. 
• Watch signs for headphones. If I take them, it will cost you to get them back, IF I'm in a good mood. 

Have fun teaching. If something repeatedly gets on your nerves, fix it. You are the king or queen of your classroom. And college and career readiness is more than math and language and science, it's just as much, or more, about attitudes and professionalism. At least in my humble opinion.

Confessions of an Educational Technology Assistant

Imagine standing at the edge of a jungle, tangled in the overhanging vines. You’re trudging through thick, gooey mud, burdened with a heavy pack, all while trying to admire and research the amazing beauty all around you.

That’s how I was feeling when I decided to leave the classroom. I didn’t want to leave teaching or learning, but I had to get away from the burdens and entanglements. My students, my school family, and the process of learning were the beauty, but I was bogged down and tangled up with paperwork, unhappy parents, and administrative duties. I could not take on one more thing, and technology became “one more thing.” I viewed it as one of those creeping vines reaching out to bind me up. It seemed that even the technology that was supposed to make my life easier, was actually filling up my extra time, making my life messy like a sheet full of words with no margin. I got (and still do) more emails in my inbox everyday than I ever got letters in my mailbox; by the time I got the formatting right and got my printer to work for that perfect handout, I realized I could have done it faster by hand (and, shhhh, sometimes I did…); when I finally had time to post grades, the internet would be down; and I could go on.

Don’t get me wrong. There was a time I was gung-ho about educational technology, and up to my last day I taught with my iPad and projector daily, and used videos and interactive games; but, (and here’s my dirty little secret) I had come to the point that I was done learning any new technology. I knew what worked for me and any time I tried to research, I just felt overwhelmed. When we had professional development on technology, it seemed like a fast paced couple of hours demonstrating all the recent apps for every possible subject that left me breathless. I walked away with a few sheets listing all the latest apps and websites thinking, “When will I ever have time to go through all these?” Technology was just one more thing I did not have time for.

Now imagine being picked up out of that mud and being dropped smack in the heart of that dark, menacing jungle, because that’s exactly what happened. I left the classroom but still needed to buy groceries. My search for a part time job landed me in the middle of that technology jungle as an educational technology assistant, tasked with researching educational technology and helping teachers implement it. I felt completely overwhelmed. My first day on the job, my coworkers were throwing around phrases like “we could Nearpod that,” or “I need to put that on my Symbaloo,” and “we could gamify that lesson.” Too ashamed to admit my ignorance, I began researching every strange word they said and getting them to show me what they were working on.  Talk about a learning curve, mine was huge. I quickly realized that I was indeed “behind the times.” But as I hacked my way through the jungle, I began to feel frustrated. It seemed everyday I would come across something that made me think, “If only I’d known about this a year ago! This would have made my life so much easier!” I was astounded to learn how much is out there, free for teachers to use; however, if the experience of most teachers is like mine, they just don’t have the time to discover those gems of technology.

All that led to the birth of this blog idea. What if I could share what I’m learning with teachers in a way that would not be overwhelming to them? What if I could help them lose some of the burden and give them some tools that free them up to focus on the beauty of teaching, rather than the difficulties? What if I could help great teachers be greater and stay in the classroom, inspiring and leading the next generation? Thus the idea of the 4:1 challenge.

My challenge for you is to do nothing at first. Yes, you read that correctly. Do nothing except read the weekly blog for four weeks. Each week I’ll tell you about a technology tool that I wish I had known about when I was in the classroom. Each month will highlight certain types of tools--tools for assessment/grading, tools for lesson planning, tools for organizing, etc. After reading about the three to four tools I recommend, I challenge you to choose one, just one that you think best fits your style of living and teaching, and try it out. I will try out each tool and tell you the pros and cons from the point of view of someone who’s been there. I will try to choose tools that work with multiple devices, iOS and Android, and will do my best to include tools for 1:1 classrooms, as well as classrooms with limited technology. I want to help as many as I can, so please share this blog--email it, facebook it, tweet it--whatever works for you.

Let’s start learning together!