Joining EdTechTeacher!

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Dear Friends and Colleagues, 

It is with great pleasure that I announce my new position with EdTechTeacher. 

EdTechTeacher is at the forefront of helping schools leverage technology to create innovative, dynamic learning environments.

In my new role, I will be providing staff development for schools and teachers in the region and around the country. My passion is to strengthen our schools and provide students with the best possible education. I believe that includes the effective uses of technology. I am thrilled to be able to continue supporting teachers and schools.  

I leave behind a 20 year career in public education to join EdTechTeacher. I want to thank everyone who has supported me, learned with me and shared with me. Please cheer me on as I move forward with this new adventure. 

Sincerely,
Samantha

Samantha Morra
EdTechTeacher, Instructor & Presenter
http://edtechteacher.org 
http://edtechteacher.org/summer2013

Economics and Empathy

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I was just reading Richard Byrne’s post Life on Minimum Wage – A Hands-on Economics Lesson. He shared an economics lesson called Life on Minimum Wage. Great lesson! I love that it is in game form. The lesson reminded me of a site called Spent. I used it for both an economics/financial literacy lesson and a lesson on empathy. (Many of you who know me know how I value teaching empathy. I’ll write more on empathy in another post.) Check it out and see how you do. I’m going to guess you will walk away thinking differently about minimum wage.

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Don’t Cry Because It’s Over. Smile Because It Happened

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It’s Teacher Appreciation Day and I have just resigned after 20 years in public education. 

It has been one of the great joys in my life to work with so many wonderful students through the years. There’s truly something wonderful and magical to see a student grow, change and blossom. I don’t think I could forget them if I tried. They will always be my students. 

I always wanted to be a teacher. There was nothing as scary as the first day of teaching and that door closes behind you with a room full of kids. I got my first job teaching Kindergarten. I thought I would do that the rest of my life. But then, technology came into my classroom that year and since then opened many other doors for me. 

I don’t want this to be an indictment of public education or another “Why I Quit” essay. Things are tough, but I would never discourage someone from becoming a teacher. Teaching is a tough way to make a living, but a great way to make a life. 

Have you ever wondered why they call graduation commencement? Commencement means beginning. For me, this is like graduation day. For the past few years I’ve had the pleasure and joy of working with teachers to improve teaching practices. I’m now going to venture forward and find new ways to support teachers, support students and improve education. It’s time for me to close this door and forge a new path. I leave with a smile.

Scratch Rubric

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Scratch Rubric
Student_______________________________________  Grade_______  Date_____________________

 

Category

4-Excellent

3-Good

2-Fair

1-Needs Work
Content
Makes important connections to content area and shows depth of understanding
Makes connections to content area and shows depth of understanding
Makes some connections to content area and shows some understanding
Does not make connections to content area and shows little understanding
Design
Project artwork and creativity significantly support the content
Project uses original artwork or reuses imported images creatively
Project uses artwork of others with some effort to change
Did not try to make own artwork
Purpose of Design
Has multiple layers or  complex design
Has clear purpose, makes sense, has structure
Has some sense of purpose and structure
No clear purpose of project or organization
Interaction
User interface fits content well, is complex; instructions are well-written and integrated into design
Includes way for user to interact with program and  clear instructions
Includes way for user to interact with program, may need to be clearer or fit program’s purpose better
Does not provide a way for other people to interact with program
Scripting
Project shows advanced understanding of blocks and procedures and uses additional programming techniques
Project shows understanding of blocks and how they work together to meet a goal
Project shows some understanding of blocks and how they work together
Project shows little understanding of blocks and how they work together
Organization
Is well organized and logical
Is organized and logical
Has some organization and logic
Lacks organization and logic
Bugs
Debugged inc. additional  programming techniques.
Debugged
May have a couple bugs
Has several bugs

Who Moved My Cheese-Embracing Change

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This was a post I made to a discussion board for one of my grad school classes:

I read Who Moved My Cheese a few years ago when I made the switch to middle school. I had spent 12 years in elementary and thought that was all I wanted. It took a moldy room and a difficult administrator to get me to embrace change and move on. I remember crying just like Hem, “It’s not fair!”

I had to think long and hard about change. I really did envision myself as an elementary school teacher my whole life.

As I left part of my life behind and started running through the maze I had to find words that supported what I needed to do. I too wrote on the walls. Some of the words I used were (forgive me if I don’t get the words quite right):

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” —FDR
“Perhaps it is you who have changed by standing still” —Inherit the Wind
“Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving.”—Mame
“The most important thing you can give someone is a chance” — poster in my room (I added “and a piece of chocolate.”
“If you change one life it is as if you have changed the whole world.” —many sources
“Seek out change. It is the only way to learn something new about yourself.” —Me. This became my mantra.

I really think in most ways I am like all four: Sniff, Scurry, Haw and Hem. These days I am much more like Sniff and Scurry seeking out change and new opportunities. However, Haw and Hem are interesting metaphors. Hem is the low point. It can’t get any worse. Haw is moving away from that low point. In many ways, you can’t be Haw without being Hem for a little while. The important thing is to not Hem too long.

Four years later and I realized how wise, and yes, brave I was. I am not saying this out of pride. I am saying this to demonstrate how I empathize with the teachers I work with. This really is the first generation of teachers who are being asked to teach in ways that they have not been taught. It is tough for them to see that they need to change. I use video like “Shift Happens” and “Pay Attention” to get that point across. I also try to provide them with other types of “cheese” to taste, different ways to cover a subject in which the student-teacher dynamic is different from what they are used to. Our social and information landscape has changed. Teachers must be aware of this, embrace change and be supported as they take risks or they and our current system risk being relevant and effective.

Thank You

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I admit I have been staying away from my blog to focus on my grad work and work for my school. There are just not enough hours in the day. Even today, I have spent the entire weekend working on grad work and creating materials and signs for the opening of the “classroom of the future” I have been working on for the past two years. (Grand-opening this week.)

Needless to say I have taken on so much and I really think, if I let it, burn-out could rear its ugly head. This article describes pretty accurately some of the stresses in teaching: Why is teaching so stressful? Also, the current climate in NJ has not been very kind to teachers. I see colleagues at both ends of their careers leaving teaching and it saddens me. I try to find inspiration when I can. Today I got a good shot in the arm…

I just left RadioShack. I needed three wires to finish off connecting the SmartBoard and projector to a single computer. I was not quite sure what I needed. I spoke with the young man at the counter and we looked over the VGA wires and a converter. After explaining what I was doing, we settled on 4 items totaling over $120. I told him I needed to walk around the store to think about it, because I really did not want to spend my own money and I was not very sure about the possibility of being reimbursed.

I walked around for a few minutes and decided to get the wires. As I was paying for them the young man turns to me and says, “Well if no one else appreciates it, I do. Thank you.” I told him he made my day.

Thank you can be so powerful

So to all of my friends and colleagues who are teachers:
Teacher appreciation week is upon us this week. Don’t forget to acknowledge that what we do is not just for a paycheck. We do it because we make a difference. For many of us teaching is not just a career, but a life. Appreciate what you do, find inspiration where you can and thank you.

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