Our Costa Rican Adventure Begins...

Training between terminals in Dallas

15 intrepid #NDBTigers have headed off to Costa Rica for a week of adventure. The trip began at 6am on Valentine's Day, the perfect way to start a journey on which we are sure to fall in love with the beauty and biodiversity of this incredible Central American country. 

We met at SFO, sort of bright-eyed, but definitely ready to go. Our layover in Dallas gave us time to take a few trains around the airport and grab some food. 

Excited to expand our horizons this week

The flights were easy and we even arrived 25 mins early into San Jose, Costa Rica. WorldStrides was there to pick us up and take us to our hotel where we have a 3 course dinner. Everyone was full and ready for bed by 11pm.

“Tell us how you have transformed your practice…”

I am taking a stab at the Google Certified Innovator application and one of the prompts inspired me to write about how I have transformed my practice in recent years.  While this is a loaded question and I could go on for days, I wanted to share my quick response (restricted to 1,000 characters – lucky you!). It doesn’t got into specifics, but I share how focusing on integrating technology in a meaningful way into my curriculum has changed my overall view on what it means to be a teacher.  It also credits my fabulous colleague, Rebecca Girard, for getting me started down this path…

Rebecca Girard and Myself

“I refer to my colleague, Rebecca Girard, as my EdTech Sensei. Three years ago she encouraged me to dive into the wonderful world of integration of meaningful technology into my curriculum. Since then, I have been engrossed in all things EdTech and inspired by the large community of teachers who work everyday to improve their students’ school experience. This couldn’t have come at a better time as I was right around the teacher ‘5 year itch’. I was in need of some inspiration and reinvigoration of my practice. I have never been so inspired and passionate about what I do than I am today. Since then, I have approached my teaching and classroom through a different lens. While content knowledge is still very important to me, my number one priority it to best prepare my students for college and beyond – for the careers that don’t exist yet. A wonderful side-effect of this change in direction is that I have a lot more compassion and empathy towards my students and their individual strengths”

#FallCUE and Soul Food

My 5th CUE Conference! I think...

It's taken me a few days to recover from the Fall Cue Conference in Napa this weekend - I blame the awesome sessions I attended that left my mind numb and this parasite I'm growing.  I wanted to jot down a few great pearls I picked up this weekend - mostly reaffirming things I've learned at past CUE conferences.

First of all, being in one place with so many inspirational and like-minded educators is one of the best feelings. If my mind (and family) could handle it, I would attend conferences all the time because the teacher-high is so worth it.  I'm left with a ton of great ideas and an energy to continue to (hopefully) positively impact my students.  I won't be able to package all the greatness of this weekend in this quick post, but there were a few things I can share.

My #FallCUE partner in Crime - Rebecca Girard!

Google Apps for Education is where it's at

If you haven't hoped on board yet - do it! Utilizing Google apps greatly improves the lives of both teachers and students.  If you're looking to increase your productivity - Google apps.  Streamline your workflow? Google apps.  Increase collaboration among students? Google apps. Want someone to grade your quizzes for you? Google apps (Check out what I learned from @MrScottMarsden during his session on forms and Flubaroo). I could go on and on...

Blog with your students, you won't regret it

I have been blogging with my students for 3 years now, ever since I went to one of David Theriault's sessions on blogging (you know, the one where he made us all cry?). I started with a class blog, then leveled up to individual student blogs and now I do a bit of both.  Blogging is a one stop shop to covering many of your common core technology bases, but also an invaluable experience for your students. I explained how I implemented blogging in my classes during my presentation and the one I did with my colleague, Rebecca Girard - her wealth of knowledge is priceless!

Increase digital literacy, one step at a time

There are a million digital tools out there... I made that figure up, but there are more than any one person could ever learn and use, but don't let that deter you! Start with just one (take a look at the Tech Toolkit I shared during my presentation). You don't have to put your entire course online and complete every lesson using digital tools, you can incorporate one or two new tools at time, wherever they appropriately fit into your curriculum.

Dinner from Stephanos. Photo by Rebecca Girard

Oh and the last nugget I need to share with you - Stephanos Soul Food in Vallejo. Totally unassuming from the outside... fried chicken and mac n' cheese heaven on the inside. I pulled the whole "I'm eating for two" when I cleared my plate that had enough food for 3 people. Cheers!

The Power of Perplexity

With 2 weeks of the new school year already complete, I already find myself trying to catch up with the lesson planning/grading for tomorrow's lesson!  Taking advice from Liz's previous post, I decided to take a minute to breathe.  However, during my short break (in the midst of my half graded papers), I stumbled across a quote that I hope to use to frame my goals for this year.  I have John Dewey to credit for these insightful words:

"The best, indeed the only preparation [for learning] is arousal to a perception of something that needs explanation, something unexpected, puzzling, peculiar. When the feeling of a genuine perplexity lays hold of any mind (no matter how the feeling arises), that mind is alert and inquiring. "

For some reason, the "scrambling" sensation I get when trying to revise a lesson that just doesn't seem right was put at ease when I realized what advice John Dewey was imparting.  As long as I try to introduce scenarios (no matter how big or small) that will spark a question or moment of curiosity within my students, I will have benefitted my students for the day! Even if this moment lasts just a few seconds, it could be the catalyst for a question, a reason for my students to stay engaged or collaborate with others in hopes of finding an answer.  I think one of the main reasons I find teaching so fun is that I never quite know exactly when, why, or how these moments of perplexity will take place. I can envision random sparks in different colors firing off throughout my classroom, representative of unique moments of perplexity for each student.


Perplexity can be scary; the fear of the unknown definitely intimidates me as a teacher.  However, I strongly believe these fears can quickly be replaced with excitement and anticipation if I take the time to celebrate my students' moments of perplexity.  My goals for this year include allowing my students opportunities to pursue and resolve their moments of perplexity with collaborative investigation. With the strength and encouragement of our classroom communities, I am confident my students will find joy in "not knowing" because of the journey they will take "to discover".

Be kind, “unwind”…

As we embark on a new school year, I am filled with a delightful sense of anticipation. Yes, I love returning to school. New school supplies, a new class, teaching a subject I love, with colleagues I admire and respect. I’m one of the lucky ones.  While the summer brings with it a welcome break and a time for relaxation, I wonder how many of us really do take the time to relax, unwind and recharge our batteries.  One of the things I used to enjoy over the summer was watching movies with my daughters when they were home.  “You’ve Got Mail” was a particular favorite. The Tom Hanks character utters a phrase, which  my girls used to tease me with.     

“Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address.”- Nora Ephron 

Once that first flush of enthusiasm has gone, the pencils need resharpening, the school supplies are no longer new, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and tired. Starting the school day so early should be outlawed, but that is a whole different blog post. How can we maintain that just back to school feeling? 

One summer my oldest daughter introduced me to the “IT Crowd”, a British comedy about the technical support workers in a large corporation. I must stress this is NOT a reflection of our IT department, but this clip amused me and seems appropriate now. The answer given to fixing a malfunctioning device was invariably the same "Have you tried turning it off and on again?"

This doesn’t just apply to electronic devices. Occasionally we all need to follow this advice. So, as the school year is under way, let’s all remember to do this, turn off, unplug, rewind, recharge- whatever. Life is not about the destination, but about the moments that make up the journey.

As the year gets underway, my promise to myself is to take some of those moments to switch off.  It doesn’t have to be much- just lunch away from my desk, a break at the weekend. How can I help my students recognize their need to do this? Maybe by modeling this behavior, by not assigning a homework when they expect one.  Together, we can work it out. 

Roll on the 2015-2016 school year,  I’m raring to go!

Let's hit a home run for NDB!

I am excited to write this post and share some amazing news. My Associate Principal, +Anne Schaefer-Salinas (@apannie7), nominated me for the Comcast All Star Teacher Award and I have been chosen as one of the top 5 finalists! It is an honor to be included in such an incredible group of educators who are clearly dedicated to their students and passionate about education.

The next step is to compete with the other finalists for the grand prize, which is $20,000 for my school Notre Dame High School in Belmont! I couldn’t be more thrilled by this opportunity.

Now I need help from YOU to spread the word.

· Visit www.csnbayarea.com/AST
· Fill out the information in the VOTE NOW box and press Submit. 

Now through June 1.
· Everyone is allowed to vote once per day!
· In order to vote on your mobile device, click HERE.(Please note that Comcast requires parent consent for students aged 13 - 17 to vote)

Click here to see my video, bio and photo gallery created by Comcast after visiting Notre Dame.

The winner will be announced on July 8 at AT&T Park prior to the Giants/Mets game, and the winning teacher's school will be awarded $20,000! 

For the past 17 years I have been blessed to be part of the Notre Dame community. I love working with our amazing, creative, and inquisitive students. My students, school community, and #PLN encourage and push me to design learning opportunities that are engaging and challenging. Working with such a supportive community has brought out my best, which is why I am being considered as an All Star Teacher. Together as a team we can hit a home run and win $20,000!

Thank you Brad...

I recently read a great article by Brad Kuntz- it was as if the man had read my mind and could articulate far better than I. The article was called  Focus on Learning, Not Grades

I read so many articles written by fellow professionals all explaining why extra credit is wrong, Mr. Kuntz expressed it so well.  Now we are at that time of year and students are realizing their semester grades may just reflect their understanding and competency in a particular subject and HORROR- that may not be an A.

Imagine you are going to work, but while you are there, you spend your time doing anything other than your actual job. Then you realize that your pay is a reflection of the work you have been doing.  So you start to work extra hard, but you haven't actually paid any attention to the job description- no problem. You can simply ask your boss to give you extra time, or a bonus even.  All will be well and you will still take home that paycheck.  I may be wrong, but I don't see that happening too often in the work force. Why do students and often times their parents believe that good preparation for life is to ask the teacher for extra credit?  Imagine receiving emails like this on a regular basis- Dear (insert teacher name),  
I am only x points away from the next grade up; or I have worked really hard but the material I studied was not on the test; or, simply, I really need an A in this class. Followed by- Is there any extra credit I can do to boost my grade?
I will help organize the stock room, make signs, bring in tissues.  Anything.  Sincerely (insert student name)

When does any of this boost a student's understanding of the material? If a student typically scores in the low B high C range of all assessments, how can the student be demonstrating complete mastery of the material in the class, in other words earning an A? When as a society will our focus on the learning and growth of a student rather than the emphasis on the grade?  I have been guilty of giving extra credit- a challenge question on a test to be answered only if all other questions have been answered; attendance at an external lecture of interest to the student and connected to the course. I will not give extra credit just to boost a grade, to give the false impression that this student really understands the material. 
I along with many of my colleagues at Notre Dame want the best education possible for our students- that does not mean giving them free points.
So, if you are reading this, next time you say "No, there is no extra credit to boost your grade, but you can meet with me to go over your test/quiz/homework" remember, you are not alone!