Before the school-year begins, you need to establish clear guidelines for technology in your classroom. Whether your school is 1:1 iPads, shared laptop carts, or computer labs, students need to know what is expected of them when they power up technology tools.

8 rules for technology in the classroom:

1. “Apples Up!”: When teacher is talking, iPads must be face down on students’ desks.

2. Use two hands to carry iPads or laptops. “Hug it like you love it!”: Great for younger students. Reminds students to hold the device to their chest. “Both thumbs on top!”: Good for older students. Students should stack books or papers beneath the device, then carry everything together.

3. Never carry devices by a cover or lid.

4. No food or drinks near devices. No devices in the lunchroom!

5. Always use the app or website the teacher directed. No unauthorized apps or chatting.

6. Wash hands before using any shared devices. We all know how easy it is for germs to spread like wildfire in a classroom!

7. When technology time is up, save and power off quickly. Do not take iPad or laptop out of bag/desk/cart unless directed by teacher.

8. As a teacher, it also helps to set some guidelines for yourself when integrating technology into your lesson plans!

5 rules for technology in the classroom — for teachers:

1. Make sure the technology adds real value.

2. Set clear expectations and guidelines for students. Make sure they know the technology has real educational value and is more than a fun tool or distraction.

3. Before any student work appears online, get administration and parental permission. No last names or location information!

4. Test all apps and websites before having students use them. If there are bugs you’ll want to know what they are and how to fix them before class starts.

5. Be open to student choice. Technology allows students to create animations, record podcasts, or make infographics all from the same device. Give students the freedom to explore outcomes that interest them.

Once you’ve established these guidelines, you and your students can start to enjoy the many benefits of technology in the classroom!

One goal at my school this year was to switch how we teach towards a flipped instructional model. On the surface, it may sound simple. Students learn from videos, online collaboration, and recorded lectures at home instead of at school; and voilà! — loads of valuable classroom time is freed up. Unfortunately, it wasn’t that easy.

Let me rewind back to phase one of our technology plan. Our first meeting revolved around questions like, “How come the Starbucks down the street only has one of those spaceship-looking thingies on the ceiling and about 200 people on the internet, while we have 5 of those things and no one can stream videos?” Yikes! Eventually, we figured out to send our most tech savvy staff to trainings and conferences to figure out our bandwidth issues!

Enter phase two — a 1:1 iPad program and full suite of great apps. We discovered a Learning Management System that allowed teachers to post assignments and videos, create “bundles” of lesson plans and units, and give students access to chat sessions, polls, and organizational systems. All year-long teachers and students collaborated to learn from each other using these amazing tools.

By phase three teachers were ready for seamless integration! I recall, in my relentless optimism, saying, “We aren’t going to assign any homework this year! It’s just practice!” I imagined shouts of joy, fist pumps, maybe even a student throwing a pile of worksheets in the air in ironic celebration of our new, paperless workflow.

By the end of the year it was clear that there were as many triumphs as there were challenges when it came to the flipped classroom. Both students and teachers agreed that organization was streamlined with an LMS, and we truly achieved a nearly paperless workflow. The copy machine soon lost its status as an activity hub and we got a Keurig! Students benefitted from the ability to review lessons online at any time and advanced students were able to work more independently and complete extra credit activities. Differentiation became easy and authentic. Students enjoyed online collaboration, something more familiar and natural for them. Everyone agreed that flipped homework was both meaningful and engaging — the way homework was meant to be.

Interestingly enough, the challenges we identified were some of the same associated with regular, old, technology-free teaching: lack of time for lesson development and the issue of incomplete homework assignments. The same culprits turned up unprepared for class. Without “pre-learning” the flipped model comes to a grinding halt. Teachers are once more faced with the choice of holding conscientious students back or plowing onward, regardless. Development and curation of bundles and lesson plans took hours and hours of prep time. It would have been very tempting for teachers to simply give up, considering these obstacles.

All things considered, year one of flipped instruction went well for us. If we were to do it all over again I’d recommend that other schools be sure to set aside as much teacher-training and preparation time as possible. Encourage your staff to “play” with this technology, make mistakes, and fail brilliantly. Start small. Ask teachers to post one video on your LMS per night. This might be all you get from tentative tech-users for a while, until students start asking for more — and they will. Know that effective teachers are not always effective online instructional designers, but blended learning can balance this out. Finally, remember that the flipped model is only a catalyst for learning. Students are still the center of the classroom and sound teaching methodologies and strategies are still as vital as ever.

When I heard Clay Shirky say that the only proven way to improve teacher performance is for teachers to learn from each other, my conscience stirred within me. Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) are a growing trend in excellent schools and we didn’t have one yet at my school.

Shirky went on to say, “Letting teachers choose to opt out of new tools is okay because it keeps the naysayers from blocking forward movement. Let those who are interested implement change.”

The next week I began asking my fellow teachers if they’d like to create a PLC. Within three weeks, eight out of thirty-seven teachers signed up. At our first meeting, eighteen showed up!

Our First Meeting

At our first meeting we discussed Harry Wong’s book, The First Days of School. This meeting was unlike any other I’d been to at our school. Several teachers had already read the book and shared how it had helped them. Teachers who were planning to read it asked incredible questions. I came away with at least 10 ideas for things I could do on day one of the next school year. I got more out of those 30 minutes than I’d gotten from 30 hours of certain professional classes. It was unbelievable!

What’s Next

Our next plan of attack is to have a “lunch and learn” at our school. Everyone is working to finish the book and we’re going to discuss and share ideas. No one is required to do this — we are attending by choice, making it that much more powerful.

Reach Out and Start Your Own PLC

It can be intimidating to reach out to colleagues, but we know that the way to improve schools is to improve teaching. We must do this for ourselves. Although it is frustrating to have an insufficient amount of money to spend on professional development, we can get so much from a PLC — for free! We are so excited to be part of a teacher-led group that encourages sharing and collaboration.

I encourage you to talk with other teachers at your school. See if there are a few who would be willing to start a PLC. Some may refuse to join you, and that’s okay! Don’t be discouraged, there will be other teachers who are just as excited about starting a PLC as you!

If you’re having trouble creating a PLC within your own school, there are plenty virtual PLC’s. In Summer 2014, thousands of educators joined the Summer Learning Series, open to any and all educators (#SummerLS on Twitter). You can also keep an eye out for Voxer groups and book studies that you can join.

When you work with teachers who are willing and excited, change happens. Are you ready to level-up your classroom?

Over the years, I have worked with students of different cultural, socioeconomic, and academic backgrounds. One year I taught at one of Philadelphia’s most challenging schools with one of the lowest teacher-retention rates. Violence, poverty, and failing scores gave the school a negative reputation in the community. I quickly discovered that most of my colleagues were burnt out and expected behavior problems and poor performance. I was assigned a class of 32 below-level students without any special education, language, or behavior support.

Given the situation, how should a teacher envision the year ahead? Should a teacher expect every lesson to be interrupted with behavior problems? Should a teacher expect that no child will pass the state test? I refused to accept that the situation was out of my control.

I focused on attaining quality academic and behavioral performance from each student. I consistently set high, yet achievable, expectations and didn’t back down. These expectations were continually communicated with students and families. We celebrated growth, successes, and even attendance on a daily basis. The kids felt accountable knowing there would always be follow-through.

After the first trimester other staff members began to notice a dramatic, positive change in this class. By March my students were exhibiting record gains on the Benchmark Assessment.

Although I may not be a better or more experienced teacher, I believe I approached the year much differently than my colleagues. Preconceived notions did not dictate my school year. Past performance is certainly beneficial information to have, but this information should not be used to place students in a box. Rather, one should use this information to motivate students appropriately and raise the bar whenever possible. Instruction must be differentiated to meet cultural, academic, language, and learning style needs. However, the definition of quality must remain the same and shouldn’t waiver between student populations.

How do you set expectations for your students? Would love to hear your ideas!

Congratulations, you made it! You now have your own classroom! You will probably spend the better part of your summer thinking about your classroom setup and decor. You are likely to purchase your first planning book and other teacher supplies. Even after 14 years in the classroom, I must admit I still feel giddy thinking about new supplies and classroom decoration ideas.

Your first year as a teacher will be both exciting and overwhelming. It will also be the best adventure you will take in your professional journey. As you embark on this endeavor you will want to examine and develop five basic “maps” to set you in a successful direction:

1. Establish a support system: Whether it be colleagues within your grade level or a veteran on campus, these people will be your lifeline. One uniquely inspiring aspect about this profession is the willingness to share and mentor. Veteran teachers have all been in your position at some point in time and can ease confusion or unknowns for you.

2. Ask a lot of questions: As educators, we are always reminding our students to ask questions, but we need to ask questions as well! You will need to know your school’s policies and procedures, school-wide behavior plan, schedules, and much more. I have taught in three different schools, each with a unique way of handling day-to-day tasks, so try not to assume too much!

3. Developing a solid behavior management plan: Once you have established whether your school has a behavior plan, examine what your role is. Explore whether colleagues in your grade-level have specific procedures for handling encouragement and discipline. Hopefully teachers at your school are already using ClassDojo and you can jump on board. If not, there is no reason for you not to use ClassDojo for your own classroom. You might be the catalyst for change. Speaking from experience, it can happen.

4. Establish strong classroom procedures: There should be a well-defined procedure in place for just about every classroom activity. This will save you an incredible amount of time that can be wasted during transitions. Your school might have procedures that all teachers must implement. If not, mentor teachers can help you develop procedures and there are plenty of ideas online. Whatever procedures you choose, put them in place immediately. Practice often with your students and maintain consistency. Both you and your students will be glad you did.

5. Plan for more than you need: I develop detailed plans for the first three days. We practice procedures, go over the behavior management plan, gather materials, and perform icebreakers. I give a presentation about myself and students give “brown bag” presentations about themselves. We develop personal goals, class goals and set expectations. It’s always smart to plan far too many games and brain breaks just in case particular tasks take less time than anticipated.

Remember that you are setting the foundation for not only your first year, but for years to come. The goal is to establish who you are as an educator. Your methods and structures may change as you find what works or don’t work in your classroom, but your foundation will remain the same. Solid foundations support solid learning.

Year one is exciting! However, enthusiasm can only get your so far. My advice? Be consistent. Whether you have a few weeks or a few days before school starts, it’s time to make some decisions that will allow you to establish a consistent classroom environment.

7 Questions to ask yourself when planning routines and procedures — and advice from a middle school science teacher…

1. How will students enter the classroom?

Always have students line up outside of class. This might sound elementary, but it allows for separation between hallway behavior and classroom behavior. As they enter greet each student and say their names! This might be the only “hello” they receive today.

2. How will I get students’ attention?

A bell, a countdown, or a clap is typical — try to change it up! Perhaps you can ask the students for ideas and have a competition for the best attention grabber. How about this… TD4Wbutton 🙂

3. How will I begin each day?

Students should be able to enter class and get started on whatever routine you have in place without any reminders. Always have the assignment up on the projector for students to see. I do a quick-write at the beginning of each class. Three minutes to write, one minute to share with their partner/group, then students are randomly called on to share with the class.

4. How will I be calling on students?

I love using ClassDojo’s randomize feature to call on students. This keeps the students who raise their hand too much at bay and the shy students participating. Teachers sometimes use popsicle sticks to call on students at random, but ClassDojo is much more engaging and interactive for the students.

5. How will I reward excellent behavior?

ClassDojo! Personalize positive behavior awards based on characteristics you want students to strive for. However, make sure you have an incentive program in place to keep students working for ClassDojo points. For example, the first 5 students to reach 20 points gets _________.

6. What is my discipline policy?

Most schools will have a discipline policy in place that you must follow in terms of detention, etc. For my own classroom I give a warning using ClassDojo. If the behavior continues after the warning, communicate with the parent. Send them a ClassDojo message! Or give an old-school phone call. Parent-teacher relationships are key for student success.

7. How will I end class every day?

Exit tickets! Put a prompt up on the projector and give each student/pair/group a piece of paper. Students must turn in “exit tickets” on their way out the door.

“Moment of Zen” (cred. Jon Stewart) — I end each class with an inspirational quote. I turn off all of the lights and put the quote up on the projector. Students must be silent for 20 seconds before they can leave. Namaste. 🙂

Whatever routines and procedures you put in place, stay consistent. Your stress-level will thank you for it.

Good luck!

Many teacher preparation programs tell you not to crack a smile until December. They say the first days of school are for establishing respect, rules and routines. While this advice is grounded on sound ideas, it overlooks an essential classroom practice: building community. It is community that makes a student look forward to going to class, and helps a student stay strong when the rest of his or her world falls apart. Community that encourages a student to work at his or her full potential. A strong community creates a learning environment where all students can succeed.

This past year I scraped all of my former first day plans in favor of activities that built our classroom community. We went outside and I shared my “vision statement” for the year. I asked students to help me complete an exercise that demonstrated that vision. Students looked at me a little confused as to why I was asking them to splatter paint on a canvas instead of reading a list of rules. However, this set a completely different tone for our year. Our vision, fully know(n) and fully love(d), created a community where we could freely express our ideas. We had to trust that when our classmates fully knew and understood our thoughts and feelings they would still love us. This vision encouraged us to share openly with one another, making our community that much stronger.

After the first day I hung the paintings and our vision statement on a bulletin board in a prominent part of the classroom. Each day my students and I were greeted with this reminder. During class discussions we’d go back to this vision and let it mold our conversation and tone of voice. On presentation days we’d start with a reminder of our vision and let it influence our feedback. When conflict arose we discussed where the breakdown in this vision occurred and how we could prevent it from happening in the future.

We eventually discussed our rules and routines, but this first day activity set the tone for what was most important in my classroom — it was the first impression, and I only have one chance at delivering a great one for the classroom! It both deepened our curricular learning and encouraged us to be better people. Isn’t that what every teacher wants?

My school is packed to the brim — there is never an empty room in the building. When one teacher is on prep, their classroom is being used by a traveling teacher. Being a traveling teacher the first two years of my career, I empathize with others in the same position. Here are a few tips that I learned that made my life much easier every day:

1. A pen drive is your best friend. At my school, teachers are required to post the objectives on the board for the day. Also, a posted schedule helps me keep on track and the students organized. After a few weeks of writing and re-writing the schedule on the whiteboard at the beginning of the hour, I learned that digital is the way to go.I now keep all important documents saved on one pen drive. With a pen drive, I can easily pop in the drive and I’m all set to go!

2. Use a cart if your classes are all on the same floor. I am fortunate enough to have been given a cart by a previous traveling teacher. Before that I kept all of my belongings in my teacher “man-purse.” I would enter the classroom, pull everything out of the bag, organize it on the desk and finally be ready to start the day. With my cart, I can have everything already organized by class and over time students learn where to find what they need on any given day.

3. Third: Mentally run through your day in the morning. I create a mental checklist each day to make sure that I have all the supplies I need before students begin entering the classroom. Once the day begins there is no stopping time — if I forgot to put the correct copies on the cart, I’m out of luck. If I need anything that doesn’t fit in the cart, such as a globe, I make sure to place the items in the correct classroom before school starts. My mental checklist keeps me prepared 95% of the time. Unfortunately, nobody is perfect and I am forgetful occasionally. That’s why #4 is so important!

4. Respect other staff members and help them as much as possible. We are very fortunate in our school to have a lot of paraprofessionals in the classroom to help. I try my hardest to always respect their role in the classroom and not take advantage of them. They are not there to make me copies or run my errands. I believe that respecting them as equals is greatly appreciated. Occasionally if I do need some extra help grabbing something I missed in another classroom, they are always happy to help me out.

5. Appreciate your job. When the day is not going well and your stress level is intense due to the problems that come along with not having your own classroom, take a deep breath. Hopefully traveling is temporary and once you get some more experience there will be a beautiful classroom to call your own! The light at the end of the tunnel may be attainable for me next year as we are moving into a new school and I could have my own room. Wish me luck!

Would love to hear any tips or ideas from other traveling teachers in the comments below!

Many students are cursed with what I like to call “Black Hole Syndrome.“ If you’ve dared to look into a middle schooler’s backpack you know just what I’m talking about. Incomplete homework from 6 months ago, notes passed in math class, remnants of what should have been used for their science project, and a few stale Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. I think we can all agree that the majority of students need a bit of guidance as far as organization goes. Enter the “Interactive Science Notebook”! (this can also work for other subjects, of course)

Important details for implementing a successful Interactive Science Notebook:

• Notebook size: 8 ½ x 11” spiral notebook. This will allow you to paste worksheets in the notebook perfectly. If notebooks are any smaller students will need to cut the edges off worksheets – total nightmare. Trust me on this.

• Cover: Students decorate the cover of their notebook to make it “special” — something creative and unique to who they are! I encourage students to go over their cover with packaging tape to ensure it won’t fall apart after 2 months.

• Title Page: Name of class, teacher’s name, name of student, period number, and school year.

• Table of Contents: You will probably need two full pages worth of Table of Contents. Set-up should look like this:

It is imperative that you update the table of contents together as a class before you paste anything in the notebook (updating might occur every day).

• Numbering Pages: Page 1 should be your first blank left-hand page, page 2 will be your first right-hand page. This keeps all odd pages on the left and all even pages on the right, just like the table of contents lay-out.

• Right-Hand Page Activities: Right-hand page activities are always done first. These activities generally involve students learning new information, taking notes, etc.

• Left-Hand Page Activities: Left-hand page activities are for reinforcement activities, such as labs, projects, thinking maps, etc. This is where you can get creative and make your notebook as ‘interactive’ as you wish! I’ve done everything from simple foldables to paper pockets, where students can place their CD recordings of the “Photosynthesis Rap” they created.

• Color: I ask students to “color” their notes on the right-hand page. After taking notes they grab a highlighter or colored pencil and color any words they think are important or could possibly be on the test. For left-hand page activities students are required to have at least 5 colors on the page (could be as minimal as underlining or as extensive as drawing in the margins). This may sound elementary, but coloring your work requires students to look at what they have done for a longer period of time, essentially studying their own work.

• Grading: When students enter class and work on their warm-up activity, students should open their notebooks to look at their work from the prior day . Give students a stamp if work is complete. At the end of the unit you can collect all of the student notebooks and give them 10/10 for a page with a stamp, 5/10 for a page that is complete but has no stamp, and 0/10 for an empty page. This can be adjusted based on your own grading system.

• Parent communication: At the end of each unit leave a page for parent communication. This is where you write the grade the student received. Parents can then comment underneath on the students work and write any questions or concerns they might have.

There are far too many benefits to Interactive Science Notebooks, it would be silly not to try it out this school year. Students lacking organizational skills master a tool that will be useful for years to come. Students will no longer lose their assignments in their black hole backpacks. You will have more interaction with parents, which is imperative to student success. The best part is, you will save so much time grading you might even start having some time for yourself! 😀

Happy notebooking!

Welcome to your new classroom! Here is your Chromebook, your cart of iPads, your interactive whiteboard, and a copy of the digital literacy expectations for our students… Good luck!

If you’re a new teacher, you’ve probably heard these words recently. You may have found yourself wondering how to use the devices so generously bestowed upon your class — so, we’ve listed a few tips to keep you from getting overwhelmed.

1. Make friends with the tech integration specialist at your school.

This person will be able to help you work through the technical difficulties of plugging in your devices and learning simple troubleshooting techniques.

2. On the first day of school, identify a student tech whiz.

Chances are your students had a similar technology setup in their classrooms last year and more than a few of them are probably well versed in troubleshooting and setup. Give them a chance to shine. You may have so many interested tech gurus that you have to set up a rotation.

3. Find your favorite how-to blogs or Pinterest pages.

You are NOT the first teacher to have these problems. If you’re not comfortable asking someone in your school for help, ask someone on the Internet instead! Pinterest pages like this one are especially helpful for ideas using iPads in class and finding digital resources and activities.

4. Go slowly; there’s no need to jump into each device in the first week of school.

Before school starts, set up your class rules for handling the technology and review with them your school’s Acceptable Use Policy, like this one from South Berwyn District 100. You’ll likely have to send home permission slips so your students are allowed to work online. If you share a cart of devices with another class, figure out what the rotation schedule will be. There’s a lot of administrative work to getting your digital classroom up and running — but that gives you some extra time to get used to the tools.

Once you get comfortable you’ll find that using tech can save you time and energy and that your students will develop greater interest in the subject matter. Just take it one step at a time and remember you’re not alone!