Math Conversations in the Home ~ helping reach our students on the home front!

Are you a passionate math educator or do you know someone who is? Click here or share this blog post with that person! I'd love to make connections with other math educators regarding my Google Innovator Project. My project involves finding ways of reaching students through math conversations on the home front. I am deeply grateful for the hard work and dedication of math teachers who tirelessly work to help today's students, and I know those in their sphere of influence are greatly blessed by their diligent efforts!

Here's a glimpse into the heart of why my Google Innovator Project focuses on reaching our students through the home connection. In my twenty years of teaching (mostly in the public school system), I find students are coming into the classroom with less and less understanding of numbers, shapes, patterns etc. due to their lack of experiences and conversations that can typically take place in the home or outside of the classroom. These invaluable conversations and experiences to support math learning in school.

I'm in the process of brainstorming ideas and strategies that can make a difference for students, parents/guardians to build conversations and experiences on the home front to support math learning in the classroom. I know the more brains invested in a project, the better, so I'd love to have you join me as I build a cohort of educators to explore how we can reach students and parents for math learning outside of the classroom.

Interested? Let me know here. I'd like to include you in my research, brainstorming over the next year as I work to accomplish my Google Innovator Vision project. Below is my beginning Vision Deck for my Google Innovator project, but as we all know, projects can take off in so many different ways from how it begins, so I'm ready to evolve to wherever this project may take us! 

After looking over the information I've share with you, I'd love your initial input, thoughts, ideas about this project here. Thank you so much for willingness to share in my endeavors to make a difference in the world of math education!

Let's Connect ~ Networking With Twitter to Learn and Grow

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The Joy of Being a Part of SCASL 2017!

Over ten years ago, I met the amazing Cathy Jo Nelson and so began a journey of professional learning with a fellow dedicated educator with a passion and drive for instructional technology like myself. Through my connection with Cathy Jo, I've met so many other like-minded educators that have helped me grown in amazing ways!

This past summer through a contact of Cathy, I was invited to share at SCASL's Summer Institute about my personal journey into the amazing world of robotics and coding. Because of the success of these sessions, Cathy invited me back to speak at SCASL's spring conference. Sharing my personal story of apprehension, inquiry, and challenge resonated with so many educators I spoke with, and I relish the opportunity to inspire anyone experiencing these same emotional apprehension with new topics!

Seeing so many educators willing to dive into the unknown and embrace the challenge of learning new topics drives my love of inspiring teachers to embrace topics they may not have normally explored!

In my sessions, I brought all my robots and devices to allow the hands-on exploration necessary for new learners to begin the inquiry process of learning. Seeing the celebration of learning take place makes my heart smile as I know I'm affecting not only the educators I'm working with through my sessions, but also the students they'll bring this excitement for learning to in their schools!

A key element of the learning process is communicating and collaborating with fellow learners through the exploration process. Just like in my own classroom, each of my sessions allowed teachers to develop their understanding through exploration, sharing what they learned through collaborating with fellow learners and then written communication through our back channel for future reference.

What's a training session without amazing door prizes? Last year with a stroke of luck, I was able to obtain some Google cardboards from Alice Keeler and they have been a wonderful tool for educators to take back to their students and explore the world through the eyes of these cardboard viewers. Click here to learn more about Google cardboard. 

 

Thank you so much Cathy Jo and #SCASL17 for the amazing opportunity to share in the learning process with all of your members. It bring me great joy to pass on my excitement and enthusiasm for learning and to see those who normally would not embrace challenging topics like robotics and coding DIVE into this amazing world of learning!