This school year is coming to an end, but you have an opportunity with a new beginning in the fall.

One thing that I know for sure each year is that there is an end in sight!  But this also is an opportunity for a new beginning each fall.  Supporting staff with their use of technology is my job and this is a critical juncture in their learning.

When we have staff set goals for the year, and they don't quite meet those goals, it is a perfect time for them to reflect and plan/prep for the new year.  We have  1:1 staff do 9/9/9 goals in the fall and find them to be very helpful.  This format gives them some short-term wins and some long-term stretches.

9/9/9 stands for 9-day goal, 9-week goal, and 9-month goal.  As an administrator, I want to help staff reach these goals with time and support.  Reading their reflections after each helps us to know what support they need from us.

As you enter summer as a school staff I hope you relax and recharge, but also spend some time on your own skills with some tools that will be engaging and relevant in your classroom.

Off my soapbox.. into the tech tip.

Gimkit Example Screen

Gimkit is here and it's awesome!

Gimkit is made and maintained by high school students from Seattle. They crafted Gimkit to not only be a product that students want to use but teachers as well.

I encourage teachers to check it out and support these students by paying for the premium version.  

It is a combination of Kahoot and Quizlet that adds a level of gamification and understanding of compound returns.  It is extremely effective at repetition and lends itself nicely to any type of DOK level 1 stuff that kids just need to know.

A teacher starts a kit and his/her students go to play.gimkit.com on any phone, tablet, laptop, Chromebook, or desktop. Each student inputs the game's 4 digit code and their name.  Students answer questions on their own device at their own pace. Throughout a kit, each student will get exposure to the questions multiple times to ensure mastery.  Students earn in-game cash by answering questions. The more questions they answer correctly, the more money they earn.  This can be assigned individually, by team, by group, or by class. The teacher gets a live view to see how the class is performing real-time. 

And the coolest are the reports at the end for the entire group in addition to each individual.  Check out GimKit and add it to your toolbag of online apps to help your students learn in a fun gamified way in your classroom.

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Free Image on Pixabay - Goals, Setting, Office, Work, Note. (2018). Cdn.pixabay.com. Retrieved 8 June 2018, from https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2017/08/28/21/07/goals-2691265_960_720.jpg

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(2018). Gimkit.com. Retrieved 8 June 2018, from https://www.gimkit.com/client/img/Home/MacScreenShot1.png

Teachers Are Awesome!

Quizlet Live - "Quarterback Method"

Another awesome couple days of training for our iPad 1:1 teachers.  We had a lot of growth this year as they reflected on their goals both personally and for their teaching and learning.

These days really re-energized me as we are able to have great conversations about student learning and allow them time to share and celebrate too.

We typically have some new tools, updates, and some logistics to cover for the upcoming weeks.  This training was really about ending the year process and looking toward next year leveraging their excitement as they reflected on their progress thus far.

Taking a selfie for the Amazing Race

Teachers are amazing and I am humbled every time we meet.  They are professionals who are always seeking out ways to help their students no matter what.  Some of them are personally not comfortable with technology but know that it is the right thing to do.  Our job as coaches, mentors, and facilitators is to guide their energy and provide them the tools and resources needed to improve student learning in their classroom.  We have to internalize the framework and have the ability to model and use the same tools we expect students to use.

This training we had them do an "Amazing Race" challenge using Google Tour Builder, Sites, and Forms.  I couldn't even count the number of small wins, lessons, and laughs we had during this part of the day.


Thank you to all the teachers to make our student's lives better every day and write sub plans to attend our trainings... trust me we get as much out of the day facilitating as they do learning and collaborating.