FETC 2014 The Experience: Building My Better

This year I had the opportunity to attend my first FETC (Florida Educator Technology Conference) conference with Tiffanie Timmons, a colleague from my school. The conference is held annually in Orlando, Florida during the month of January. Danny Forster, host of the Science Channel's "Build it Bigger" kicked off the event. His keynote addressed his work as an architecture and his passion for finding the deeper meaning behind the construction and development of the world's most scenic structures. From the One World Trade Center at Ground Zero in New York to the world's tallest building Kalifa, in Dubai, Forster offered a simplistic rendering of the building's designs and key features. His message of developing curiosity and reasoning through STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) education inspired the crowd.

During our three days at the conference we attended workshops, viewed virtual labs and demonstration sessions, participated in raffle drawings, observed the wonder of 3-D printing, experienced google glass (blew my mind),  and of course extensive visits to the exhibit hall.

Google Glass, Amazing!

3-D Printer

Even with all of the excitement and happenings surrounding FETC we kept our focus. We were commissioned with the task of finding ways to better utilize the technology we already have at our school. We came away with some pretty awesome ideas and we are currently working on building a "menu" of topics to showcase what we learned with our school. 

With that being said, what I personally took away from the experience was the face time. The time I got to spend with other educators who were more than willing to share their love and knowledge of teaching. Those that were passionate about engaging students and making sure that students came first no matter what. One of these face time moments happened during one of the morning sessions when I got to meet Jon Bergmann and was interviewed for a segment for his podcast called, "The Flipped Side" through BAM Radio (more about that in an upcoming blog post). Another face time moment happened at the FETC "tweet up" held at TGIF.  It was so great to see (in person) many of the educators that I have connected with through twitter. Being in a room with Jerry Swiatek, Jerry Blumengarten, Adam Bellow, Kathy Schrock, Carlos Fernandez, Stephen Veliz, Stacey Roshan, Tom Whitby, and many others was an amazing experience. 

However, the intimate face time moments spent talking, laughing, planning, searching, wondering, learning, questioning, and "building my better" were all done with Tiffanie Timmons, my friend, my colleague. 

Building my better comes with a price, a price not easily understood by the educators I share most of my time with. So, I find myself connecting with others that get it, that get me, that help me build my better. Twitter has been my outlet and what an awesome way to connect with educators all over the world! I've learned and gained so much through these interactions. But this time, the time during FETC 2014, I was connected to Tiffanie. She's not on twitter, she doesn't have a blog, she's not your stereotypical "connected" educator. She is an educator in my county, at my school, and she gets it. 

My name is Celeste, I'm a work in progress, and I'm building my better. 

Who helps you Build Your Better?

Live, Laugh, Learn

Celeste Clemons

My Journey:The Flipped Class and Small Group Instruction

A group of our students at work

I can definitely say that I'm learning a great deal about instruction and how to meet the needs of individual students in the classroom. The great dilemma in teaching: How do I teach all of the students while at the same time meet each child's individual needs? This is no small feat. It takes time, thought, and lots of planning. The ongoing desire to be a better teacher than I was the year before led me to the path of the flipped classroom. My sole purpose was this: How can I make the most use of my instructional time while the students are with me during the school day?

During the summer of 2012 I searched for ways to be better at managing my time. I felt that so much time was being lost during the school day but I really couldn't tell where this time was going. So one day I sat down and mapped out a typical daily classroom schedule. What I came to realize was that although the schedule said things like 60 min for math and 90 for reading, most of that time was spent with me at the front of the class teaching. This wasn't necessarily bad teaching. I mean, most of what I was able to incorporate in my teaching were considered to be good practices. Using approaches like I Do- We Do-You Do, Think Time, Think-Pair-Share, and other Kagen Strategies resulted in good class averages and good evaluation scores. However, these methods usually benefited the students right in the middle the most. The outliers weren't getting all that they needed. You know the kids I'm talking about. The ones that needed an extensive amount help and the ones that were far beyond where I was teaching.

The flipped classroom seemed to offer the best solution to my problem. I was able to remove the lecture from the classroom completely or almost completely and focus my efforts on facilitating learning within the classroom. While I am far from and expert on flipping, I can truly say that it has made a tremendous difference in how I view teaching and learning. I'm finding my own way within the flipped model. I facilitate the learning in my math class through small group "instruction". I'm perfecting my ability to meet with all students everyday and guide them at their level of need.

I am grateful for the on-going support that I have received from students, parents, my team, and admin. However, I must commend my PLN (Professional Learning Network) on twitter. What great group of educators! Shout out the Jon Bergmann, flipped class pioneer, who encouraged me and helped me get this going at my school. I have often said that I am a work in progress. This holds true for every area of my life and teaching is no exception.

Live, Laugh, Learn

Celeste Clemons

Flipped Madness...Follow Up

As it turns out, only two students did not watch the first flipped class video of the original 5 previously mentioned. Two of the five watched from a mobile device and one watched in after school in the computer lab. The remaining two students didn't watch due to a language barrier in the home and lack of technology in the home. Both of these issues have been resolved. Thanks to my wonderful teaching partner who speaks spanish fluently, we were able to communicate with the families and take care of the tech issues they were experiencing. Now 100% of the students are able to watch flipped class lessons for homework. Yipee!! Stayed tuned for more insight into our class. 

Live, Laugh, Learn

Celeste Clemons 

Flipped Madness

So today my kids experienced their first flipped class video from home. It was a crazy first attempt for them when they tried to view the video. Before I get into that, let me describe how today went. 

The kids were paired up and used the desktop computers or laptops in the classroom so that I could introduce Edmodo and how they would use it to view tonights math video. The kids were very excited. They've been waiting all week to test out Edmodo. The kids used photo booth to take and upload pictures to their Edmodo profile. Everyone was attentive and followed directions well. They shared, took turns, and helped each other out. Two thumbs up for helping 44 kids navigate Edmodo. 

Now, on to the madness! Picture this, eager faces exit the classroom ready to begin their new adventures with math. Anxious hands long to access an interesting way of learning. Finally at their destination, curious bodies connect to the world wide web. The Edmodo guys greet them with a warm welcome. Clicking mice and finger taps gravitate towards the lesson. Wandering eyes watch the screen only to see ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!! 

At 3:10 I had about 15 emails/Edmodo messages and 3 kids (that found me after school) all saying the same thing "Mrs. Clemons, we can't see the video!" OMG! Literally that's what I said. So I immediately log on and guess what? The video plays perfectly for me. I even show the 3 waiting kids. They went straight to the computers in the classroom and the video is not working. As I'm working on a solution I get about 15 more emails/Edmodo messages "video not working". So I respond to my parents and kids by sending them the direct link to the video. Did that work? Are you kidding, of course it DID NOT! I continued to trouble shoot and figured out that there was a settings/preference error that I needed to correct. Finally, voila, the video works. Altogether I received about 45 emails/Edmodo messages. 

Whew! What a crazy start to the flipped classroom. Despite this crazy start, as I reflect on this experience a few things come to mind:
1. The kids were determined to watch the video, (really kids desperate to do homework!) 

2. Even though I said that we would not be using Edmodo to talk to each other for this assignment but just to watch and post a response to me, the kids began to try to problem solve and help each other out (really, the kids wanted their friends to be successful and do their homework too!) 

3. Out of 44 kids 39 watched the homework video. I have to come to terms with this number. I am always pushing for 100%. (100% of the kids learning and doing the work 100% of the time). I'm wondering what happened to the other 5? What was hindering them from being able to do the work? How can I help to make sure they do it next time? Ahhh next time, music to my ears. I'll get 'em for sure next time. 

Overall, I count today as a success. Are there things that need to be worked out? Absolutely. The great thing about being a teacher is that I am a student first, always learning. And I wouldn't have it any other way!

Live, Laugh, Learn

Celeste Clemons