E3 Technology Conference: Day 1, 2016

On the final Monday and Tuesday of July, Warsaw Community Schools hosts a technology conference called "e3Tech" as a part of the "Summer of eLearning" conference series from the Indiana Department of Education. Educators from all over the state gather together to learn and be encouraged about the role of technology in education immediately before the school year starts back up again.

I have attended e3Tech the past three years, and my fourth year did not disappoint!  Last year I decided to present 2 different sessions:  1 on a video editing program called EdPuzzle and 1 on the power of Twitter chats.  This year, I was asked (WHAT?!) to present my Twitter chat session again, and I was happy to do so.  Not only am I extremely passionate about this topic and the opportunities it provides to our teachers and students...but I also get 2 days of this wonderful conference for free because of my presentation! Win-win, as they say.

My lovely sister is getting ready to start her second year teaching at Faith Christian Academy in Lafayette.  She was able to come, have a sleepover, and learn a lot with me during these two days.  I loved having her and discussing all we learned together in the evenings.

On the first day we got there early, grabbed some coffee and then headed in to the Warsaw Performing Arts Center to hear from our first keynote speaker:  Rushton Hurley.  His presentation was titled "Singing Songs of Success" and included sporadic singing from all in attendance (I instantly liked him!)  He emphasized how technology can be utilized to tell stories.  He opened up Today's Meet so that at various points throughout the keynote he had us pause, converse, and add our thoughts to this ongoing conversation.  I picked up so many hidden ways to better instruction just observing how he delivered his keynote...let alone listening to what he included.  He pointed us to so many online video resources he has on his website that I felt nearly every teacher in the building could benefit from. There were so many thought-provoking quotes and reminders I took away from his session.

.@rushtonh has an amazing ability to get teachers to step out of comfort zone to serenade him with rock songs! 🎶 Fun to watch! #e3tech

— daniel mares (@danieltmares) July 25, 2016

Great thought! #e3Tech #INeLearn pic.twitter.com/yAVULn9bsC

— Annette (@annettespear1) July 25, 2016

"What is the coolest thing you have heard a student say or do in the last year?" @rushtonh #e3Tech #INeLearn pic.twitter.com/dESlG0simC

— e3Tech Conference (@e3TechCon) July 25, 2016

Comparative Inadequacy Syndrome...It's real and I've felt it. Let's fight it together! #e3Tech @rushtonh

— haggb (@haggb) July 25, 2016

After the keynote, we headed to our first session, "Connecting Classrooms to the World" by Matt Miller.  We had so much fun learning about "mystery skype" and the many ways that video chatting can be used in each level of education.  This session was so practical because not only did we get to participate in a mystery skype session at the beginning, but our surprise guest shared tips for getting started:  start with someone you know, practice ahead of time, have a map/atlas in front of you, discuss good types of questions, etc.   If I had a classroom to go to in a week, I would feel equipped to try this out in the first couple of months of the school year.

Learning about #mysteryskype by experiencing it at #e3Tech ! Our surprise guest skypes with her kindergarteners. pic.twitter.com/yRLTjRMd7S

— Maestra Schemmer (@maestraschemmer) July 25, 2016

Then we enjoyed a DELICIOUS lunch (Panera...woot woot!) and conversation time.  We headed to our second session after that.  I chose to attend "Twitter 102: Riding Solo" with Lorinda Kline.  I had been to this session before, and am very familiar with Twitter and the huge benefits it offers for teachers, but I wanted to support a close mentor of mine as she presented and become familiar with the Twitter-comfort level of the majority of the attenders.  I so value how Lorinda approaches this topic:  she never assumes that others should have it figured out and she instructs them through the basics in a way that makes people feel safe and respected.  Many teachers created Twitter profiles for the first time thanks to her!

"Riding Solo" on Twitter with teachers who are eager to try new things! @LorindaKline helping/guiding #e3Tech pic.twitter.com/59moPdadJ8

— Maestra Schemmer (@maestraschemmer) July 25, 2016

For the final session on the first day, I presented #chat.  It was one of the same presentations I did last year.  Honestly, I was initially disappointed at the very small turn-out, but when I think back I realize that there were so many good sessions to go to, it was a hard choice for me each time.  I really tried to emphasize the potential that lies in student-focused Twitter chats.  After talking with the creator of the first student chat I know of (#SciStuChat), Adam Taylor, I was re-inspired at how powerful this learning could be...but at this point I can only find TWO student Twitter chats (shout out to the awesome #SpanStuChat!). Period.  I'm shocked!  I truly hope more teachers find a way to incorporate this network of professionals, ideas and resources into their classrooms at every level.  For all the resources I offered at my presentation, see the links attached to this post.

What great energy & knowledge @maestraschemmer has! #chat #e3Tech pic.twitter.com/EmMki94dhF

— Lorinda Kline (@LorindaKline) July 25, 2016

The following day held a variety of learning and reflection.  I'll be back to share my thoughts, soon.

3 Skills Every Student Needs (Inspired by Aaron Hogan)

As I prepped to participate in one of my favorite Twitter chats (#tlap), I found a blog post that truly resonated with me on many levels.  Aaron Hogan wrote a post titled, "4 Skills Every Student Needs" that highlighted the importance of the vital dispositions our students accumulate in our classrooms that may never be in our textbooks. I found this to be an especially timely post in light of the tragedies, violence and conflict in our country and across our world. I would HIGHLY encourage all teachers to read his post thoroughly before heading back to school, as the summer can be a perfect time to intentionally map out the "soft skills" we want to prioritize in our classrooms.

Here are my honest reflections after reading Aaron's post:

• My greatest weakness, personally, of the skills he listed is that all too often I tend to disagree with people, not ideas.  Ugh! I hate even writing those words. It is an important distinction that my passionate heart and language-loving-mind tend to ignore.  I want to model this. I want to teach this. I want to find this in more people.
• The concept of seeing multiple perspectives should be an easy fit into a world language classroom!  I love how he mentioned it's involvement in literature, but I couldn't help but think a classroom that elevates learning another's language has to be the embodiment of this value.  This is one way I tried to bring up this skill in class. My inspiration came from articles like this one & quotes like this one...

Find pin here.

• If we do not plan these conversation, they simply do not happen.  After all, they are tricky to write about when I have hours to do so...how much more challenging would they be to suddenly initiate out of no where?  When there is a tragedy in your community, discuss it.  Process out loud with your students in an age-appropriate manner.  Set aside your curriculum and show them that these types of things matter even more than their upcoming vocab quiz.  Be real.  But, in addition to planning conversations around these points in response to an event, we must be prioritizing these lessons this summer for the entire year.  I think we would all agree our job is much, much wider and deeper than our content area.  So, shouldn't the time and effort we put into these lessons reflect the level of importance we claim they have?

Inspired by his articulate reflection of often intangible concepts, I wanted to add 3 skills that I believe every student needs in addition to what Aaron wrote.  So...

3 (more) skills every student needs:

1. Defend your beliefs without becoming defensive.  To do this, students must first and foremost know what they believe.  This might involve researching the issue above and beyond repeating what their parents or more vocal friends have said. In addition, students need the ability to listen to and understand people who oppose their thoughts.  Finally, this skill takes a lot of thinking on your feet!  Being "put on the spot" is stressful sometimes, and a lot of people react by raising their voice, attacking the other person or shutting down. Perhaps in our classrooms we can stage debates and play "devil's advocate" just enough to coach students through these scenarios.  I am a firm believer that after the scheduled conversation or activity is completed, though, we talk to kids about what we just talked about.  Verbally walk them through why you just directed the conversation in that way.  Or, re-frame a point that was brought up so that it really sinks in to the class.  Help them learn to be well-informed and confident enough that they can have conversations about their firmly-held viewpoints without getting their feelings hurt.
2. Ask pertinent, thoughtful, and thought-provoking questions.  To really listen well, understand other perspectives and learn at a deep level, students will need to know how to know what they don't know!  Instead of coming up with the questions to scaffold one of our students to success, why not let another student volunteer that information?  I love trying to peak student's intelligent curiosity as it relates to cultural concepts.  Or, as we often try to fabricate real-life conversations in our language classrooms, let your students gain that practice of thinking and writing deeper questions.  Open-ended questions, by the way.  Opinion-inducing questions.  This is difficult for many people in our native-tongues...even more so as we learn to ask these questions in a different language.
3. Honestly reflect and alter personal weaknesses.  We talk a lot about "self-motivation" or "self-paced" curriculum.  And our culture greatly values independence and self-reliance.  But, in many of our middle school, especially, there are students who have never been taught how to take an honest (read: HARD) look at themselves and evaluate what they should change.  They allow our feedback to replace their own self-evaluation.  We can change this!  This skill can relate to Spanish class (vowel pronunciation, word order), school in general (organization, friend choices) or it can be much larger than that (fitness habits, relationship with parents).  How can we lead students to begin a life-long journey of admitting shortcomings, forming a plan to fix them and persevering until they are no longer problems?

After reading Aaron's post and my thoughts, what would you add?  How are you going to bring up these important topics in your classroom? Let's truly "facilitate thinking, support struggle and engage minds"!

Pin here.

Brave is Vulnerable

As mid July fades to late July, school stuff tends to be on the minds of many a teacher.  While some spend hours prepping their classroom and some pack their summer full of activities they never get to do during the year, sooner or later everyone will be thinking How should I start my year?  What do I need to do to get ready?  What do I want my students to learn from me from day one? And although I really want to write a detailed activity post later, I want to dedicate this post to a larger, more all-encompassing idea:  being brave.

You see, I read this post from Spanish Mama earlier this week and it really struck a chord.  She talks about many different ways that she wants to be brave:  in the classroom, with her children and with Spanish.  She even shared one of my all time favorite quotes:

Because those with accents speak at least one other language better. Think about it.

She caused me to reflect on the ways that I, as a teacher, should dare to be braver.  Ways I should lead by example.  Should set the tone in my classroom not in level of perfection, but in desire to learn.  So, I wanted to encourage YOU to do the same.  Spend time before the school year starts deciding how you are going to be brave in front of your students on a daily basis this year.  In my school we use the terms "growth mindset" and "life-long learner" a lot.  But how valuable are those words if we are not living them out?  Have you shown your students that you are learning something?  That would mean getting up in front of your class and potentially *gasp* making a mistake.  Looking foolish.  As teachers, we should be demonstrating to our students that sometimes being brave is being vulnerable. In language learning, in other classes, in relationships...in life!

Here are some ways to be vulnerable with your students:

• Tell a failure of a study abroad story.   Be specific.  Tell them a time you messed up pronunciation or couldn't remember a word.  Find a picture to go with it.  Don't skim over it:  tell them what you were feeling and how the situation was (or wasn't) resolved.  
• Start fresh with another language. Many Spanish teachers may be at a point where Spanish is second nature to them.  I know I had personally lost part of that frustration or "it's on tip of my tongue" problem...until I tried French. Or Turkish! *face palm*  Then I remembered my frustration very vividly.  Use Duolingo or another tool to try a language you are completely unfamiliar with and then relate it to the issues they are having in your class the first few weeks.  Share with them a few sentences you are learning to say and the phrases that you can never remember.  Tell them how long you're practicing and what your goals are. (You can read how I incorporated Duolingo into a lesson here!)
• Demonstrate a hobby that has nothing to do with your class. Bring in your clarinet or put your hand-lettered canvas under the document camera.  Tell your students how long you have been practicing and show them some before and after evidence of your progress.
• Challenge yourself to really USE your Spanish once a week and report to the class.  I have known many Spanish teachers who are so skilled in the classroom and their level of content, but don't have the time or intent to use their language outside of their school.  Call a friend, go to a local restaurant or volunteer to translate somewhere.  Whatever makes you a little uncomfortable to commit to because you might mess up or it doesn't suit your personality...do it. Then tell your students details of how it goes each time. That's being vulnerable. That's being brave.  

This Pinterest board might come in handy as you push yourself and your students towards braver steps this year.  Maybe you could print one out each week and put it at the front of the class to initiate a class discussion about your individual bravery goals.   

And perhaps the ultimate leap of vulnerability  for a Spanish teacher is the commitment to daily teaching Spanish in Spanish.  Sara-Elizabeth Cottrell posted a really though-provoking article about her position on how much target language should be used in classroom and when/how.  It is definitely worth a read (or two!) as we approach the school year.  It will shake up some of your preconceptions (it did mine!)  I am still working on my position statement and I truly think we all should be.  May we see our role as teacher as a platform from which we can (and MUST) model life-long learning by being bravely vulnerable.

Original pin here.

P.s. The title graphic at the top is one of my favorite examples of being vulnerable.  The girl with her back to us and the girl we can't quite see are two of the students that traveled with me to Spain earlier this summer.  This is a picture of them in El Mercado de San Miguel, Madrid striking up conversation with a woman who was shopping there to ask her questions about why she comes to the market and what her life story is.  Pretty BIG conversation to strike up out of nowhere.  No teacher waiting to help.  No manual on how to go about it.  Just two girls on their first day of language immersion learning being brave by being vulnerable.  And they got an AWESOME story out of it.

Teach by Video

¡Buenas noches a todos!

I QUICKLY wanted to share a great resource with you tonight.  I know many of us have tomorrow off because it is Good Friday, and for some that will start Spring Break, too.  Perhaps over your long weekend and/or break you could check out this website and see how it could benefit your students.

Introducing:  Language By Video!  This website has a tab labeled "Countries."  From there, you can click on any Spanish speaking country and pull up a list of videos (sorted by Spanish level) that people from that country have made.  For example, I used this video when I met with my class who was preparing to go to the Dominican Republic and knew from past trips that conversations in the markets were challenging.  The video is extremely short and is conducted completely in the target language.  Out to the side, they have a transcript in English and in Spanish of what is being said.

Overall, I think this website provides a lot of videos I hadn't found on YouTube that show authentic, country specific language being used in a variety of contexts.  Other than that, I have been a bit disappointed in the other resources (or lack thereof), but I think experienced teachers can come up with ways to use these videos as the basis for discussion, as a quick warm-up or intro, or even as a homework assignment after a lesson.

Take a look and let me know what you think! 

World Language Week: Polyglots (and what they can teach us!)

Today is the FINAL day of the week set aside to celebrate World Languages. I hope you have sparked some enthusiasm in your students, your coworkers and throughout your sphere of influence:  Languages ARE influence.  Languages are power.  Languages are connections and communication and change.

Here is my last suggestion for celebrating languages (yes, MORE than just Spanish) in your classroom:

Introduce your students to the AMAZING reality of polyglots!

If you hadn't heard the term before, polyglots are individuals that can communicate in multiple languages (often used to describe people who know more than SIX).  In the most incredible cases, these individuals know more than 12 and are called hyperpolyglots.  Yeah, #mindblown.

This can be a really fascinating discovery for your students that value competition, records, trivia and hold themselves to high expectations or like to be known for something they can do that no one else can (um, hello every middle school student ever).  Here are some fun resources you can use to wow your students with the perfect representative for this week of celebration:  The Polyglot.

• This article gives basic information on what a polyglot and hyperpolyglot really is, as well as lists some amazing, living examples.
• This blog post includes 5 mini-interviews with polyglots where they share language learning myths, their favorite technique to learn a new language and things they wish they would have known when they started their journey.
• Tim Doner began teaching himself languages when he was 13!  Here is a video in which he demonstrates many different languages, and here is a Ted-Talk where he discusses the issues in our school system when it comes to language education and gives us many ideas of how to improve it:

• And this final video is of a young boy,Ravi, from India who uses an AMAZING amount of languages to sell things on the street. Genius.

I love the intrigue that discussing individuals such as polyglots bring to our class.  It's amazing! It astounds us!  We immediately think of how difficult just one or two languages has been for us, and we think How in the world did they do it?!  This is a great place for your language learners to be:  curious, motivated, and challenged.

How did you celebrate this week?  Please reach out and tell me; I would love to hear from you!

World Language Week: Coworkers & Administrators

When you are taking on an endeavor to promote awareness of your program,  it helps to have HELP.  Some of you are blessed with entire departments of teachers in your language and possibly multiple other languages;  they should be every bit as passionate about this week as you are!  Delegate, brainstorm, and as soon as this week is over...start dreaming of an even better next year!

However, some of you are a courageous department of one.  You PLC with no one.  You swap resources online with whoever you can reach out to.  Ideas and initiative fall to you alone.

Whichever boat you are in, there are ways of utilizing and equipping those around you to support you.  But, there is a strategy to doing so.

Getting Volunteers:
I have had success getting donations of time, food and materials when I have asked well in advance.  For example, my cultural breakfast always involved TONS of helpers, even outside of our language department.  I suggest choosing carefully and specifically here:  Don't send out a broad email of "help if you can!"  Rather, email (or better yet, visit in person) specific people that you think would be good for a specific job.  Keep it simple, keep it cheap and keep it focused on the STUDENTS that will benefit because of it.  Also:  it helps if you are known for returning the favor later on.

Involving Administration:
Each building is different, and each administrator has their own preferences on how involved they like to be.  However, in my experience it can't hurt to inform and invite.  I sent out handwritten or emailed invites to any activities we were doing throughout the day, including project presentations in class.  If they come, thank them.  Engage them with students so they can see the learning taking place and the value that your program has in the lives of your students.  Take pictures of them interacting and print them to send with a thank you note in a week!

Other Teachers:
Don't assume that because someone teaches Math or Choir, they haven't had international travel experience.  I found out (quite to my surprise!) that nearly 20 teachers in my building had studied abroad, gone on missions trips, taken vacations or studied a foreign language in another country.  They had amazing stories of cultural misunderstanding, language bloopers and once-in-a-lifetime experiences that they were eager to share with students.  I compiled them via email and made them into a scavenger hunt of sorts.  Instead, you could video interview them during their preps and play them for your class throughout the week.  Or, you could just orally read off statements about them and have students try to predict who you are describing.  Another idea might be to have a map and paste teacher's pictures close to the country they have traveled to.  The more people you can incorporate the more that students can realize these opportunities are for EVERYONE.  Plus, who doesn't like reliving a crazy story from their youth?! :)

Follow-up:
Regardless of how many people you do or do not get involved this year, make sure to go out of your way to thank them for their level of involvement.  I love picture thank-you cards so they can hang on walls and sit on desks for the following year, reminding the recipient of a great memory.  Have a running Google Doc of people who were involved and people you would like to include in the future.  Next year, it will make your planning process easier!  In fact, include all kinds of ideas and comments there so you don't have to start from the beginning all over again next time.

These quick summaries don't even mention the world that is the staff at your school, parent volunteers, area schools, social media and the immense amount of communication that all play important roles as well.  Don't limit yourself.  You might be surprised by the way the right question at the right time can yield a huge reward for you.  Reach out!

Who knows?! You might end up with a nice little video crew like my high school did...see the genius I came into?!  I truly deserve little to no credit for any success of our program.  Take a look-see:

World Language Week: Celebrities & Languages

For the third day of World Language Week 2016, I wanted to point you in the direction of some great Youtube videos to play in class this week.  What makes them great?  They include some famous actors, actresses, singers and professional athletes speaking a variety of foreign languages.  In my experience, many students were familiar with the people...and very surprised at what was coming out of their mouths!

• Sandra Bullock speaks beautiful German at an awards show.
• Gwenth Paltrow speaks Spanish.
• Bradley Cooper does an interview in French.
• Natalie Portman speaks Hebrew.
• Kobe Bryant does an interview in Italian.

And, just for an example of something we want to avoid...Selena Gomez speaking English in a Spanish interview about how important the Hispanic culture is to her...*face palm*

Last year, I enjoyed playing clips of these videos in class and having the students then say who the person was and what language they thought they heard (I would cover up anything that gave that information away).  Then, we discussed why these people would spend the time and energy learning a foreign language and how it helped them in their career. 

Try them for a few minutes in your classroom and see if students who typically aren't as engaged, lean in a bit when someone they know is on the screen.  For another way to get your students invested in your class, ask them to find a different video of a celebrity speaking a foreign language and bring it in to the class with an explanation of why that language helped that celebrity.

**Fair warning, I only showed a minute or two of each video, so I cannot vouch that 100% of the video is school appropriate.  Please view all videos before showing them to your students.  Always **