The Sacred Profession

Until last year, I regarded the idea of virtual communication with students as something to be avoided and also vaguely (or actually, in some states) illegal. Then my colleague and friend Crischelle Navalta turned me on to Edomodo, a free and safe social networking cite designed specifically for teachers. Here are some reasons why Edomodo is worth a shot in your classroom this year:

• there is a HUGE amount of online storage space which I used to post all of our class handouts. This eliminated a lot of “can I get another copy of X?” because students could just go online (at home or at school) and print off another copy.
• Edomodo helped me do some “front-loading” or “flipped classroom” instruction where students learned for homework (watched a history video online, explored a website, did their own research) and then came to class ready to discuss/write/practice in some way the material they learned for homework.
• there is a mobile app for Edmodo that made responding to student posts really easy to do with my smart phone. Likewise students with smart phones had quick access to online class-related content.
• Edmodo was helpful when I had to be absent from class in terms of communication with students and posting assignments. When I took my maternity leave this was particularly helpful.
• the school where I worked has a 80%+ free or reduced-lunch student population and despite limited access to technology at home, given enough time, students found ways to access content either at school, on smart phones or at the local library.

Although I graduated from college well before the advent of Facebook and do not consider myself a techy-teacher at all I found Edmodo to be pretty intuitive and user friendly. Has anyone else used Edomodo? Are there other helpful teacher/student social (educational?) networking websites?

There is one truth I have found to be universal about teachers: we love office supplies. Tape, post-its, highlighters, and notebooks are the tools of our trade. Want to dive into a never ending rabbit hole of a conversation with a teacher? Ask us about our pen preference (Pilot’s Precise V7 (NOT V5) Fine in blue ink) or our planner. Yes, I know iCal and Google’s calendar tools are amazing and I don’t care. You will have to pry my paper planner out of my cold, dead hands. And for my money, there is no better planner than a Moleskine.

Isn’t that sexy? One of the best parts about the back to school ritual is going and buying a beautiful, cellophane-wrapped Moleskine 18 month academic planner. I draw a line down the middle of the calendar side (on the right-hand page) and write down appointments on one column and the do lesson planning on the other for each day. I then use the lined side of the notebook to make to-do list, put together groups of students, and write down important information I need to remember.

About five years ago I learned about keeping a professional journal from a kindergarten teacher. The basic idea is that everyday at the end of the day, sit at your desk for 5 or 10 minutes and capture what you learned. Some days I have written several pages (mostly about keeping my mouth shut, not making snap judgements, not being an idiot, etc.) and sometimes it’s just one line (ex. “Don’t come to work when you feel this sick ever again.”). I also keep the notes from workshops I’ve attended or books I’m reading so that at the end of the year I have a record of my growth as a teacher.

Anyone else have planner or professional journaling tips? Are there other Moleskine lovers?