Something amazing happened on
the way to August...

Wowzers!  How much fun can July get?  Well, let me tell you about what some amazing, talented, & smart 10-year-olds did.  You're going to be inspired!

Our adventure together started back in March, when I started an after-school "Tech Club" for 4th graders.  It's no secret that I love exploring new web tools and seeing how they can inspire our young learners.  There was so much I wanted to do - so many tools I wanted to explore - and there was simply not enough time to do all of that during our limited 7-hour school day.  So, the Oak Hill Tech Club was born and we met a few days each week after school to explore, play, and learn!

What happened during our time together was an incredible surprise.  I didn't plan for it, though I wish I had.  Students began teaching each other how to use various web tools, including Weebly.  It wasn't long before each student had their own web site.  They had the freedom to create their sites based on their hobbies, their passions, and services to others.  One student, also a Chess Club member, created a site to explain how to play chess!  He recognized that there were lots of students who wanted to be in the Chess Club, but didn't know how to play.  Problem solved.  A few others worked together to design a site for their duct tape business!  (Now, I know what you're wondering... YES! they sold their products and made some money, too!)  Here is the link to the sites we have created so far.  Check 'em out.

We began to experience our Tech Club differently on our second day together.  No longer did the students run to me with their questions.  They explored and researched - together - to find the answers - and then shared their new learning with each other.  Wow!  I still remember the day that some of them discovered "Vokis" for the first time!  What a fun day that was!
 
Teachers and parents visited us, watched all the tech tools the students were using, and some of them said, "I want to learn how to do that!" 
So... I realized...
They're teaching each other, why can't they TEACH TEACHERS?  Well, there's no reason they can't...

So, we submitted a proposal titled, "Weebly Rocks!" (...because we really think it does!) for the 2012 EVSC eRevolution Conference here in Evansville.  Fast forward to July - we were the only elementary students who attended the conference - and we didn't just show up!  We presented!  Wow!

Weebly Rocks! - eRevolution Conference July 2012

Social Media - Good Stuff!

Yesterday, I found a great opportunity to learn some new "stuff" in the wide world of media, which is one of my favorite things to do.  It was a series of events sponsored by the Social Media Club of Evansville.

The first workshop I attended was titled, "Personal Branding Success with Social Media."

I loved it; my notes are posted below.  Erik Deckers did a fantastic job of convincing us that no matter how we feel about it - we are a brand - each one of us.  So, what do we do with that brand?

 

I must confess that the points he earned with me quadrupled when he mentioned that he doesn't really "get" Pinterest.  FINALLY!  Someone who is talking my language!  Here is someone who speaks of the importance of social media, yet gives us permission to live without Pinterest.  SCORE!  (I simply don't get it, either; nor do I want to.  Piling pictures on top of more pictures is just sensory overload to me.  Put them in a Prezi, then you have my attention!)

He also made me realize that I need to re-visit my LinkedIn profile.

I bought his latest book and you should, too:

Click here to purchase on Amazon.

Branding yourself… my notes, along with commentary, of course...

1.  You are a brand, so get over it.

Each one of us is a brand.  Companies are brands.  Schools are brands.  

What emotional response do you have when you see a specific logo, a web site, or a blog?  

What response do you want your readers to have after they read your blog?

Figure out how to make your brand a positive experience.

2.  Fill in your profiles completely.

On Twitter, for example – do your bio thoroughly.  Let people know why they should follow you. Include the city where you work.  Use real pictures. 

LinkedIn is your online resume, so it should be updated regularly with lots of details.

Make sure readers are not left wondering about anything.  Link your blogs to your LinkedIn profile. (LinkedIn is not a tool I think about very often, because I'm not looking for a job.  I love what I do and I love my school, but my profile is outdated.  Thanks for the reminder, Erik!)

3.  Build your personal brand around your blog.

Your blog must be the center of your social online personality.  You’re sharing your ideas…

It was once believed that Twitter would kill blogs, but it hasn’t.  If you can put everything on Twitter, then you’re not very deep!  There must be more that you need to share, so share it!

 >>>It’s all about building relationships!!!

People don’t buy from people.  They buy from people – relationships!! (My connection - as my favorite teacher always said, "People don't leave companies/schools: people leave people." ~Todd Whitaker.  Can I get an amen?)

Of all the social media tools, these are the 3 that Erik recommends:

LinkedIn

Twitter

Facebook 

Don't forget to link your profiles among all of those you have.

Pinterest appears to be all about pictures - not words, so they leave you wondering...  Where's the context?  (My connection - Leonard on Big Bang Theory: he's always clarifying the context!)

What do you blog about?

 - Anything

 - Your job

 - Your field

 - Industry trends

 - Special reports

 - Your life

4.  Get back to LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is the new phone book!

Make your information public, not private, well... unless you're a spy!

You can reach a hiring manager there… via Twitter and LinkedIn…

70% of hires are made through networking

28% of hires found through job boards

Don’t waste your time on job boards!

5.  Search engines…

Google yourself! (Really?  That's a little weird...)

If I ran for public office, what would people find?  This is a good measuring stick.

Tip: to get real results – sign out of Google to do a search on your name.

Google Chrome, Firefox, etc. – do a private a search on various search engines - not just Google.

Don’t use Internet Explorer!  (I almost stood up and shouted "AMEN" at this one!  I didn't provide the link here because I don't want you going there!)

 

You can set up Google alerts; they will email you with alerts when a new instance of your name appears on the web…  You must have a Google account to do this.

6.  Social media is not about nagging, annoying, etc.

People don't like to be shouted at.  I loved the example he used: when you DVR a TV show, do you fast forward through the commercials?  Yes, most of us do.  We don't like to be pestered.  

It’s not about me at all –

Sell yourself – without talking about yourself.  You talk about yourself without talking about yourself.

 7.  Social media is about trust and relationships.

If people like you and trust you, they will click on that link you just posted.

Talk about others – not yourself.   

9 to 1 rule: post 9 times about others, 1 time about me.

Retweet others’ praise of others – but not about me.  It tells them you care and earns trust.

Go change your passwords – now and often.

Speaking of relationships, how do you find people on Twitter?

Twellow.com (How cool is that?)

Mash-up of twitter and yellow pages…

Think about it:

It’s better to have 500 Twitter followers who believe in you than 50,000 who don’t even know you. (I love that!)

Build your network.

If you plan to follow someone on Twitter, examine his/her Twitter page THOROUGHLY to make sure they’re not spam.

The people you trust – go to their page and see the people they are following, especially if you know they vet them.

(I want to add, that if you're on Twitter, the best way to build your network and navigate the Twitterverse is to understand and use hashtags.  More on that, later.)

8.  Write good stuff

If It’s stuff that people WANT to read… they will read it.

If it’s interesting and meaningful, they will read it.

"Write drunk; edit sober." - Ernest Hemingway (Okay, so I won't be doing that, but I understand the point being made.)

 Blog, but don’t post immediately.  Go back and read it later; make changes/edit; then post.

“I know what I’m talking about…” Is that your message?

#9 Measure everything.  (yay, data!)

You can track the trends in those who visit your blog, how long they stay, and what brought them to you.
Tools for measurement:

KLOUT 

Peer Index

Kred (a more advanced tool)

Google Analytics

#10 Take your networking outside.

Get out from behind the computer!!!!!
Shut it off and go meet real people face-to-face.

It’s personal branding.

How do you get to be in front of people?  

Public speaking strategies…

Networking…

Find groups with like interests… build relationships; they help you – you help them!

“Givers gain.”  Give as much as you can – pay it forward. Create opportunities for those with whom you’ve connected online.

Facebook pages – the successful pages ask questions - frequently.  If people aren't asking questions, answering questions, then they're not interested. 

Other tools for Networking:

 - LinkedIn Groups 

 - Meetup (I added that one.)

 - Church and Civic Groups

I love this. 
He's right.  When you do what you love, it doesn't feel like work at all.  I will again be teaching 4th grade starting one month from today at Oak Hill.  I'm passionate about what I do, and adding technology to the mix just feels like icing on the cake.  10-year-olds simply inspire me.  They challenge me.  They're just brutally honest and tell it like it is.  They push me to be better, and most days I feel so guilty that I learn more from them than they do from me... but I'm realizing that that's okay.  More on that later.

In October, 2011, I attended a flipped workshop by Brian Bennett at Harrison High School, and he challenged me to think outside the box.  Actually, I don't think there was a box present at all.  I spent the remainder of the year wanting to jump in, wanting to "flip," but lived in fear.  I created a web site for my class and added content and basic information, but never could add my own videos.  Why?  Because I didn't want to mess it up; I wanted my videos to be... well, perfect.  

I was so excited to attend #flipcon12 in Chicago in June, 2012; my mind is still swimming from all I learned.  Wow.  In his keynote, Brian made a statement that stayed with me: "Do you need it perfect, or do you need it Tuesday?"  He's right.  So, enough living in fear.  I'm making the leap to a flipped classroom.  I've danced around it long enough.  I've read about it, researched it, chatted about it via Twitter,  (#flipchat) watched videos about it, and it's time.  It just makes sense.


I will be flipping several lessons this year, reflecting along the way, and I'm anxious to see where we go.  I will post the web tools I'll be using in a future post, as I have learned soooooooo much this summer. 

Here we go.  We're going to flip for 4th graders.  It will get bumpy, a little messy, but filled with tons of learning - for all of us.  It won't be perfect, and that's okay.  


Feel free to follow our journey here...