Education is Evolving

 The last time I was here I talked about reinventing yourself and embracing, "The New." Well I have done just that and more. For me the new was really about coming out of my comfort zone. One of my comfort zones for a long time has been about asking others for help. Another one was my inhibition to meet new people.  One thing is true: We live in a world where there are millions of billions of people. Think about that for  a moment. Do you know anyone that lives outside of your country. I know of many people that live outside of the United States. The problem is that I had no communication or interaction with them. But that is drastically changing.

     So since my last post, I started a new Facebook Group that encouraged creating digital educational resources. We now have 1400+ members and growing and I have met so many people who are passionate about education and really love to create. They are from all over the planet. I have met and been communicating with a huge diversification of people since the start of the group. We have so much in common yet we have so many different talents to bring to the table. That's what really makes it so special and so unique. We all have our niche. I don't know about them but I'm always at the edge of my seat wondering what fabulous creation they are going to come up with next. We all have our day jobs which is great but in the group you can take off your labels and just create. You don't have to create what's next in your curriculum at school or the basal. You can just create and have fun with it.

We are evolving and there's nothing to do about it. Just go with the flow. I see teachers and administrators fighting against it everyday for whatever reasons. One thing I will never regret doing and that is joining others with the same mentality. Every time I engage with others who are forward thinking, I learn something new. I am also empowered by others who see the same greatness in me that I see in them. I even hosted my first webinar today. It was scary because, it's new and I  have never done it before. I had a few glitches but I was able to get past it. I don't regret any of it. I used to hold all my ideas and passions inside. Now I don't have to do that anymore. I feel that anything is possible now. I literally think of an idea, find the means to create it, and do it. 

   I know now that if I want total engagement, interaction, and cooperation from my students, my delivery has to change. I plan to create more digital products and find ways my students can be actively engaged in my lessons. Near Pod and several other platforms allow this type of engagement as well as Google Suite for Educators. I also started my training to be Google trained. I am at level 1 but in a few months I plan to become a facilitator. The sky is the limit and I plan to fly as high as I can go.

3 Steps to Reinventing Yourself

      So, several things have occurred over the past 7 months that have caused a reinvention, a new thing in my life. I will be quite honest, before COVID-19 I was stuck in a rut; literally. I was bound by routine and complacency. Frankly, I was in a personal insanity of doing the same old thing over and over. When COVID happened, I had to go home, teach my own child, but I got delivered from routine and complacency. For once, I was able to just breathe and create. I was able to get to know my children better. I tell you what, if COVID -19 is wrong then I don't won't to be right. The new word on the street is, "NEW NORMAL!" I tell you the truth, I am not accepting a new normal but I will accept a new level.  Yes, I am going to a new level in my life. Here are 3 steps to reinventing yourself and embracing your new level.  

Step 1 EMBRACE

   Yes, embrace the new normal and go to your next level. Embrace change and run with it. Use the  new normal as a stepping stone and spring forward. Ask yourself, what is that thing or your real passion. Maybe you don't know what's your passion because, you have been told what to do everyday of your life. What is something you won't to do but never get a chance to do ever. Once you know it, pursue it. Don't ask yourself questions and talk your way out of it or come up with a million things that can go wrong. Just DO IT!!!! My sister wrote her first book. It's one book but she moved past fear and rejection and grabbed hold of her new thing. It's a great story and now she sells it on Kindle. Amazon sells as well and they even made hard copies for her as well. It's not exactly how she wants it yet but she did it anyway. It's called, Sunday Bless and I just love it!

Step 2 TRY NEW THINGS

    I have always told myself for years, "I'm not crafty." I have said, "I'm not artsy." But deep down I just love arts and crafts. For some reason, my confidence in creating was not there. All I can remember is maybe I created something when I was little but I was never validated and so I believed that I was not creative as a truth, as fact. That was simply not true. The truth is every wrong has a right and every lie has truth. The awesome most important thing is that negativity can be reversed if you want to. Recently, I started making wreaths. First, I made one for my classroom door and when my peers complimented it, I got the validation that I craved so long ago as a little girl. Well that gave me strength and I felt like I could make another and so I did. My mother loved my fall wreath so much that she asked me to make her a Christmas one. Then my sister saw the Christmas wreath I created and offered to send money to make her one as well. It's not about the wreath. The point is that I found something new and I love it and it makes me happy. It makes me happy to make someone else happy. The unknown is the thing that can turn your life around.  Write this sentence several times and fill in the blank: I am_______________.

Who are you? I mean really?

Step 3 JUST BE HONEST

   Be honest!  Say, " I'm stuck and I don't know what to do about it.  Now release yourself from your 9-5 job for just a moment and just breathe. Release yourself from the shackles of the old and walk into your new. Confess, "I am ready for the new." Maybe you are stuck in a career or any other situation. I'm not saying quit your job or leave your family. All I'm saying is be open to new possibilities or new relationships. I a teacher from 7am-3pm but that's not all that I am. I am a mother, a sister, a wife, and a friend but that's not all that I am. In the next 14 years I don't want to retire and that's it. I am reinventing myself now so that I will still have purpose. We get so caught up in everything else and everyone else that we forget about ourselves. Sometimes we lose our self identity in everything else. Find time for you what ever that maybe. Love yourself!

PS Check out my new Facebook Group: My Digital Teaching Corner

5 Virtual Classrooms with 32 Links to Read Alouds!!!

My daughter loves going to these 5 virtual classrooms to choose whatever story she likes!!!! It's so much fun!!! Mo Willems is her favorite!!!  There is a Katie Woo room, Pete the Cat room, Pinkalicious room, Mo Willems room, and Dr. Seuss room. These are great for distance learning, homeschoolers, young readers, or if you just want to encourage your little one to read more.

 

To get these rooms visit Ms Halle's Things

Preparing for Distance Learning

  I never thought in a million years as a teacher that I would be teaching from home nor did I ever think that all those technology courses I learned early on would have any use in my classroom. Over the summer I have taken several more courses on delivering and monitoring instruction with online tools. It's really has been a great learning experience.

   In my last meeting with my colleagues we were told that in case we are asked to go home again that we could create a digital classroom. Also, they suggested how cool it would be to create a Bitmoji of ourselves. So first, I downloaded the Bitmoji app and started to create myself. It was so much fun. So here's some pics of Bitmoji in action. First, you need to go to your play store and download Bitmoji. Then in a few steps it shows you how to create you.

Next, all you have to do is add Bitmoji as an extension on your laptop or desktop. This is key if you work mostly on one of those devices because, it will allow you to add your avatar to anything you are working on. For example, while I'm writing this blog, I can click on my extension and add my avatar to this post. Here's my avatar in different poses. LOL!

   

So you see, it's really easy and there's so many poses to choose from. After I created my avatar, I went to Google Slides and started on my classroom. The first thing I made or found was a background. You can also create one if you like. All you need is a light color for a wall and a darker color for the floor. like these:

   

  Next, you can add your avatar. And here is the fun part; you get to add furniture to make an entirely new classroom or recreate your classroom. The choice is yours. So if you are going to sell your classroom you cannot use pictures that you do not own the rights to. If you are going to create to sell then sites like Pixaby is great because you can use their pictures for personal and commercial use. If you cannot find what you are looking for in Pixaby then Teachers Pay Teachers is the next safest way to find cute pictures of classroom furniture.  Some things are for free in TPT but some are not. The great thing is that the seller will provide you with guidelines on how to site their work in your design. 

   So here is my Bitmoji classroom that I created. They are available in my TPT store. This was really just to see what I could create.

 

     I do have backgrounds and Bitmoji classrooms for sale. Ms Halle's Things

Click on the links below to check it out.

Classroom Backgrounds

Bitmoji Classrooms

Finally, all you have to do is add links in your classroom of where you want your students to go. And now you have an inviting personable classroom for your students.  They will love it!!!