Mrs. McAlister and her Sunsational Sixth Graders
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#OneWord2017 . . . Authentic

12/29/2016

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One word . . . to help us live with power, purpose, and passion. One word . . . to help you live your best life. One word . . . to make a positive difference in the world. Inspired by the book, One Word that will Change Your Life,  by Jon Gordon, Dan Britton, and Jimmy Page.

#LookIn
The process of finding your word takes time. You might create a list, you might read through Twitter blogs, you might browse through Google Search to research words. I did them all. But for me, looking at my life experiences and connecting with my personality was ultimately what helped me land on my word.

I really liked the word “precision”. In the 8 mathematical practices, the 6th practice is "attend to precision". I love that word!! Precision. I thought that was it, but I thought that it might turn into perfection. And for me, perfection can be limiting.

I really liked the word “listen”. As I started moving towards a student-led classroom, I found that the more I listen to my students, the more I learn about them. And in turn, students are doing the talking and therefore, the learning. I know I need to be a better listener, but it wasn’t my one word.

I still had some thinking to do. The way my mind works is that it “percolates” as my husband calls it. Then I wait. Then I listen for that still small voice in my heart. Then it comes.

​I looked in and listened to my heart

#LookUp

I woke up this morning and I had discovered my word. It’s a word that I’ve been admiring in my students for the past couple of years. As babies we’re born with it, when we enter school some of us keep it and some of us unfortunately lose it. As adults many of us mask it to conform to peer groups, work expectations, or societal norms. My word . . .
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​Let me tell you a story . . . or two.

About 15 years ago, I had a life-changing encounter. I was in the teacher’s lounge making copies, that’s what we did back then. : ) Anyway, a teacher came up to me and said, “Not everyone can be happy like you all the time, Marilyn.” Boy did that sting. I didn’t know what to say. I probably said nothing. But to this day, I remember her words. I decided to be be serious, more “professional”, laugh less, be “deep” in conversation. For about six months I tried living this “new me”. Then one day, another teacher came up to me and asked me what was wrong. I told her what happened and why I decided to change. This second teacher gave me a HUGE lecture about being me. That my personality is what makes me a great teacher. I had lost myself in trying to “be” what I thought someone else thought I should be. Need I say that I was miserable for sixth months. That’s an understatement.

Last year, I had this precious student that completely owned who she was. As a sixth grader, that can be pretty tough. She loves color, she loves anime, she loves music, she loves You-Tube stars, and she loves poetry. I would continually find myself watching her and admiring how she owned her true self. Her authentic self. At the end of the year, we give out six presidential awards. Johann was a recipient. Here’s what I wrote about her:

#JustBeYou
"Johann epitomizes this phrase.  After 23, maybe 24 years of teaching, I honestly can’t remember, Johann is one of a handful of students that truly owns who she is.  She is a singer, an artist, a great student, and overall friendly person.  She is flexible beyond measure. She’ll work with anyone and do it with joy.  As she goes to junior high, I’m confident that her zest for life and confidence in who she is will help her conquer any new experience that comes her way.  I’m so happy to present this silver Presidential award to Johann.  Her parents are to be commended for raising such a positive young lady."   Love, Mrs. McAlister

I looked up and discovered my one word.

#LookOut
Now it’s time for me to look out into the world, my world, and live it. This is a milestone year for me . . . I’m turning 50. It seems like a pretty daunting number, but at the end of the day, it’s just a number. My husband is 51 and he’s already calling me 50. Grrrr, that boy!!! I keep telling him that we’re going to rock 50. We are!!! By being authentic. By being real. By living our best lives now, not later, but now. By living authentically, we’re bound to rock 50.

At school, we have a #CelebrateMonday shout out box. One of my students thanked me for letting her be who she is. (I’ll try to find her note and post it here.) That shout out provided me with a moment of clarity. She lives her authentic self in my classroom. The environment is safe and she feels like she is able to be true to herself . . . her authentic self.

As I look out, I aim to be the best version of me that I can be. I aim to encourage my students to be authentic versions of themselves. (We’re starting passion projects in January. I hope to see some amazing authentic projects.) I aim watch in awe as my personal children, 17 and 20, live their authentic lives. And I aim to rock 50 with my husband!!!

As educators, we are models to our students and peers around us. Let's aim to be the best, authentic versions of ourselves. Your word may be inspire, or focus, or even audacious. Whatever it is, own it, live it, make it authentic!

Expecting greatness for all of us in 2017,
Mrs. McAlister 
Here's my #OneWord2016. 
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9 Comments

#NewGoogleSites-DigitalPortfolios

12/18/2016

1 Comment

 
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The buzz of the new Google Sites has been going on for months. As an avid Google fan and user, I’ve been eager to try them out. Last week, my sixth graders and I took the plunge and set up our sites as digital portfolios.

#GettingStarted
Before my first session with students, I met with my technology coach, @EdTechSusan. The two of us brainstormed the purpose and structure of the student sites. The purpose of the sites are to showcase student work, be a hub for research, provide a space for mini-blogs, and for students to engage in graphic design and personalization. I wanted all my student’s sites to have the same structure, so we decided on that as well.  This process was  powerful as I had to reflect on my classroom, types of activities we engage in, and make the sites relevant to students.
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#CreatingSites
The first session with students was creating the sites. As excited as I was, I was also nervous. I asked my district technology coordinator, @ARomayorJr, to be present for support. Thank you, Tony!!!  I guided the lesson and Tony monitored student progress. Using the direct instruction model and a digital projector, I created a site myself as students created theirs. Within 30 minutes, we created our sites. Because we wanted to have consistency with URLs, we decided on mydigitalportfolio-(insert first name). The home page was automatically created. So, we needed to add “pages” to our sites. Thinking about our class activities, we decided on pages that each student would include in their site. They are:


  • Google Slides
  • Phi Kappa Phi
  • Passion Project
  • Writing Work
  • Fun Stuff
  • ​Hyperdocs

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#Avatar&Bio
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The second day, we came back and wrote our bios and inserted images. In September, we created avatars and Bitmojis. Students were given the option to insert either of the images. Because of internet safety, I didn’t want students uploading their own pictures. Before students started writing, we read through blogs from two classes. Shoutout and BIG thanks to @Ms_A_Yeh and @MsVentruino for sharing their student blogs with us. Having my sixth graders read other online writing by students was invaluable. It helped add value to the process. My student's sites will only be available to students and educators within our district domain. I’m working with our coordinator to find a way to open up the sites to parents and other classrooms that we’d like to collaborate with. I really want my students to have the experience of writing and producing work for a wider audience. I’m crossing my fingers that we find a solution. Take a look at some of their bios. So much personality.
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#StudentWork
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During our third session, students uploaded their work. Ok . . . you don’t even know how easy this was!!! Because we do all of our work in G-Suite, inserting slides, docs, and drawings was a cinch. I modeled how to upload from Google Drive and insert the piece of work. Then, students took it from there. We originally started out inserting slides and docs. One student asked about inserting hyperdocs we’ve worked on. I wasn’t sure if it would work, but I told her to play around with it and see. Lo and behold, she was able to insert hyperdocs. Soooo . . . another page was added. The tagline for the new Google Site is, “An effortless way to create beautiful sites.” At that moment, I became a believer.  Here's a sample.
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​#PersonalizingSites
On our fourth day, we spent time personalizing our sites. I really wanted a hub for all of our sites but I was stuck. I went to one of our tech guys, @Banales83, for help. He gave me a couple of options and we decided to link all of the student sites onto my site. From my site, students were able to peruse each other’s site. Even though we had the same pages and format, each site had a unique flair. One of the students discovered that each new entry ends up being like a banner, for lack of a better term. She was able to insert images that went with the theme of her writing. Many of the students took her lead and began the process of personalizing their sites. A discussion of web design ensued as students were working. Man, the power of students discovering real world relevance!!! Here's another sample from one of my budding web designers.
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​I can’t tell you how proud I am of the fabulous sites our class created. Over the span of a week, they designed functional and beautiful websites. Thank you Google, for updating your sites and making them intuitive to users. Educators, if you’ve been holding off on the new Google Sites, I’d say the verdict is in. They’re a win-win for students and teachers.   

Oh . . . if you’re wondering. I started my blog on Weebly a couple of years ago. I really like my blogging experience with Weebly.

Now go build yourself a Google Site.


Marilyn
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    Welcome to my blog.  I'm an 80's girl embracing being a 21st century tech-girl with the help of my amazing sixth graders.  Join us as we journey through sixth grade.

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