Blog Archives
Join Kid President’s Cabinet (video)
Click the picture to view a short video featuring kids from three different states.
What if kids were empowered to change the world? Let’s make it happen! Your classroom can join Kid President’s “Unofficial” Cabinet. Classrooms across the country will be discussing citizenship together on Thursday, March 10th at 9:30am CST using the #StuConnect hashtag on Twitter.
This short (3 minute) video was created by kids from Minnesota, New York, and New Jersey. Their collaborative project sets the stage for the conversation that will occur on the #StuConnect hashtag. Our focus will be on learning about positive character, digital citizenship, and making a difference for others. All classrooms are welcome to participate (K-12 and beyond)!
If your classroom would like to preview the questions that we will be sharing on March 10th please see below. The chat will start at 9:30am CST and last 20-30 minutes. We will spend about five minutes discussing each question. Feel free to reach out to the #StuConnect moderators if you need help facilitating this Twitter-based conversation with your students.
#StuConnect Twitter Chat Topic: Citizenship*
Q1: If you were on Kid President’s cabinet, what citizenship project would you recommend? How could you involve others? #StuConnect
Q2: What are some ways that students, teachers, and leaders display positive character and citizenship? #StuConnect
Q3: How do you demonstrate digital citizenship? #StuConnect
Q4: How does your classroom show citizenship outside the walls of your school? #StuConnect
*On the day of our Twitter chat, you can reply to each question by starting your classroom Tweets with the letter “A” and number of the corresponding question. This will help others understand that you are answering a particular question. Be sure to add the #StuConnect hashtag to all of your responses. Example: “A4 We show citizenship by….. #stuconnect”
Classroom Twitter Chat #StuConnect
Join classrooms across the country as we celebrate the books we love on Friday, January 15, 2016 at 9:30am CST. Be sure to add the #StuConnect hashtag to your classroom tweets when responding to the questions below.
Q1 What book are you reading independently right now? What book is your teacher reading aloud to you? Which would you recommend?!
Q2 If you could meet a favorite character from a book, who would you choose?
Q3 What’s on your classroom’s Top 10 “Must Read” list?
Q4 If you could create a new book award what would you name it? What book would you nominate and why?
The entire twitter chat will only last 15-30 minutes. Feel free to join us for one question or stick around for the entire chat. All grade-levels are welcome to participate.
We will share out a new question every five minutes or so. Classrooms can respond to specific questions by starting their Tweets with the letter “A” (stands for Answer) and adding the hashtag #StuConnect to the very end of each Tweet.
Feel free to prepare pictures and video ahead of time. For example, if your students would rather design a new book award drawing to respond to question four they are more than welcome to. Creativity is appreciated, but a love of literacy and cultivating digital leadership skills are the ultimate goals!
Special thanks to my friends and #StuConnect co-moderators John Fritzky (NJ) and Tony Sinanis (NY). We’ll also be joined by a Greenwood student serving as honorary co-moderator and “Principal for the Day!” We hope you can join us for the live Twitter chat at 9:30am CST on Friday, January 15th.
StuConnect Classroom Twitter Chat
Join classrooms across the country as we celebrate student passion on December 1st at 9:30am CST. Click HERE to watch a short (3 minute) podcast prepared by students in two different states. Then join the conversation this Tuesday by tagging your classroom Tweets with the hashtag #StuConnect.
The entire chat will only last 20-30 minutes. Feel free to join us for one question or stick around for the entire chat. All grade-levels are welcome to participate. We will share out a new question every 6-7 minutes. Classrooms can respond to specific questions by starting their Tweets with the letter “A” (stands for Answer) and adding the hashtag #StuConnect to the very end of each Tweet.
A preview of the questions is below:
- Introduce your classroom or school and share what state you are from. #StuConnect
- Q1 What are your passions and talents? #StuConnect
- Q2 Why is knowing what you are talented at important? #StuConnect
- Q3 How do you get to ‘practice your passion’ in school? #StuConnect
- Q4 Where else do you get to spend time in an area interest? How might school help with this? #StuConnect
Special thanks to my #StuConnect co-moderators John Fritzky (NJ) and Tony Sinanis (NY) as well as one of our fabulous student-teachers, Ms. Frick, for helping produce the podcast. We hope you can join us for the Twitter chat at 9:30am CST on Tuesday, December 1st, 2015!
An Invitation
Join us on October 8th at 9:30am (Central Standard Time) for an educational Twitter chat focused on kids! We’re inviting teachers to follow the hashtag #StuConnect and engage their students in a conversation about things that make school cool. Click HERE to view a short (3 minute) video introducing the topic.
The chat will begin at 9:30am CST and last for approximately 30 minutes. Classrooms may join or leave the conversation at any time. Questions will be posed by three moderators: @TonySinanis @JohnFritzky and @GustafsonBrad and be posted to the #StuConnect hashtag on Twitter. A sample question is below:
Q1 What’s cool in your school? #StuConnect
Teachers may respond to questions by typing A1 (answer one) and then their answers. Be sure to include the hashtag #StuConnect in each tweet. Feel free to interact with other chat participants and share classroom resources/examples that relate to the conversation. We’ve already received confirmation that schools as far away as Dubai (United Arab Emirates) will be joining us! This is a great opportunity to model citizenship for students while connecting classrooms to a global community of learners.
Social media is learning media, but we have to scaffold the experience for our students!
3 Questions I Hope my Children’s Teachers are Asking
I often reflect upon how to empower students to learn at a high level while navigating the digitally-connected landscape we find ourselves in. I ask questions and strive to serve our students better today than I did yesterday.
In addition to being a principal I’m also dad to three pretty spectacular kids. My wife and I pray our children grow up to be loving people with humble hearts and curious minds. We also understand that their world is different than ours was, so we think about other important things too. My hope is that my children’s teachers are reflecting on some of the same questions I ask myself.
3 Questions I Hope my Children’s Teachers Are Asking
- How might I model digital leadership for my students?
- How might I help my students express their ideas in powerfully creative and appropriate ways using social media?
- How might I leverage the transformative power of technology to fuel collaborative conversations between students about their learning?
For the past couple years I’ve collaborated with Tony Sinanis and John Fritzky (principals in New York and New Jersey) to create cross-state collaborative podcasts. The podcasts feature our students sharing their favorite books, vision for education, and other creative endeavors led by kids.
This year we are adding an interactive Twitter-based chat to the collaboration. We’d like to invite you to join us as we strive to model how to leverage technology as a tool to connect, inspire, and amplify student voice.
The four chat dates for the 2015-2016 school year are below, and we’re planning to share out a student-created podcast prior to each chat. Please join us and include your classroom or school in the conversation. We’ll be using the hashtag #StuConnect on Twitter starting at 9:30am CST on the dates below.
#StuConnect Chat Dates
October 8, 2015
December 1, 2015
January 15, 2016
March 10, 2016
ConnectED BINGO
#StuConnect BINGO Winners! Photo via @GTMarrone
This past month a team of educators from across the country collaborated to create an epic ConnectED BINGO game for students. The opportunity was created by John Fritzky (NJ), Tony Sinanis (NY), and me. Our students have been connecting for close to two years now on collaborative cross-state podcasts. The ConnectED BINGO game was our attempt to include EVERYONE in a connected celebration of literacy and learning.
We know that many classrooms are still plugging away on their BINGO boards, and we encourage everyone to keep connecting and sharing. You can see all the exciting work kids are doing on the Twitter hashtag #StuConnect. We’re also excited to announce the first round of winners from the collaborative cross-state BINGO game. More winners will be announced soon.
To claim your prize please send me a direct message (DM) on Twitter with your school’s address. Please share a Tweet with a picture of your book/prize to the #StuConnect hashtag on Twitter after you receive it. (We had some amazing authors donate books, and it would be great to thank them for their support.) More prizes will be randomly drawn soon.
2015 ConnectED BINGO Winners
Grand Prize (1):
Signed copy of Wendell the World’s Worst Wizard by John Spencer AND
original framed illustration!
@CassieJanda
First Place Book Prizes (10):
Signed copies of Spruce and Lucy book written by Todd Nesloney
@NESblazerLIB
@MissMartinTCE
@GTMarrone
@MsFelan
@Morgret_Class
@MongioviMoore
@MrsCarlson30
@LaffingLibrary
@SchoolMediaMom
@MrsLavelle
I Love to Read SMACKDOWN!
Image Credit: vortexeffect.net
There has been a lot of buzz about the ConnectED BINGO game that started this month. In fact, we’re so pumped to be reading and connecting that we are issuing a Reading Smackdown for educators. That’s right…and it’s all for the love of literacy!!
I was recently chatting with a few of my principal friends from around the country on Twitter and Voxer. We challenged each other to a Reading Smackdown…..are YOU up for the challenge?!? Participating is as easy as 1-2-3:
- Create a short video clip of your favorite line from a book and post it to Vine. Be creative and be sure to add the hashtag #StuConnect to your post. We can’t wait to see how educators walk the walk during “I Love to Read” month. Special thanks to Chris Lehman for contributing this mini-challenge to the BINGO board.
- Join the fun, and print your BINGO board by clicking the link below. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxQP80CJnm8EelZzSUt5bS12Sk0/view?usp=sharing
- Tag at least three more educators via Twitter or in a blog post and challenge them to join the #ReadingSmackDown too. Don’t forget to use the #StuConnect hashtag when posting your video on Vine.
I’m tagging my friends Tony Sinanis, John Fritzky, Amy Fadeji, Theresa Stager, Spike Cook, Adam Welcome & Mark French. Good luck!
ConnectED BINGO
February is “I Love to Read” month and we’re inviting classrooms everywhere to join us in playing ConnectED BINGO. We collaborated with authors and educators across North America to create an epic reading opportunity! The goal is to foster a genuine love of reading through social interaction and great literature. We are striving to facilitate student-centered connections between authors, educators, and classrooms.
Click the blue link above to print a PDF of the game board. Some activities should be completed with guidance from a teacher or parent. Cultivating good character through digital citizenship is a shared responsibility. Students will be best served if the adults in their lives take an active role in modeling and discussing responsible use of social media, sharing, and online interactions. We hope you have a BLAST reading and connecting.
The Positive Power of Social Media
Click the Image to view Student Podcast – Episode #4
Our students have been collaborating on cross-state podcast projects this school year. Kids from Minnesota, New Jersey, and New York have created video podcasts in the TouchCastApp to become more connected learners. We’re learning how Social Media can be utilized to inspire, connect, and share the amazing things happening in our schools.
Our next podcast will feature an exciting new interactive element…we’re inviting students EVERYWHERE to join us in a celebration of creativity based on a “Squiggle.” A Squiggle may appear like a simple wavy line…but using your imagination a Squiggle can turn into anything!
Squiggle PDF for Connected Classrooms Project
Here’s how your classroom can participate:
Watch our podcast about what a Squiggle is and see some examples from our creative kids. The podcast will air in May, 2014.
- Print the Squiggle PDF from the link above and encourage your students to flip, turn, color, and create using the Squiggle. The more creative their designs the better!
- Take a picture of each Squiggle masterpiece and Tweet it out using the hashtag #StuConnect
- Check back often to see what other creative kids and classrooms are doing…we’ll be selecting one random classroom to receive a classroom pack of new Crayola art supplies. Anyone that submits a Squiggle art drawing to our hashtag this school year is eligible for the art prize pack.
- Spread the word…we want our students to see the positive power of “connectivity” while simultaneously celebrating the creative genius in EVERY child!
Help us provide students an authentic audience for their work! Be sure to use the hashtag #StuConnect when submitting your students’ Squiggle artwork.
Adjusting Course 