Ozobot Fraction STEM Challenge

 It doesn't matter what age students are, but they love being hands on in their learning. I was that middle school teacher with robots, legos, lincoln logs, race tracks, etc. I tried to find any way to take a simple worksheet and make it engaging. Students weren't trying to hide due to their lack of ability, but they wanted to know the skill to engage in the fun. There were a lot of laughs in my classroom. 

Ozobots are an easy tool to add into math curriculum. You can turn any boring math worksheet into a coding worksheet for the Ozobots. It then becomes a 2 for 1 deal. Students are solving math, but they are also working on coding and algorithms. Definitely check it out and start to think of different ways to you combine coding into your curriculum. 

Fall Activities

You may not be able to wear white anymore, but you sure can go Fall crazy! I thought I would kick off Fall with some cute Fall activities. Check them out and come back to see as I add more. 

Rid Yourself of the Toxicity

 4 months later and the blows keep coming from my previous job. In all transparency, my unemployment was denied. I am in the process of appealing it. Yesterday was the hearing for the appeal. That was the first time my former employer ever shared what "confidential" information I shared and caused for poor performance. I'm thankful the hearing was by phone. When I heard the lies they were sharing with the judge I was sick to my stomach. My emotions were all over the place. This is the company that I devoted nearly 12 years for, and they were making up information to ensure my unemployment was denied. 

One of the lies came from private conversations with a former co-worker. We had many theory and thought sessions. They were between us, and just theories. We were two managers that were privy to many of the changes happening in our district. Somehow they were reported to HR, and they twisted the theory and added an audience. 

The other lie came from a private text conversation on two personal, non-district, cell phones. A close co-worker, and manager, had texted me after I was suspended. They started the conversation. I never violated my suspension. Somehow HR was able to share the conversation word-for-word and insinuated I had started the conversation. 

If I gained anything from the hearing, I at least gained closure. I now know they really had nothing on me, which is why they've never answered that question. I know they will stoop to any level to protect themselves and get their way. I learned that two former co-workers, whom I trusted and considered friends, betrayed me. I put together an organized appeal with strong evidence, and asked questions of the district on their evidence to poke their lies. I truly gave my all, and will accept the outcome. 

Over the summer, and now going into the Fall, I have been picking myself up. I have been redefining who I am and want to be. I let myself be consumed by that job. I truly believe it was worth it for the students and families, but not for me in the long run. I'm in week three at a new job, and I love it. I'm setting boundaries, but ensuring I'm still doing the job that I was hired for. I've started to pick up ARC (Advanced Reading Copy) reviews since I read so much. I've always wanted to that, but never had the time. A couple months ago I started a book page on Facebook to go along with my hobby. Definitely check it out and give it a follow! A couple times a week I try to share free ebooks that I find. 

No First Day of School in 12 Years

 A few weeks ago, my former district returned to school. It was the first time in 12 years I wasn't a part of it. Well, my first year I was hired 5 weeks in, but same thing! Either way, it felt really weird. There was no stress in preparing for a class or deploying district technology. It felt really good. 

There were friends, that are teachers, that reached out to ask questions on why items in technology were or were not happening. I had to explain I wasn't there, it used to be my job, but I don't know if anyone knew I did that. Either way, it wasn't my problem. My Facebook friend suggestions were interesting. It was completely filled with staff that I normally supported at back to school time. It appeared they were looking for me. I would say sorry, but I stand by my statement that "I did nothing wrong."

Things get even more interesting. A friend of mine had a principal reach out asking if they knew where I had gone. They shared that it appears my former department is in shambles. I don't wish that on my former friends, but it kind of is karma for the district. They truly did wrong on multiple good people. 

I'm now two weeks into my job, and I LOVE it. The culture is laid back. I haven't met a person that wasn't welcoming. I'm still adjusting to the pace as they don't work like everything is on fire, but I'm sure I'll acclimate pretty quick. 

Today, I had the opportunity to network with others in the business world, and that have some hand in technology. It was interesting to see all the different jobs they had, and to hear all the different ways we are using AI. Many struggled with my job title as they assumed I did some coding in my job. I felt like I confused them when I explained what I actually do. It truly is the analyst part that is throwing them off. that is unique to the company as I work closely to FinOps and Procurement. I see today as a step in the direction of building new connections outside the education world. 

Is There a Right or Wrong Way to Use AI?

It is obvious I use AI with my content. It has been a game changer for creating content. Rather than spending hours, tediously designing content, I just describe what I want and it is created in minutes. I used to spend hours zooming in on my designs to ensure lines were touching, or that I put something in the correct place. AI has made that so much easier. I spend more time on the quality of the content that users will interact with than the design now. 

AI was a game changer working in Technology as a Project Manager. I was able to use it to help write my project management software so that it automatically ran. I couldn't imagine managing 30+ projects by hand. No thank you! A lot of my work was data driven as well, but I had no API access into the platforms I needed the data from. AI helped me build website scrapers. AI has saved me so many hours in the work field. 

No matter the work field you are in, you will have exposure to AI in some way. It is important to create and implement AI Guidance. I use the term guidance as AI is ever changing, and if we use policy it makes it feel set in stone. I like guidance because it sets the guardrails, but leaves room to continue to adjust it as AI grows. It truly is amazing how many companies allow the use of AI, but don't have current guidance on its use. 

My husband's company recently purchased Microsoft Copilot for all office staff and is encouraging employees to explore how it can be incorporated into their daily work. When I asked what guidance the company had provided regarding appropriate use, he indicated that none had been communicated. I then asked whether the company had addressed issues such as entering customer information into Copilot or protecting proprietary information covered by licensing or manufacturing agreements. He was unsure how those situations should be handled, suggesting that employees may not have received guidance on the responsible use of AI in the workplace.

I worked in Technology for the largest public school district in Indiana. We earned grants to purchase AI platforms for our teachers to use. We were proactive and created AI Guidance, however our guidance focused more on its use in the classroom. It didn't cover teachers using it to analyze class or student data, or even writing IEPs (Individualized Education Plans). Even though the district pays for the use of that platform, do we truly know what the company does with the data that is collected? 

The use of AI will be unique to each user. Ultimately, they are the one to determine how ethically it is used. Youth are only seeing how it can do their work for them, which in the long run will hurt them as they won't be able to do that skill. There's the the group that is completely against AI, as you should be able to do everything yourself like you always have done. Then we have the happy middle. This group is finding ways to use it to improve the functions of their work or lives. Yes, it replaces some mundane tasks, but that leaves them open to do the more attention to detail tasks. Personally, I've used AI to learn new skills to apply at my job. 

Users just need to understand there is a line you don't want to cross with AI, which is what information you give it. Provide AI with information to help you with your work, but don't give it the full details that it can remember forever. You never know where those details will end up out in the cyber world. 

AI is not going away, and avoiding it entirely is unlikely to be a realistic strategy for most organizations. The better approach is to use it intentionally. Employees need clear guidance about approved tools, confidential information, customer data, student and employee records, copyright, human review, and accountability. AI can eliminate repetitive work and create more time for judgment, creativity, and problem-solving—but only when people understand both its capabilities and its limits.

*Interesting Fact: Confabulation is a memory error where a person - or an AI system - creates fabricated, distorted, or misinterpreted stories with out any intent to deceive. The individual or machine genuinely believes the false information is true.

I Sucked at Grading

You know what I sucked at as a teacher? Grading! Every year I told myself I would stay on top of it, or I would only collect what truly needs graded. PFT! I would still find anything else to do but grade. To make it worse, admin started to mandate we needed one new grade a week! I was always doomed. 

No matter how "techie" I was, I did not like grading and inputting data at the same time. It was too much for me. I needed to focus on one thing first, and then the second step. It made the work longer, but I had a lot less errors. 

Even if I couldn't get around to grading right away, which we knew I wouldn't, I liked to organize by name or student number. From there I would use my homework tracker to show if they had turned it in. This enabled me to track if they turned it in on time, complete, if it was missing, or late. I only needed to do this for physical assignments. So....whenever I eventually made it around to grading I could remember if they actually turned it in on time.

I've always valued hand-written notes too. We can use the schools communication system, like ParentSquare, to send family messages, but I also like to send a physical note home. I know as a busy mom I always check their folders, but somedays I'm too busy to check all communication formats. A simple hand-written note can be super helpful. 

Someday, I will improve my grading track record. At this time, it's not there. I will continue to use tools to help me stay organized for when I do get around to grading. If you are like me and need a better system, use the link below to grab your own set!

Digital Teacher Planner

If you are unorganized, it can make your job as a teacher hard. You remember you put your lesson plans somewhere or notes you took during small group. That is where a good teacher planner comes into play. Some teachers will prefer to create a binder that they can grab and write in whenever they need to. Others will use it digitally, and won't mind carrying around their laptop. 

When I first started teaching, I was the type to use a physical binder. Technology was different 12 years ago. I created my own lesson plan template to use. Now that I reflect on it, it was basic for that time. Now that there is more research it is lacking. Look below to see my first lesson plan. 

If I were to go back into the classroom today, I would need a more robust planner. It would need to be multiple pages, and include small group planning options. Even in middle school math I had small group plans. Math and Reading would still be large focus for an elementary classroom as those are the core topics. It would be important to include an area for objectives as many administrators are looking for those anymore. 

When I think about a one-stop shop teacher planner, I want it to include important items I would use beyond lesson plans. I would need an intervention tracker to help quickly log activities, that way later I can communicate them as needed or have a history of them. I know we can get information from our student information systems on our students, but sometimes it is easier to have it accessible in our content. It would be important to have a student information section that I can record important information on them, and record my communication to home. This area would be great for building individual student progress trackers. By having these available, you can easily share them when a family member asks for them or someone in the building asks for current data. 

There are other items some teachers might find important like a class birthday calendar, class transportation log, class procedure page, or sub page. I personally love a month view of a calendar. I like to use this to put school, district, and personal events all in one spot for a quick view. I've learned that teachers don't necessarily use their email calendar like administrators do. Even as an administrator, I still liked a good digital calendar. 

If you are interested in purchasing this teacher planner, head over to my TPT store to grab your copy today!