Genius Hour to Maker Ed

This has been a crazy, amazing, exhausting and exciting year, and it's only been 70+ days! My kids and I began the year working on Genius Hour projects, feverishly polishing up research and getting presentations ready. It was good and it was how I envisioned the beginning of my year. However, I knew it wasn't going to stay the same for long. What if there were tools and wood scraps? What about a hand saw? What if there was tape, cardboard, MakeDo Kits, tubes and marble run walls? And, what if this was all tied together with Design Thinking? What if Genius Hour was really Maker Time in room 26?







The Start
Getting the kids amped about working independently on a project of their choosing was more difficult than I thought. I jumped from 1st grade to 3rd grade and the difference was noticeable. After some work thinking big with a WonderWall (huge thanks to @bertoson81 for the inspiration) the kids started to get that when I said, "Go forth and learn about anything" I meant Anything. Like all Genius Hour's, some were great, like a perfect cup of coffee in the morning. Others, were not so good (gas station coffee?). Guiding 3rd graders through a less than structured learning process is hard work, but can be done when high standards and expectations, mini-lessons and check-in meetings are put into place.


Starting to Change
"If you don't like change, you're going to like irrelevance even less."
—General Eric Shinseki, former U.S. Army Chief of Staff

I will admit, the move to MakerEd was strategic. Our district had raised money for a Maker program and I was excited. I was totally on board. I had no idea where Maker would take my class, but knew it was an idea that would lead to countless learning opportunities for my students. It was hands on, engaging, a little messy and "mostly safe" (@pgoetz6). I couldn't pass it up. So we made stuff.

We started with the Design Thinking approach and made some Maker Journals to start. Then the kids started getting into cardboard prototyping (cheap and fast model that functions). We crushed tape- it was ridiculous. (We got Make Do kits and life has been better ever since).

We made a lot. There were planes, a stool, a chair, wrecking machines, boats, stuffed animal houses. The room was messy, but learning was taking place in each nook and cranny. (How did I know? This blog will have to be next up.)

The Big Shift

About a month ago I had the privlege of visiting the The Cove School to see what we might want to copy/steal as we move forward with a bond. (Watch a video about the school here). While there, I learned about the Making they are trying to implement with their students. Tinker. Make. Do. While Tinkering, students are playing with materials, experiencing and experimenting with motion and force, adhesion, overall design or aesthetics. When Making, students are actually creating something. This can be a prototype, or an actual functioning thing. Do- this is where I'm a little foggy, so I just made this up with my students to fit our needs and classroom culture. If you are Doing, you are focused on a big project, perhaps writing a play, researching Ice Cream (back to Genius Hour) or how planes fly. For me, this was a big "ah ha". I can offer my students a developmentally appropriate Maker time that includes hands on learning, collaborative problem solving, highly engaging work that each student chose to tackle, very rigorous standards of completion and high expectations. 

This Scooter rack filled a need at our school. Created by students.
Note the prototype in green. Fully functioning as I write this. 

Making the Maker Ed program for a classroom or school is never really done. The iterative step in Design Thinking allows for testing and retesting, always looking for a better way to learn, teach and think. I leave school most days thinking about change in big and small ways, searching for new ways to engage students and create more and more learning opportunities. Putting Maker Ed and Genius Hour together seems to work, so I suppose that won't change for now. 

Maker Project 1- The Wrecking Machine

Over the summer I had the unique opportunity to create some maker curriculum for my district (Kentfield School District). I was really intrigued with the NGSS and knew that I was going to start the curriculum by touching on some of the new standards, but also knew that my district was ok with some freestyle making for the sake of making. So, off I went into my own personal workshop (garage) to play and experience some making of my own. I build a desk. Tried to build a table and I visited Lighthouse Charter School in Oakland to learn how they do what they do (If you get the chance, go to one of their PD's). This all culminated with my colleague, Beth Espinoza, and I ordering maker carts and materials for our school (shout outs to Peter Goetz and Peter Zingg). We were fortunate enough to benefit from fundraising that our fundraising machine (KIK) raised and PTA donated to better fund these carts. 

Fast forward to the beginning of school and kids are finally getting their hands on the materials and curriculum. I even had parents making things during Back to School Night for their kids! We played with the Marshmallow Challenge to get us started, which resulted in total failure from all groups. No sweat, we will be coming back to this in a few weeks to apply what we are learning. 

Yesterday the kids took on their next big Maker Challenge- Make a machine that can knock another object down. In this case, the 'other object' was a wall made of wooden blocks, and the machines were as varied as the kids themselves. They used fabric, styrofoam, cardboard, clothes pins, dowels, wheels, corks and string, to name a few materials. Initially, they got organized by making a quick sketch and creating a shopping list. Once at the maker cart, they loaded up their carts with goodies (careful not to overdo) and were engaging with peers about possible designs during this time. While in the midst of the build process, the kids were able to prototype and refine continually, going through the iterative process throughout the 50 minutes they had to create this contraption. They were collaborating like mad with classmates, both within their group as well as crowd sourcing ideas to gain a creative edge.

In the end, only one group was actually able to knock down the wall, but each group was successful in design conversation and engaging with peers to problem solve, rapid prototyping and gaining a great understanding of force and motion. Each group also came away with a new plan for the next build, now with a further understanding of creating something that is heavier and larger in order to generate more force to knock down the wall. 

Next week, more walls will come tumbling down in room 26.        

What Did You Do This Summer?

What Did You Do This Summer?

For one bright and driven nine-year old, the answer to this question is different than one might expect. Generally, teachers get a response anywhere from Hawaii to camping to nothing. However, Hollis can answer this question in a variety of ways. She might send you to her YouTube page, or perhaps her WordPress blog. No, I bet she would recommend you check her Facebook page to better understand what she's been up to this summer. Hollis has spent her entire summer juggling her soccer ball to raise money for St. Jude's Children Hospital.



After only one month of fundraising she has raised $11,000. Yes, $11,000. This is not some little bake sale; she is crushing fundraising and is nearing her goal of $20,000 for the summer.

I had the chance to chat with Hollis this evening in order to learn more about what she is doing, why she's doing this and how social media has helped her in her efforts.

Mike: How did you come up with this idea? 

Hollis: I got my juggling skills from soccer. I've been practicing juggling for a while and putting some of those videos on YouTube. My mom heard about St. Judes Children Hospital and what they do for children and suggested that I combine my soccer skills with the opportunity to help children. It's good for kids at the hospital and good for my juggling skills.

M: Why did you choose to use social media to spread the word?

H: I became familiar with it (social media) because my mom would post pictures or videos of me- soccer, juggling or dance. Now it’s fairly normal. For Juggling for Jude, my mom spreads the word with Facebook and Twitter (I’m not old enough yet) and I also blog with Wordpress. Using Facebook allowed more people to donate and help. It spreads the word to more people and that helps kids. (editors note: Social Media increases reach- make sure positive thoughts are reaching farthest.)

M: Any experience with Social Media before J4J?

H: Not at school, but I made some videos of me juggling earlier this year and my teacher saw it. She was impressed and shared it with some other people. I like using YouTube. The video always stays there. Mom immediately takes my score and puts it straight to YouTube. It's a great way to spread J4J around to other people.

M: Did you learn about Digital Citizenship during the school year?

H: I’ve seen some magazines and articles on social media and Digital Citizenship. Some friends at school had an Instagram account, and their parent's didn't know it was a public account. WHAT!? We were like, you've got to make that private. They had to switch it to a private account because their account wasn't for a good cause. This is different because it is helping kids. (editors note: This Social Media usage has purpose!)

M: You realize this is uncommon for young people to do with their summer, right? Ever want to take some time off?

H: (Laughter) Yah, there have been times when I didn’t want to juggle. I had to fight through it- focus on the fact that I'm helping kids. Even when I was on vacation in Hawaii. I’m tired, I’m on vacation, but my mom reminded me that kids in the hospital don’t get vacation. (note: Hollis ended up with a then new record of 216 juggles while on vacation. And that video has been seen 499 times).

M: Any goals for the Fundraiser?

H: Yes, somewhere around 400 juggles and the fundraiser ends on August 31st. (note: at this point, I realized that I was unclear with my question, but it also illustrates how adults think compared to children).


There are a few important take-aways that make this a great case study for teachers and adults.
1. Social Media, when used appropriately and with the help of responsible adults, can enact change on a variety of scales. Hollis started by sharing this with her family, then the community that her family works with (TJ's Gym, San Rafael).

2. Hollis recognized something that many adults need to look at more closely. Using Social Media for a good cause is great. We all love cat videos, but let's keep things positive and maybe take some time to help a few people, or share an idea or offer inspiration. Being a creator of internet content and not just a consumer is something that we can all try to do more often, and it is a skill we can all share with our students.

My hope in writing about this is to spread the word and help this kiddo, but more importantly I hope this will inspire others to use Social Media in a positive way, for a good cause and with positive content that might even help a person or three. So, when you ask your students what they did this summer, keep Hollis in the back of your mind....

Marin Edcamp & Summer Institute

This past Monday and Tuesday I had that chance to spend some quality time in Fairfax (Westish Marin). If you haven't been, it's worth a drive down Sir Francis Drake to see the redwood trees meet the oaks, and the blue sky meet the grass. Tucked in deep within a canyon is the newly remodeled White Hill Middle School. All of this added up to make for one heck of a two day event with new friends, fun, some shenanigans and some big take-aways.

1. Communication Across Multiple Media
Each session I attended at either the Edcamp or the Summer Institute had a thread of communication. This could be peer to peers, teachers to students, parents, admin to student. Also, communication around a school can and should take place by way of  different means: Social media, blogs, face to face, hand written notes and letters, Audioboo's, airplane writing (we don't see this enough anymore). When the means of communication are examined deeper, being a kind communicator who contributes to the conversation and acting like a positive citizen, digital or not, was a part of many conversations. It was good to hear this resonating amongst K-12 people. A specific nod to Eric Saibel for bringing up the idea that expecting solid digital citizens in high school without proper foundation during elementary is off base, and that it is our responsibility to teach these foundational skills with enough momentum to carry forward well beyond elementary.

2. Aha!
"Don't steal the kid's aha! moment." Eileen Smith is a dynamo of a presenter and I'm guessing she brings this same enthusiasm each day as a principal in Novato. While my colleagues and I were trying to understand a 4th grade math problem enough to share out our thinking with peers, she was on ice skate jamming throughout the room. She had questions, ideas, small tips, but not an answer. There is discovery in learning. We should remind ourselves of this daily and wait for our students to yell, "AHA! I know how to do this!"

3. Fail up. Learning is messy. Honor process. A Growth Mindset Grows. A Fixed Mindset is Fixed.
Process above all else is going on my wall next year as a reminder that we will get there, but the route we take might be different. Probably a bit messy, usually loud but fully engaged. From each miscue or failure, we will learn and move forward. I'm a pretty good model of the fail up method... "This didn't work, it fell apart. No sweat, let's look at this concept or idea." I might have failed at that one small moment, but I'm not a failure for the hour, day, week, month... If we can teach and model to our students that their ability to grow, learn and change is a capability they are have learning will improve. A growth mindset allows children to see the process as having benefit. Everyone likes to win, but there are only 8 lanes in the 100m final at the Olympics. Someone's going home sad... (that is actually a direct quote from my UC Davis Track coach, Deanne Vochatzer. She is awesome). However, if we can see that all of my hard work made me a better person, more fit, stronger and more resilient, than I have succeeded. Transfer this concept to learning in the classroom. Maybe little Johnny didn't ace the math quiz, but with his growth mindset he looks at where he went wrong, ask questions about how to get better, find more connections with previous work and applications of these skills, all the while improving his learning through the process. His end product is ultimately better, too, through effort and smarter studying.

4. Friends
It was so nice to chat with Peter Goetz, Tracy Walker, Elizabeth Espinoza, Eric Saibel and finally to meet Craig Yen who is a master PLN builder/sharer and tweet ninja.

Keep learning my friends.

The Day the Kid Threw the Lego Spaceship & 61 Tries

April 23rd- This was one of the best experiences of my teaching career. Granted I've been teaching for 7 years and hope to have more moments like this and better, but this one was special. Genius Hour has created a developmental divide in my class where some children are investigating bugs and Capoeira, and others are tinkering away and creating. I have enjoyed watching this evolution happen and feel confident that deep learning is happening at both ends of the divide. Some need to make and build, others need to create, some start a movement and others want deep learning.

For the builders, a hot topic has been rapid prototyping and the test-retest cycle of iteration. JR took some time to create his spaceship model and claimed he was 'done'. "Great," I said. "Test it." He wasn't quite sure what that meant. It can't fly to the moon, this was obvious, but it did have to be quite strong to make a possible journey. So, I suggested he do the throw test. It's a pretty simple test for strength. Step 1) take object/ship/thing. Step 2) throw in a safe direction. Step 3) assess damage and rebuild to address weakness. The thing is, I can't believe he actually chucked the thing! He had so much pride in his initial build, I was sure I'd get some flack. But he has trust in this process and he has trust in the class culture of creating and innovating.

I'm coming to realize that Genius Hour isn't a thing or a kit to be made available. There isn't a formula for all. Rather, it is a frame of mind that a curious educator can embody. This is a time and place for educators who believe in self-led learning, wondering and creating to show trust in their students ideas and passions. Teachers can learn with students, coach their efforts and help them to make their learning or creation the ideal of what the students wants.

The girls tried 6 more times. 

April 30th- LP and EL worked together today to perfect a chain reaction using dominoes and a few other items. They worked feverishly and carefully for over 90 minutes, continuously knocking their reaction down accidentally (or not). When all was said and done, they didn't have a thing to present after Genius Hour came to a close, instead, they shared their experiences and wisdom after failing so many times. What did they come up with? Rapid prototyping worked well, they figured out what worked (some dominoes) and what didn't (too many is a problem). They wanted to use clay next time as well as more marbles. They shared eloquently and with some frustration. They were loud and proud. The class was proud of them, constantly telling the girls, 'we saw it or heard it work', as if to say- we've got your back, it's happened to us, too. If this isn't grit x perseverance= awesome, I don't know what it...

Kids, Learning and Compassion

This past Wednesday, I had some big takeaways from Genius Hour. I usually set up the work flow by asking kids Who their partner will be, What project do they want to undertake, Why this is important to them and whether they intend to inform, persuade, entertain or, new today, Share some love and compassion with others. To my excitement, two girls paired together to create a poster for friendship, complete with original art, a detailed handshake and a story to go with it. The whole class is very proud to have this on display and hopefully make a difference for someone who needs a friend or compassion.

 

The Power of Cross Pollination

One never knows where a great idea will come from. It could be that a certain cloud inspires an idea, or a cut in a block of wood lights a fire in an old project. If children and teachers don't share ideas with one another, how will these smallish ideas become great ideas that lead to learning opportunities? A parent approached me after school and mentioned that her son has been building more and more these days, and that if he's not building, he is explaining his ideas and the process he followed. I was trying to keep my excitement contained, but was so excited that I couldn't help myself. This is a quiet guy, who has great ideas often, but they usually stay in his on mind. He is finally sharing them out and inspiring others- gotta love First Grade and #teamK12.

Another story about cross pollinating. Last week several of my students put on a performance during Genius Hour. This featured The Cat in the Hat and some other stuffed animals. It was a hit, we all laughed with each other. Today, several boys did a similar show, but this time included music and dancing (same stuffies). After the performance, one of the children who had the original idea came to me and said, "They are doing what we did, but a little different. Awesome!" She was proud, excited, and happy knowing that her idea was so well loved that it had become the passion of another.

Pretty cool stuff happens when ideas are shared. Keep sharing.

MT

#Geniushour, Publishing and CrossFit

This week my students were deep in two projects. They were publishing their latest non-fiction chapter books for Writers Workshop, and working on genius hour projects, both the planning process, creating the deliverable and giving the 'showcase'. They also played host to a 4th grade class that was looking forward to starting their own genius hour, too. Publishing and Genius hour allow the children to exercise a few transferable skills (thanks CrossFit for that term) that are applicable in many different places.

Publishing

Each child chooses 'The One' lucky paper from a stack of stories that he or she has written during the past few months that will become the published story. To choose this story, they must have many ideas (create) and make several stories (try), followed a plan where editing and revising are rampant (review/reflect), get peer support ("Nice work, go for it!" or "Pretty good, here are some suggestions" and Collaboration), then go through it for final fixes before adding the flourishes. This is an intense process that the children have learned through the months and they are living for it. They want it. They ask for time to finish their projects during rainy day recess instead of legos. They are talking about it as they enter the door from PE. They are psyched to work really hard on a project of their choice (autonomy) under real deadlines while pushing for excellence. 

Genius Hour

Each Friday, from 12:45-2:19 we are doing something with Genius Hour. From 12:45-1:45 the kids create, iterate, get frustrated, try again, succeed etc (create and try)... During this time, they ask each other constant questions. I, also ask them constant questions. "Why this project and not ___?" or "What is the question you are trying to answer?" or "Who might be helped from this project?"(review/reflect). [note: Then we clean. I needed to emphasize this during my last post but forgot. Here it is. Remember to ask your children to help you clean up. Genius hour is messy learning at it's finest, and I truly think it needs to be. The iteration process is messy, but that doesn't mean the classroom has to be.] We clean for about 8 minutes, then get presentations prepared. The kids have a short time to present and they are getting better at keeping the talk to about one minute, sometimes two. 

CrossFit and Transferable Skills

When I first started CrossFit in August '13, I didn't get transferable skills. I was just doing stuff, and it was hard and seemed to lack connectivity. It wasn't until I watched a lot of Mobility WOD  that I finally realized it was all connected. The kip position for a pull-up is the same as a hollow is the same posture needed for a double-under. Exercises went from really really hard, to hard because I could see the transferable skills that connected each exercise. 

When I see my students revising their writers workshop, then revising their math journals, then I see them revising their Genius hour projects, I get chills. They are taking the difficult skill of revising- looking critically at their work, changing mistakes, highlighting success- and applying it across the curriculum. When I see my students planning for Genius hour and writers workshop and reading, it's the same chills. With connectivity in lessons and skills, children learn that skills are not independent, but rather they can be applied in a variety of settings. These skills go way across the curriculum, cover multiple CCSS and, bonus, they go straight into the real world. 

Be Great Today. 

Genius Hour, First Grade

When I first started to hear about Genius Hour in the fall of ‘13, I immediately wanted to know more. Let the kids create, question and learn and do on their own? I’m in.

1st and 4th graders gathered to hear about the bridge
that failed. It was a great dam, bad bridge.

I have always been a huge fan of choice time and firmly believe in the lost art of ‘letting children play’. However, I was noticing that our choice time was getting competitive. “He has more lego people than I do” or “I wanted to play with the marble run!”. There were some victories, friends made and some much needed unwinding for my students.  It was also a very social, which was great, but I wanted more. Being ever curious about how I might be able to get more from a school day, create a more autonomous learning environment for my students, encourage creativity and collaboration it became clear - Genius Hour.

Searching twitter (#geniushour) I found @joykirr, then her LiveBinder, drifting further down the bunny hole, I started connecting previous ideas from Google (20% time), Daniel Pink, Ken Robinson and IDEO. For teachers reading this, the first three connections stated are probably known entities. But IDEO? A cutting edge design firm located in the Bay Area founded by David Kelley, IDEO became famous for bringing design thinking into all avenues of life. How might a shopping cart be better? “How might we” questions became the trendy in and around SF and the greater Bay Area. I read Change By Design a few years back and absolutely loved it, thinking the whole time, how I might be able to do this in my classroom? How might I encourage creativity (Sir Ken), create learning autonomy (Mr. Pink), and manage 21 six year-olds (me)?

Unstable boxes meets stability.

Fast forward to November ‘13 and I jumped into Genius Hour with both feet. The first try was clunky on my end, trying to intervene little at times, then too much at other times. My efforts, both good and bad, didn’t seem to hamper the kids efforts as they created oceanscapes, explored a planter searching for bugs, created lego creatures, created a slideshow telling all about different ships, choreographed a dance to Firework and wrote, sang and performed a rap song. Deliverables were delivered and presented. The presentations were shy and quiet. Some natural speakers were found, others were emerging from their shells. Process was the king/queen of the day. Truthfully, I wasn’t concerned about the quality of the deliverable. So long as the process was collaborative, positive, driven by personal curiosity and enjoyable, I felt that the mission was accomlished. The room was buzzing with energy... “When can we do this again?” “Is it on the schedule today?” “I have an idea for next week!” became the language of the week. Kids were thinking about this before they left for the day, at morning meeting, during lunch and executing ideas during the Hour itself. I was hooked. They were hooked.

Getting Started

I won’t lie, this can get messy. It can get loud. Failure is often. Start with a thinking session. Kate Petty said to make a Bad Idea board full of ideas that aren’t really genius worthy. For instance, How deep is the SF Bay? In .56 seconds, Google told me that it was 360 ft deep under the Golden Gate. Instead, what about Shark species of the SF Bay, or How is the depth determined, or Why isn’t the SF Bay deeper?? You might have to tell your students, No, but make sure to say why their current idea isn’t Genius Hour worthy, and perhaps offer a suggestion. The first few weeks, I let a lot slide, and I suggest you do the same (remember, first grade). 
Note: I didn’t make a bad idea board because I only heard about it a few months in.

Automatic fly swatter

Solid, liquid, gas demo

Give a Framework

Each week the children have to determine three things:

1. Who will be part of their team? Solo, two or three? Four is pushing it.

2. What will you be doing, learning, creating? There must be accountability. A week ago, three girls were going to choreograph a dragon dance. They announced it and the class was fired up! When they presented a 20 second skit about a restaurant, the children did all the talking. “Wait, where is the dragon dance?!” They were disappointed, and the three girls were embarrassed. We made a rule- if you say you’re going to do it, do it. If you’re going to change, tell the project manager, me.

3. How will you share out? Each group or child only has one minute (approx) to share out what they did, how it worked, what didn’t work etc. All eyes are on the presenters and the class acts proud and respectful. Thus far we are using Explain Everything for digital presentations, Doc Cam and live Demo’s to share out.

Could look something like this...

Who?	What?	How?

Use Big Words

Why not sneak in some content specific vocabulary? Stabilize, water-proof, attracted, iterate. Last week I tried to describe the term iterate with 21 six year-olds. I got this drawing.

Process of iteration in First Grade

What’s Come Up?

Genius Hour has broken language barriers, made friends from unlikely pairs and given me goosebumps at the way the children describe their work. No tears yet, but we have had at least a failure or two each hour. The kids are prepared for this, they know that as we fail, we answer the question- Why did this happen?  Then try again. The process of iterating continues.

What Do I Need?

Remember to be brave while doing this. The worst thing an educator can do is NOT try this out. It might be bad, but it’s a start. Develop some possible ideas with the kids, keep these ideas and grow a list. I encourage the kids to redo past projects in order to improve them, learn more from them, or redo a presentation that went haywire. Collect boxes, TP rolls, blocks and other random stuff to help the kids create. They are also writing lists of things they might want in order to get future projects done. This list will live on our class website for all to see and donate.

A Note of Caution
This is not a 'sit back and watch' kind of thing. The teacher is the project manager. It is very important to be a sounding board to the kids, ask them questions that make them really think deeply and have conversations with their team, let doubt creep in, let excitement creep in, help them make connections and increase inspiration. 

Genius Hour for First Grade. Give it a whirl, let me know what you think, how it went and what victories your kids experienced.

Your School is a Brand... So Are You

Step into your favorite local Starbucks and what do you notice? Are you confused? Do you know where the line is? Do they serve the venti mocha-choca-latte that you want? Are you confident that you will order said venti and then receive what you ordered? You should be, because Starbucks has an incredibly consistent brand. You feel comfortable going there on a trip to Denver because you are 99% guaranteed to get what you want. You might also get a smile, ‘hello’, the chance to use a moderately clean bathroom and free wifi to give them a positive review, ‘Like’ it or tweet how happy you are now that you have your mocha. Sounds nice, and it is. But our school doesn’t serve mochas, so what do we have? And how can a brand like Starbucks, for example, work for a school? Let’s define what a Brand really is…

Brand is not a logo, a tagline, or an advertising campaign. It's a multidimensional platform that can be your greatest differentiator and competitive edge, if built correctly. It represents both a rational and emotional connection to your various stakeholders and the consumer that ultimately decides to purchase and engage with you. (1)

Change a few words to make is school/education specific and we get…

Brand is not a logo, a tagline, or an advertising campaign. It's a multidimensional platform that can be your greatest differentiator and competitive edge, if built correctly. It represents both a rational and emotional connection to your various community members and the students and parents that ultimately decides to engage in learning with you.

Each school has a brand and it is something that didn’t happen by accident. We all have a school vision, strategic plan, student, staff and parent expectations that help define our brand. All of these core beliefs are present with us on a daily basis and they help guide the way we teach, the way our students learn, the way our parents manage the drop-off line all the way down to how we dress. The values are probably even known by the general community.

A school’s positive brand can alleviate parent fears during kindergarten registration, acquire highly qualified teachers when openings arise and increase community support. If your school is known for pushing the envelope with technology usage, the school can either actively pursue its brand image as a tech school, or let community members define it’s brand. If your school has a one-acre garden and they grow their own school lunches, it’s an organic foodie school. If your school has 100% bike riders, you’re a green school. You get the idea. A schools brand consistency will help deliver a clear message to parents, teachers, students and the community. “We are here to support these young learners as they move into the future.”

As a teacher at this institution, we are also responsible for delivering this consistent brand message. A smile in the morning as we open the doors, morning meetings, laughter, skipping in the halls, waving good-bye to parents at carline all help teachers deliver the consistent message each school is trying to deliver. Imagine you’re at your local school, let’s call it Pleasant Ave Elementary (fake). Your teacher is Mr. Jones and he is a great example of the brand PAE is trying to deliver. Friendly, caring, highly invested in how each child learns. But today at drop off, he opens the door and has a gruff look, doesn’t make eye contact and is looking a bit shabby. Parents and probably other staff members are going to ask, “Everything ok? You feeling alright?” They ask this because they care, but also because this doesn’t make sense. It’s not a brand consistent appearance, and it can be unnerving. When the GAP changed it’s logo, people freaked out and GAP changed it back because the consumers (parents and children in our case) found it so different from the original log that it was inconsistent with the brand. If today was a school tour with 20 new families all hoping to see just how great PAE really is (they’ve heard about it’s reputation, or brand, through the community), odds are any new families would see Mr. Jones and wonder what was up, especially since all the other teacher appeared well dressed, present and jovial. Ultimately, our personal brand is with us whether we want it or not, and we can choose to cultivate our brand in a positive way or allow it to be cultivated for us.

Some thoughts about teachers and their brand…

1. Keep your message simple. A clear statement of purpose, vision statement, or even a smile can help share who you are and what you’re about as a professional. “I’m here to help your child do things great today.”

2. How do you communicate? Are you a daily emailer? Tweet much? Bi-weekly newsletter? Stick with something that works, but make sure there is a purpose. I tweet because I want parents who can’t get into the classroom to be able to have a conversation with their student about what is happening on a daily basis.

3. Build your own brand as a professional teacher. Like it or not, our brand (or reputation) is out there and we get to choose to cultivate it and grow, or let others do this work.

4. Truly great brands don’t go about announcing themselves, nor should teachers or schools. If the amount of energy expended while developing a brand as a teacher or school is greater than the energy expended to directly help children, we are failing.

________________________
1. Shawn Parr. "5 Smart Steps To Building Your Brand The Right Way - Fast Company." 2013. 22 Jan. 2014 <http://www.fastcompany.com/3018334/how-to-be-a-success-at-everything/5-smart-steps-to-building-your-brand-the-right-way>

The Obligatory "Who am I post"

After much #edupressure, a mind full of ideas that need to be put somewhere easily accessible, made shareable, and share some learning with friends and new friends, here is blog post #1.

I shall dedicate this blog to the #eduawesomeness that was the #gafesummit in Napa two weeks ago. Between meeting Karl L.S. in real life (didn't get the autograph), hanging with Eric Saibel and Sergio Villegas, pointing at Jenny Derby and Ashley Williams (is that rude?), reconnecting with Amy Fadeji and getting the chance to talk, share and plan with my own colleagues, not to mention the hundreds of other people that I chatted with from around the state, I'm ready to blog. Let's do this.


Following the lead of Ashley Williams and her crafty blogging skills, dare I say inspiration, I have answered 11 questions.... 

1. What do you want to be when you grow up? 
When I grow up I want to be an artist. I'd like to meld together being in nature, photography, sketching, painting, movement and the production of something that inspires people to do something that makes them happy. 

2. What are your favorite weekend activities? 
My wife and I are fortunate enough to live in very close to the San Rafael Ridge Open Space. We like to spend weekend mornings with our dog, Spring checking out animal tracks, looking for deer and birds and generally being outside. If I'm not running around doing that, I'm usually sleeping, stretching from a Cross Fit WOD or eating. I'm going to confirm that eating is a weekend activity. 

3. What's your favorite thing about working in education? 
People, autonomy and the pace. 
Being surrounded by people that love what they do, love their children and love to learn makes for a pretty great work environment. People make the school great. 

I love that if I get an idea, I can put it to work now. If it stinks, I don't do it and the kids and I have both learned something about the process of designing things that work. 

I work well in a fast pace, and between my personality and 21 first graders, the pace is pretty quick. There really has never been a time when I've been bored- I think that would be terrible. 

4. If you could have dinner with anyone from your PLN, who would it be? 
Tough questions, but here is my soft answer. I'd eat with the person who has never sent a tweet because he/she is too nervous, or doesn't get it, or it just doesn't make sense (#educonfused). While munching organic kale salad, pizza and soup at Picco, we could discuss the merits of creating a PLN using social media, how great pizza is, and what they are doing on Monday in class that is totally different than what they usually do.

5. What are you known for at your school? 
I'm known for taking something normal and making it rather different, yet meaningful in a different way. I'm known for twitter and genius hour, how-to videos, thinking with no box at all, taking full bites and jumping in with two feet, but mostly I think I'm known for connecting with children and families.

6. How do you celebrate your birthday? 
Food, friends and family. Ever since I met my wife 10 years ago this March, my life has included food in the best ways possible. She taught me to cook well and to enjoy tasty bites. Usually some great meat, though two years ago we have a polenta party!

7. What is your current favorite tech tool (either personal or educational)?
iPhone 5. Next phone I get will have more storage space (32g), but this thing can do anything. 

Misha, 7

8. Do you have pets? YES! Misha the cat is 7. He is the OG pet, the beta test. Spring the brown spotted dog is animal 2.0 and has been a great dog for my wife and I and a wonderful friend for Misha. 

Spring the puppy

The dynamic duo

9. What's the craziest adventure you've ever been on?

Cliché answer- life has been pretty wild thus far. Marriage, traveling, camping, animals, pink slips, stitches etc... True answer- ice climbing in the Sierra Nevada.

10. Were you a good student when you were in school? 
Define good? I was engaged with my peers, though found myself rather disengaged with many teachers. Some connected with me, and surprise, I did well in their class. I didn't read well until 2nd grade, and didn't truly fall in love with reading until I was 23. 

11. What are you an expert at (doesn't have to be a good thing)? 
Making coffee, laughing, helping, whatever term means 'the opposite of folding clothes', cheering for the SF Giants, riding bikes, running and being a creative thinker. 

More education thoughts to come, but for now, Go Niners. 

Mike