To Doodle is to Remember!

When I was a student my notebook pages were full of doodles. Usually just boxes, flowers, and various animals. None of them could be called artistic but it helped me to focus on what was being said and not stare out the window. If any of my teachers ever saw my notes they just shook their heads and told me I needed to clean those up, stop doodling and start paying attention. It wasn't until just recently that I started seeing posts on Twitter of these wonderfully artist notes that conference attendees were posting called Sketchnotes. I was intrigued but slightly intimidated because there was no way that I could draw something like that. Then I attended a MACUL conference session on Sketchnoting by Karen Bosch (@karlyb) and I'm hooked. I purchased The Sketchnote Handbook by Mike Rohde and started practicing. No artistic ability is needed. If you can draw a stick figure, lines and arrows, you too can sketchnote! I sketchnote using my iPad and also using paper and gel pens. On the iPad, I like using the Pencil stylus and the Paper app both by 53. I also use the Noteshelf app which gives me a more notebook style of note. There are many apps, most free or free to try, that work for sketchnoting and you can use a stylus or just your finger on the touch screen. I switch back and forth depending on the situation and what I have with me. Now I can doodle away but the difference is that no longer are the images disconnected from the content. Not only does this help me focus better but since the images relate to the content, my brain now has two paths for memory, visual and auditory. Plus... these are notes I actually don't mind reviewing, something that rarely happens with my text only notes. So... download a free app or grab that paper and pencil and give it a try with your students!

Sketchnote from ATK 2015 conference

Examples of one of my Sketchnotes 

ISTE session need two pages!

Look How Far We Have Come!

I was recently reviewing posts from an older blog I started about 3 years ago. Here are some example post titles: "Exploring BYOD at CCHS", "Need Ideas for Using Your New iPad" (and that referred to the first iPad 2s folks!), and the controversial "Moodle for Online Learning" (about our upcoming switch from Blackboard to Moodle -- oh the stress that one caused!)

It's now November of 2015 and we are no longer doing BYOD. Why? Because every student has a school provided iPad! Yet it was the BYOD program that showed us that these tools could be great assets in the classroom. It also let us discover that managing a multitude of different operating systems, applications and access wasn't what we wanted teachers concentrating on. The iPad 2 devices that the BYOD pilot teachers were testing seemed to meet the needs we were looking for of long battery life, available education apps and portability. All high school teachers received their iPad 2 devices and we moved from BYOD to iPad carts available for checkout. We brought in Apple to work directly with our teachers for several days as well as having our own "techie" teachers run various PD workshops. Teachers were able to become accustomed to using the iPad 2 for both their own personal learning and for their students. Those that utilized the carts in their classrooms were able to focus on the learning possibilities the devices provided. This program also helped us discover some of the gaps in our wireless network and support systems. We were able to increase bandwidth, add additional access points, a wireless network management system and additional support personnel. These upgrades have greatly improved the reliability of our network, the additional personnel has been a godsend and we have had a multitude of professional development. All of this added up to ensure the smooth implementation of the 1:1 program.

Then there was the move from Blackboard to Moodle. It wasn't that Blackboard didn't work for us but we were going to lose our low-cost access. Our ISD host was making the move to Moodle. Yes, it ultimately came down to money and a limited tech budget. After much wailing, handwringing and handholding, teachers went through the process of moving their courses over to the new platform. Administration scaffolded their expectations and now, a little over 3 years later, all of our courses have associated teacher-developed Moodle pages and students have access to their course information, assignments, supporting documents, and additional learning materials 24/7 from their personal device. Another success!

So why am I walking down the preverbal memory lane? Because as we continue our 1:1 journey and the professional development talk revolves around project-based learning, differentiation, student-lead learning and teachers as guides, I want to you pause for a moment and look in the rearview mirror. Pat yourselves on the back. Realize that you are all awesome educators and... You've Got This!