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I have so many thoughts and emotions running through my mind this evening that I'm having trouble putting them into words. You know how it can be. Type. Delete. Type. Delete. So in order to save my sanity and yours, I am going to keep it simple with a list of 3 things that I am grateful for today... 1. AffirmationI met with my Superintendent this morning. As I was leaving, he said something that will stay with me for years. I can't remember the exact phrasing, but in essence he said that he knows I work my butt off every day. He knows that no one has to tell me what to do in my position. He sees me. WOW. His words took a minute or maybe two, but they will drive me forward on days that are hard. I am grateful for this affirmation! 2. TeamworkThis afternoon, I met with my iCoach team at our local coffee shop. I'm not sure if it was the atmosphere, the 2 week break prior, or my awesome meeting agenda (insert sarcasm) but we had THE BEST planning meeting ever! They brainstormed some great things to share with our teachers this spring plus came up with some innovative new delivery options for the professional development sessions. I am truly excited to work with them and get started! I am grateful for their collaboration and teamwork! 3. FriendshipAfter the iCoach meeting, one of my ladies pulled me aside and gave me the MOST AWESOME gift. {more on the gift below} However, her words were the best gift I could have received. She hugged me tightly and with teary words expressed her thanks for what I had done for her this year. The thing is, I was shocked that anything that I had said or done meant that much. I have racked my brain for situations and moments where I would have been impactful, but I came up short. I guess just having a general love for people, being there, and being a friend means more that I even realized. I am grateful for the friendships that I have! The GiftBackstory: One day this school year, Cindy Pierce and I are gabbing about my newfound love of all things Harry Potter when she pulls out her phone to show me the picture of a full-sized HP themed blanket that her daughter hand crocheted for her. Of course I throw a fit over it but don't really think about it again. Fast forward to today: She reaches into the backset of her truck and grabs a Christmas sack. Before she even hands it to me, somehow I knew what was inside...  I'm still floored by her generosity and am enjoying the warmth and love it brings as I write this post.
Feeling the love, Heather
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 I quit making resolutions years ago but instead have moved to choosing one word. Just a single word to focus on and work towards. There has been the year of DETERMINED, the year of GRACE, the year of SERVE and then it came time to pick a word for this year. Even with just one word, I found myself in a struggle to sum up my feelings about and needs for 2018. What word could encapsulate all I need God to teach and grow me in this year? I kept thinking how 2017 was just too much. It was too much on the calendar. Too much stuff as evidenced by a house busting at the seams with clutter. Too much go, go, going. But it was also not sufficient either. There wasn’t enough time to do all the things I had planned to do last year. Not enough memories made with my people because work and life just moved at a neck breaking speed. It was loud and noisy most of the time, there weren’t very many moments of silence. We were plugged in more than we should’ve been and there wasn’t any whitespace. I said too many yeses. I gave too much in some ways. I felt like I didn’t give like I should’ve in others. I was tired. Dizzy. Discombobulated. There is a Proverb that talks about these extremes. It says, “Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.” (Proverbs 30:8-9) It’s talking about money, but its application runs much broader and deeper. When we are dealing with having too much: too much on our calendars, in our headspace, with our commitments and obligations, we start to disown God. We start to say “Who is the Lord?” because we don’t have time to find out, we forget that He is our sustainer of all our yeses and calendar and to do lists. We quit consulting Him and we trick ourselves into believing that we are the creator and maintainer of our world. It all relies on me. I am the master juggler and it is all my duty to keep all the balls in the air. But inevitably, they all come tumbling down and we learn the truth. Often times at the expense of our pride and our health. This year, I needed a word that dealt with both extremes because I am an extreme kind of girl. I’m all or nothing. 150 miles at hour or a screeching halt. There isn’t much in between with this one.  I need to know that right now, as I am, it.is.enough. I need to be able to say to others, “hey, here is what I have to offer right now.” And let it be enough. I need to turn my eyes from always wanting more and more and let what I have be enough. I need to let Jesus be the source of my emotional state and for that to be enough. I need to be able to say no sometimes, without explanation and that be enough. I need to say “that’s a great idea! I’ll pray for and support you in the pursuit of that.” Without putting my hands on anything and let that be enough. I need to focus my energies and my talents on the things that set a fire to my soul and let that be enough. I need to be able to say “I want to spend time with you friend in my messy house without a spread of Pinterest worthy snacks.” And that be enough. That is what the year of enough must be. “My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” So then, I will boast most gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may reside in me. (2 Corinthians 12:9) His grace is it. It’s enough. It fills in all my gaps. He gives just what I need to do just what He has. All the time I need. All the resources I need. Everything. He gives just enough. And God is able to make all grace overflow to you so that because you have enough of everything in every way at all times, you will overflow in every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:8) I wonder if you’re searching for a word this year. If you’re tired of resolving and failing, resolving and failing. Maybe this is your year for just what you need, no more, no less.
Here’s to the year of enough! #IMMOOC Post 1I have a selfish reason for joining The Innovator's Mindset MOOC. More than anything, I want the students in my district (including my own personal children) to be innovators. I want them to experience lessons that stretch them to create something new or make improvements on something already existing. Since I left the classroom, I struggle with the fact that I don't directly plan and execute lessons for students anymore. I don't have direct control over innovative and creative projects that directly impact students. While I yearn to have that kind of impact again, I know that my reach is much greater now. I have the ability to impact a district of teachers, which in turn can impact each and every student. The introduction of the book is full of ideas that resonated with me. However, this statement was one of the simpler and most captivating to me. If we want "innovative students," While I completely agree with this statement, I struggle with the "how." How can you ignite a renewed passion in a seasoned educator? How do you teach innovation to a first year teacher? You can't teach innovation in a one-time professional development session! After further reading, I see that it all comes down to culture. We must create a culture of innovation within our school district. Teachers have to feel that they have the creative freedom to do things a little differently. This brought me to my next question. How can we give the innovative "green light" to teachers? Two words...by example. Innovation is needed both in our classrooms and in our leadership. As leaders, we must model the kind of innovation we want to see. Taking risks in our own work shows vulnerability. If you have ever read Daring Greatly by Dr. Brene Brown, you know more than you thought you could ever know about being vulnerable. In today's world, vulnerability has a negative connotation. It implies weakness. Dr. Brown's book sheds a different light. Her words speak to the power and strength in being vulnerable.  This is exactly the challenge that I have given our central office and campus administrators in our district book study over The New Pillars of Modern Education by Dr. Gayle Allen. Through the book study, I hope to push the innovation envelope with new and creative ways for our students to learn. I want our administrators to be vulnerable as we try to chart a new path for teaching and learning in our district. Will we succeed? The jury is still out as we are just digging into Chapter 1 this week, but I have high hopes. In the meantime, I'm continuing the search for ways to bring innovative practices to my district and change the mindset about how we teach and learn. The Innovator's Mindset is a wonderful addition to my quest and I can't wait to read more. Keeping it Techy (and Innovative), Heather aka TechyKilgore, MEd.
While I learned a lot from my courses and am happy to have my degree, I am excited to get back to learning for fun! Reading educational blogs, the Twitter feeds of my PLN, and curating my learning here on this blog are activities that I have been waiting to have time for again!
 And this post wouldn't be complete without a shot of the shoes... It finally came. After a summer of watching training videos by my friend Kasey Bell, taking 6 tests (yes, I had to take Calendar TWICE), and completing the 3 trainer application elements, I received the email that I am now a Google for Education Certified Trainer! (and yes, I have been posting the wrong official title for months! Yikes!)  My OFFICIAL Badge from Google! The process is very involved so I waited until summer to tackle it. Thankfully, I didn't have to take summer courses for my Education Administration degree, so my goal was to get all of the tests and projects completed during the summer months. I signed up for the Become a Google Certified Trainer course created by my Google guru, Kasey Bell, and started working through the courses. As I completed a course, I took a test. All was well until the Google Calendar test. I attempted it at 9:30 in the evening and I KNEW I was too tired... lesson learned! I was so happy when the tests were over, but I did learn a lot from Kasey's course! I sit through her trainings 8 times a year and STILL learn every time I'm her student! Thanks Kasey for your mad skills and servant heart!  The other half of the process was more about how I was currently training my teachers to use the Google tools. I built a Training Highlights resume (image above) to showcase my experience, education, professional associations, and trainings. This was fun because I was able to get creative with Google Drawings! The case study activity was more application based in that I had to give detailed information on a specific training session I conducted. I gave the school information, an outline of my training program, insights from the training, and shared the overall impact of the training. Since this document included information from the school district that I work in, I'm not going to share it here. However, I WILL share the Certified Trainer Application video that I made! (see below) I am pretty proud of it! I knew the style that I was going for, and without professional software, I think it turned out good! The video had to include a one minute introduction and a two minute training. I chose the add-on Autocrat as my training piece. It was HARD to cut it down to 2 minutes! I think the first recording was 9 minutes long! Finally, I had to record each short section so that I wouldn't have ANY "ums" or pauses. I was able to submit the materials early and then the wait was on. When the email came through on Friday afternoon at 4:30, I didn't even realize it! The notifications from the Google+ Community that Kasey built for us to utilize started blowing up my phone. I saw posts of "Yay! I made it!" and "Thanks for your help Kasey!" and I couldn't get to my email fast enough. (So much for the paper that I was trying to write for my class!) When I read the email, I hopped up from my desk, screamed, and started running around the Central Administration building! I found Al Shipp and told him, but being a football Friday in Texas AND after school hours, NO ONE ELSE WAS there! Then I remembered that I told Kasey that she would be the FIRST to know so I had to text her! It's been a crazy week at work, and this post is a week behind, but I am excited to peruse the Google Education Trainers site this weekend and learn more! I already noticed that I have been using the wrong name for the certification and I just noticed that I have the Google logo printed on grey instead of white for our Google Academy shirts. I'll get it together and make you proud, Google. I promise!  “…in the age of information overload – it is no longer effective to ‘just tell people the facts’. As a leader you must use emotion to be successful in business." This is true in education as well. Administrators who can engage and inspire their teams have a definite advantage. Using the art of effective storytelling, school leaders can defeat this information overload to inspire the emotion and effort needed to adopt new school strategies, attract new students, or recruit innovative teachers. An engaging story is hard to forget in contrast to dry facts and stale data. Hooked: How Leaders Connect, Engage, and Inspire with Storytelling is full of real-world examples and techniques to teach the skill of great storytelling. Authors Gabrielle Dolan and Yamini Naidu explain what good storytelling is, why leaders need to learn it, how to create effective stories, and how to practice to perfect the craft. This book offers effective techniques and helpful guidance to school leaders who need to communicate more efficiently and influentially. The one who tells the stories, rules the world." Dolan & Naidu The authors included many tips and tricks about refining your stories and making them stick. The section on practice was the most potent to me. The included quote by Malcolm Gladwell said “practice isn’t the thing you do when you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.” Practices does make perfect. This is something that I am missing in my professional life. I am very meticulous with researching the best information, providing the best examples, and having an engaging production. However, I often feel like my presentation is both hurried and all over the place. I definitely need to begin brainstorming stories for use when both delivering professional development and working one-on-one with teachers. Engaging and making information stick with teachers through stories would be the optimal way to make my presentations memorable.
The delivery techniques listed in the book are a wonderful resource for me to utilize the next time that I’m preparing for a presentation. As a leader in my district, I need to make sure that I am communicating efficiently and influentially with my teachers. Since I am the instructional technologist for my district, the information that I share with teachers can sometimes be difficult for them to grasp. The more that I prepare, pace myself, repeat, make eye contact, and share information through stories, the more successful that the teachers will be with retaining the information that I share. Dolan and Naidu say “every time you present, you need stories to help your audience connect with you and connect with your key messages." I now see the need for stories in my professional life. As Greg Power said, “the fine line between speaking and being heard is storytelling.” Keeping it Techy, Heather Anybody can hear - it takes brains to listen. -Joanne Greenberg  I just finished book 4 of 7 in my Executive Communications class. The Listening Leader by Richard M. Harris was a very interesting read that covered communication from a listening aspect. As someone who leads professional development on a regular basis and coaches teachers, The Listening Leader made me think about my own listening style. I “pride” myself in being a multi-tasker; someone who can work on a computer AND attend to a presentation at the same time. I used to wear the badge with honor. Reading this book made me truly think about the way that I listen and I have come to the realization that I am not a good listener. Harris said, “today, too many listeners are passively sitting by, forfeiting feedback and commitment to the speaker in favor of focus and self-interest." This is an area of my leadership life that I need to work on. Fortunately, I have some friends that are awesome listeners. Reading this book made me think of them and how they make me feel when I’m talking to them. I want to be that kind of listening leader for my teachers. Showing yourself to be a listening ready leader will afford you a sounder basis for developing trustful relationships with your customers, subordinates, and coworkers. My favorite part of the book was the checklist for facilitating learning. This concise list of twelve steps was written to help you get others to listen when you talk. This is exactly what I need for my position! The step that struck me was step seven, which states that speakers must “create realistic moments for rehearsal and practice." This is one area that I lack professionally. Creating great slides and researching content come easy, but practicing delivery would be great for improving my confidence and delivery. Because of this book, I will take more time to practice my delivery before facilitating learning so I can help others be better listeners.
Keeping it Techy, Heather  Old Nearpod App Image When I was in the Kindergarten classroom 5 years ago, I remember reading an article about the new Nearpod app. I was instantly amazed at its capabilities to control a classroom of iPads, even though I only had 5 of my own at the time. Since I was a campus instructional technologist for my school, I shared the app with my Technology Director and he shared it with a high school science teacher who had 1:1 iPads in his school. This was the beginning of Nearpod in my district. Since then, I have shared the app many times at various trainings and the "ooohs" and "ahhhs" from teachers speak of the draw that the program has. Over the years, the app has morphed from a separate teacher and student app to a common app. Plus, the iOS only capability has expanded to include all web based devices plus App Store, Google Play, and Chrome Web Store apps. This makes Nearpod even better for a BYOD or mixed-device classroom. The premise behind Nearpod is easy. The teacher can either create or download a Nearpod presentation that is then shared to the student device and controlled by the teacher. While the teacher is flipping through the screens of the presentation, the student's screen automatically advances as well. Most teachers love the "control" that this application provides. What makes it even better is that you can embed formative assessment question screens into the presentation! You have multiple choice, drag and drop in the blank, text, and draw features placed seamlessly within your lesson to check understanding. While the students are completing the work, you can view the progress of the student on your teacher device. How cool is that? Videos even work in the slides and play on each individual device. Make sure you have student headphones though! The videos are often just a few seconds off of each other and can make a hectic noise when they are all playing. Did I mention that all of this is FREE?!   In my district, I finally decided to try my hand at Lunch & Learn sessions...again. This was something that I tried in my first year as an Instructional Technologist, but quickly dropped it when my first session was met with dismal attendance. However, I LOVE getting out on the campuses with the teachers and students...so I brought back the Lunch & Learn format. I chose Nearpod as the first one because it is an app that even the most tech reluctant teacher will try. Usually I push "creation" applications for the iPad since I believe that student use of any device in the classroom should be more about creation than consumption. In this case, I wanted teachers to come and learn a tool that they can learn and use the next day with ease. Baby steps... I believe that student use of any device in the classroom should be more about creation than consumption.  To help draw teachers and "plus" the session, I provided dessert with the adorable Nutter Butter packages above. Thanks Mindi at Anna ISD for the awesome idea! Without good instructional technologist friends like her, I wouldn't know half of the tools or tricks that I do today! The attendance at the Nearpod session was much stronger than my first Lunch & Learn. And after these two Tweets came through my feed today, I am calling this a success! Thank you Mrs. Sonya Mathews and Mrs. Patricia Nelle for not only using the tools that I share, but for sharing your classroom with the world!
What's next? I'm not sure. With STAAR testing, T-TESS training, and BrightBytes data collection, this might be my one and only Lunch and Learn for this year, but it energizes me to start strong next year with a new series. Any ideas? What Lunch & Learn sessions have you shared with your teachers? Keeping it Techy, Heather  If you follow me on social media, you know that I am in the final stretch of my coursework for my Master's in Educational Administration. The class that I am taking right now is called Executive Communications and it is RIGHT up my alley! With PDAS going away and T-TESS coming, the PDAS class for my degree was dropped and this class replaced it. I am happy about that! Of the 7 (Yes, SEVEN) books that I have to read over the next 7 weeks, this book intrigued me the most. As immersed as I am in social media, I am always looking for ideas on how to use the various mediums more effectively in the educational setting. Dr. Brian J. Dixon wrote Social Media for School Leaders: A Comprehensive Guide to Getting the Most Out of Facebook, Twitter, and Other Essential Web Tools from his experience as a high school principal. His field experience and use of the technology tools explained in the book makes this guide an essential piece to round out any school leader. Dixon hit the nail on the head when he said “the abundance of social technology has begun to shift the role of the school leader from the site administrator to community engagement specialist." School leaders are not just building managers or just instructional leaders; they are expected to navigate the waters of social media and web tools to connect with the school community. This navigation can get difficult when trying to translate the personal use, or no use, of social media to the educational area. Dixon says "school leaders…are familiar with social media in their own lives, but because of the complex issues surrounding the use of social media with students they need help effectively using social media in their school practice." The abundance of social technology has begun to shift the role of the school leader from the site administrator to community engagement specialist. -Dr. Brian J. Dixon I loved this book. Out of the stack of books sitting on my desk for this class, this is the one that I have been the most excited about reading. Social media and educational technology are my passions and I’m blessed that I get to work in my passions every day. Understandably, a few web tools listed in the book have changed dramatically or have disappeared all together since the publication of this book in 2012. Technology changes so drastically that it’s hard for a printed book to stay relevant. What keeps Social Media for School Leaders relevant is that it gives detailed “how to” for each tool and wonderful application examples. I was impressed at the layout, sequence, and information presented and found myself looking up each unfamiliar tool while reading the book.
In the preface of the book, Dixon explains that he wrote this book for all types of people – the technophobic, the cautious, the early adopter, and the non-educator. I am definitely the early adopter but many principals and district administrators are either cautious or technophobic. This book is a great resource for any administrator regardless of their technological ability. You should check it out! Keeping it Techy, Heather |
AuthorInstructional Technology Coordinator for Commerce ISD. Just a teacher looking for a classroom to make a difference! Not only sharing EdTech tools, but sharing my thoughts, feelings and the great things happening in Commerce ISD. 
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DISCLAIMERThe opinions expressed in the posts on the Getting Techy with Kilgore Blog are solely those of Heather Kilgore and do not reflect the opinions of her employers.
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