Is it ever to early for back to school?

I have been on summer break for three weeks now. You would think that I would be spending time at the beach, lounging in the back yard, going to amusement parks with the kids. I have done some of this, but do you know what the majority of my last three weeks have been? Preparing for next school year.

Here's the break down of what I've done so far:

Professional Development

I have already participated in five hours of professional development with a lot more to come. Most of the pd I've done is through Simple K-12 (http://www.simplek12.com), a fabulous teacher community the pd opportunities both live and recorded on virtually every teacher topic you could possibly want pd on. For years I participated in their free options as a basic member and I did not feel like I was missing out on anything. Last year, at the recommendation of a colleague, I broke down and got the full membership. With the full membership, I get access to all their content and I can print my pd certificates. You cannot print with a basic membership. There are some school districts and states that subscribe to Simple K-12. So, it would benefit everyone to at least check it out.

Curriculum Development
I have dedicated a couple hours so far to curriculum development. Why? For two reasons. First, I am teaching 8th grade math this year which I haven't done in seven years. The standards were different a little bit then and I want to be sure I hit everything I'm suppose and am confident in how I go about teaching it. Second, I am fully committed to implementing personalized, project-based learning in my classroom. Last year, as the first year in our school redesign initiative, I helped facilitate the implementation of station rotation model blended learning in nearly every classroom in my building. By year three, EVERY classroom is suppose to be doing personalized, project-based learning according to our original plan. I am accelerating my time line due to the fact that I'm the tech coordinator for my building. If my teachers don't see me doing it, they won't be interested or try. So, I'm piloting some programs hoping others will jump on board quickly.


Personalized Learning

A huge buzz word in education for the past few years. I have been trying to implement more and more personalization into my classroom for about as long as it's been a buzzword. My students have several math websites they can choose to work on. I have done choice boards in the past. I have done varying degrees of project-based learning. This year I am adamant about making sure every student is learning what they want, how they want in the modality they need within the confines of the content I am meant to cover. Things I have used in the past with success that I will be bringing back: Google Classroom, Google Docs, Google Slides, Google Drawings, Khan Academy, Manga High, SumDog, Front Row, CK-12, Digital Compass. Things that I have will be introducing this year: Pictochart, ShowMe, Educreations, Thinglink, Padlet, Kahoot!, & Twitter (in the classroom). Just to start. 

I am excited about my classroom next year. And you can never start planning too early. I promise I will have some fun and relaxation along the way. Until next time!