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Constantly Learning

Great teachers are always learning, or so they say.  I have always been an extreme nerd because I have always felt behind and not smart enough.  So I read, but lately if you aren't reading, tweeting, posting, researching, updating, iPadding, podcasting, youtube-ing,  asking, adapting you aren't learning.  

It is a major media overload for me lately. I have created (become) a  media monster.  My desk, has 5 books, 2 magazines, one computer, one iPad, one iPhone, and two controllers for TV's and one actual old school iPod.  Just the screens are overload, but this is the second evening I have had four going at once.
I was in a twitter chat (or rather reading an twitter chat #txeduchat) I had my iPad book open, but got an email that I had a new book from NetGalley to review, so I really wanted that to download.  I was talking to my sister on my iPhone about a horse she has, while the TV was playing Big Bang Theory in the background.  Granted I was not doing any of those with full attention, but this made me think how do I FOCUS on just one thing at a time now?    How do our students?  This is why they are bored and everyone is "ADHD"  well I have become ADHD because I just want to know and it is all out there for me to know so I want to find it now.   

I noticed in this article that the "21st Century Teacher" -is a relatively NEW thing.  There were no "19th century" teachers.  http://www.edutopia.org/discussion/15-characteristics-21st-century-teacher

So those teachers just focused on their lessons and from what they learned from textbooks. Well part of a the Twitter chat last night from Dave Burgess, author of Teach Like a Pirate, was in a chat called #ditchthebook.  Tons of teachers not using textbooks anymore because they have found better material right in front of them. 

Yesterday, I learned about what makes great PD from #txeduchat. I seem to be doing that very well if reading all these cool blogs and Edutopia, and Infographics and just gathering a pile of ideas to do with students.

Then I jumped into this great  chat #weirded tonight and holy cow we have teachers from all over the world discussing how weird their classes can be. So fun.  Great ideas just stir around in my head now. 

Things I learned this week that I am so excited to share with kids and others:

More Walk Less Talk - get my kids up and walking, less of me talking
Buy Book - Stand Up Speak Out (ordered + summer reading) http://amzn.to/1MbDBcH
Teams Work -http://bit.ly/1I4msAO
Let kids make questions, can't wait to do this with students - http://bit.ly/1f5SQG4
Plot Pathways and Pin the tale on the Plot - Planning time with GREAT Reading specialist Y. Williams.
Play a game  called Backward Rewind with class facts, can they get a clue to a movie but put title in backwards on team game - from TV show.
YA books that Mystify the mind - make a display and more QR codes
Reading Rounds Pizza and Pizzookie - reading incentive I planning to use this year
Get Busy Doing.... ;o)
Make it happen ...;o)
Kids Deserve It... ;o)

Choose KIND
How do you focus?

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