BRAD CURRIE
  • Home
  • About
  • Presentations
  • Books
  • Awards/Honors
  • Blog
  • EE
  • Contact
  • Home
  • About
  • Presentations
  • Books
  • Awards/Honors
  • Blog
  • EE
  • Contact
Search

Better Together

7/23/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture

The California Teachers Summit is coming up on Wednesday, July 31. It will be a bit of change from your normal educational conference. There will be keynotes, EdTalks, and EdCamp breakout sessions. What exactly is an EdCamp breakout session? It's an opportunity for people to informally conduct a conversation about an educational topic. More about talking with people than at them. Simply write your session idea on a piece of paper and stick it up on the board under a room number. That's it! No need to worry about presenting a slide deck or lecturing. You will be amazed at what people will share during the break out sessions.

The EdCamp model promotes sharing and learning on your terms. What if you are in a break out session that does fit your needs? No problem. Simply get up and walk out. It's apart of the EdCamp culture, so don't feel like you are being rude. At this point you are saying to yourself "wow I can show up that day and hold a discussion on anything I want? And I can move on to another session without feeling like I am being rude?" Yes you can! Trust me, this sort of culture takes some getting used to, but people do rather quickly.

Another important aspect of the California Teachers Summit is networking. Make sure you connect with five new people. Find out their passions, best practices, and how they promote the success of all students. Sharing is contagious and can make you better as an educator and ultimately help kids. Social media is a wonderful opportunity to share your insight from the conference. Utilize the #cateacherssumit hashtag to show the world what you are learning about. The more we share, the more we are helping each other become better educators.

This special event will bring together educators from all walks of life. Titles will not matter, so check yourself at the door if you think that your title or accomplishments trump this day of learning and sharing. There is I doubt that when the California Teachers Summit has come and gone we will all be better off in the long run. The hope is that this state wide event will be so powerful that it can be replicated across the entire nation in the years to come. Our students and every educator deserve this sort of professional growth experience. We are better together sharing ideas than alone in isolation. Have no fear, there is still time to register. Visit www.cateacherssummit.com for details.

Brad Currie is the author of All Hands on Deck: Tools for Connecting Educators, Parents, and Communities and the newly released Personalized PD. He is one of the founding partners of Evolving Educators LLC. Brad is a 2014 ASCD Emerging Leader and Google Certified Trainer. Brad currently serves as a K-8 Supervisor of Instruction and Dean of Students for the Chester School District in Chester, NJ. He is a Google Certified Trainer and speaks nationally about tech integration. Learn more about Brad by following him on Twitter @bradmcurrie or visiting his website at www.bradcurrie.net.

0 Comments

3 Things You Can Do with Google Classroom's Mobile App

7/16/2015

1 Comment

 
Picture

The Google Classroom iPhone app can help students and teachers continue their paperless workflow while on the go or hanging out on the couch at home. There are so many ways that the Google Classroom iPhone app can transform mobile learning. Here are three to start out with.......

1. NEW UPDATE: Turn on the notification feature to receive alerts on your iPhone when new content is posted in a class.

2. VIRTUAL PHOTO JOURNAL: Instead of having students take notes in a packet while on a class trip, provide an opportunity to snap pictures and upload to Classroom.

3. BLOG POST OF THE WEEK PLC: Create a class that staff members can be apart of. When relevant blog posts are found online staff members can submit on the Google Form that is housed on the Classroom page. Then staff members can vote on the blog they wish to discuss the following week. The blog post is posted and discussed by staff virtually. Great way to reflect, learn, and share.

Brad Currie is the author of All Hands on Deck: Tools for Connecting Educators, Parents, and Communities and the newly released Personalized PD. He is one of the founding partners of Evolving Educators LLC. Brad is a 2014 ASCD Emerging Leader and Google Certified Trainer. Brad currently serves as a K-8 Supervisor of Instruction and Dean of Students for the Chester School District in Chester, NJ. He is a Google Certified Trainer and speaks nationally about tech integration. Learn more about Brad by following him on Twitter @bradmcurrie or visiting his website at www.bradcurrie.net.

1 Comment

It's People, Not Technology

7/12/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture

Picture it, a cold and rainy day in November, a student decides not to attend school for one reason or the other. Past history tells us that this child constantly gets away with skipping school. Even at a young age this student would walk the streets of his town while school was in session knowing that mom or dad would not say a word. Over time this child would be removed from his family's home and placed in an alternative setting. On this particularly nasty day in November, someone would show this child that people do care about their education and well being. Earlier in the school year the school administrator and guidance counselor would battle with this child every time an excuse was given for not coming to school. Upon getting the phone call on this November day from the student's guardian, the young administrator knew it would not be easy to get this child to school. After many attempts on the phone to convince the student that coming to school would be the best option, the young administrator got into the car with the guidance counselor and drove to the child's house.

As the two school officials pulled up to the driveway and entered the house it was obvious that the student was no where to be found. They called his name time and time again. Still no response. They looked around the property in pouring down rain and still no one in sight. Then, a rumbling came from on top of the garage. The two school officials knew that the student was hiding. Without even thinking twice about it, the young school administrator climbed a ladder and walked across the roof to find the child sitting in a little area above the garage. The child and administrator talked for about ten minutes. Finally the child felt comfortable enough to get down from on top of the garage and speak to their parents and school officials about the importance of attending school.

On the ride back to school the two school officials had a nice long conversation with the child about life and school. Upon arriving back at school the child was not willing to go back to class. The young administrator knew that there was not much time left because it was a half day due to parent-teacher conferences. So the young administrator bought the child lunch and hung out with the student in the main office. By the time the child had eaten lunch it was time to go home on the bus. From that point forward the child hardly missed a day of school. The child's grades were not that spectacular but knew people in the school cared about who they were as a human being.

My hope with sharing this story is to show people that I along with many so called "tech-savvy" educators are more about people and less about technology. Sometimes for whatever reason the general consensus is that all we care about is integrating technology. That assumption could not be further from the truth.

Brad Currie is the author of All Hands on Deck: Tools for Connecting Educators, Parents, and Communities and the newly released Personalized PD. He is one of the founding partners of Evolving Educators LLC. Brad is a 2014 ASCD Emerging Leader and Google Certified Trainer. Brad currently serves as a K-8 Supervisor of Instruction and Dean of Students for the Chester School District in Chester, NJ. He is a Google Certified Trainer and speaks nationally about tech integration. Learn more about Brad by following him on Twitter @bradmcurrie or visiting his website at www.bradcurrie.net.

0 Comments

Hawaiian Shirt Friday's

7/4/2015

4 Comments

 
Over my 15 years as an educator I have made it a point to wear a Hawaiian shirt on Friday. Why you might ask? Because I can. It's my way of celebrating the end of a work week and letting loose so that people can see the real me. When I was little my grandfather would wear Hawaiian shirts all the time and I thought it was pretty cool. As a teenager, while working in my family's lumberyard, the "yard dawgs" would wear Hawaiian shirts on Friday's during the warmer months of the year. For some odd reason Hawaiian shirts have always been a staple in my life. This past week at ISTE 2015 I decided to show everyone the real me and wear a Hawaiian shirt each day. It sparked interesting conversations and showed people that I am a pretty laid-back dude. In a joking sort of way I encourage you to think about starting a Hawaiian shirt Friday tradition in your school to celebrate the hard work and dedication that all stakeholders have put forth throughout the week. Enjoy the pics from ISTE with my worldwide PLN.

Picture
Photo courtesy of Elissa Malespina.
Picture
Sarah Thomas and Brad at ISTE.
Picture
Standing at the ISTE podium.
Picture
Signing a book at my ISTE session.
Picture
Hanging out with Ariel Price and Billy Krakower in the ISTE Bloggers Cafe.
Picture
Connecting with Kristen Swanson at ISTE.
Picture
Pernille Ripp and I eating breakfast at ISTE.
Picture
Shannon Miller and Elissa Malespina.
Picture
Starr Sackstein and I taking an ISTE selfie.
Picture
Alice Keeler and Jared Wastler at #CoffeeEdu
Picture
Regina Schaffer and Billy Krakower
Picture
Kim Mattina, Billy Krakower, and Cindy Leatherwood.
Picture
Connected Educator Series Panel Discussion.
Picture
Corwin Connected Educator Series Authors.
Picture
Jennifer Hogan and I in the Bloggers Lounge.
Picture
#Satchat Live at ISTE with Cybraryman
Picture
TCT15 Dinner.
Picture
Kitty Tripp and Jerry Blumengarten
Picture
My colleagues Laura Garrison, Milli Roskie, and Francesca Parrillo.
Picture
#SatchatHack meets #Satchat
Picture
#SatchatOC meets #Satchat
Picture
Cybraryman, Vickie Morgado, and I at ISTE.
4 Comments

    Archives

    May 2020
    April 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    October 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013


    Categories

    All
    Achievement
    Blog
    Branding
    Common Core
    Communication
    Culture
    Digital Curriculum
    Digital Leadership
    Education
    Educational Reform
    Educational Technology
    Elementary School
    GAFE
    Google
    Google Classroom
    Grading
    High School
    Interview
    Job Interview
    Leadership
    Math
    Middle School
    Olympics
    PARCC
    Parenting
    Parents
    Perseverance
    Pinterest
    Professional Development
    Public Relations
    Remote Learning
    School
    School Improvement
    Schools
    Self Promotion
    Sochi
    Social Media
    Standardized Testing
    Students
    Swivl
    Teaching
    Technology
    Text-messaging
    Twitter


    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • About
  • Presentations
  • Books
  • Awards/Honors
  • Blog
  • EE
  • Contact