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

Google Classroom and Google Forms. Happy Together. 

10/28/2015

2 Comments

 
Google Classroom and Google Forms are now working together on the same wave length. Watch this two minute tutorial on how to integrate Forms in Classroom. Enjoy!
​Brad Currie is the author of All Hands on Deck: Tools for Connecting Educators, Parents, and Communities and the newly released Personalized PD: Flipping Your Professional Development. 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.
2 Comments

10 Things Connected Educators Must Not Do

10/24/2015

2 Comments

 
October is Connected Educators Month. It's nice to finally see educators connecting in the physical and virtual world. The sharing, reflecting, and collaborating ultimately impacts the success of all students. Personally, I have been a connected educator for the past 4 years. I thank Eric Sheninger for showing me the power of social media as a way to expand my personal learning network way back in 2011. I have met and learned from so many people because of my connectedness. So many ideas have shaped my thinking and help move my school forward in ways I never thought could happen. There is no doubt that I am in a better place because of utilizing tools like Twitter to connect with some of the best minds in the business. Unfortunately, during my time as a connected educator I have seen some negative things happen that have no place in the educational world. Here is a short list of how connected educators can put a damper on one of the most exciting times in education...
1. Act like as the supreme ruler of education and that anyone you interact with must think the way you do.
2. Take cheap shots at people who are just trying to share best practices and help out others.
3. Think that you own a hashtag because we all know that you really can't.
4. Look down upon the disconnected instead of lifting them up.
5. Give people a hard time for how they act, think, or dress. 
6. Forget where you came from and not think about what's best for kids.
7. Think that you are bigger than education.
8. Take yourself too seriously. Humor is a huge part of remaining sane. 
9. Act as a celebrity and totally ignore people at conferences.
10. Share only your work and thoughts more than others. 
​Brad Currie is the author of All Hands on Deck: Tools for Connecting Educators, Parents, and Communities and the newly released Personalized PD: Flipping Your Professional Development. 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.
2 Comments

Students of the Day

10/18/2015

0 Comments

 
We felt it was time. Time to recognize every student for all their contributions to school, society, and family. How could we make this happen? Very simple. Start a Students of the Day Initiative. Each day of the school year, one student per grade level is highlighted. By the end of the school year every child is recognized. Let's look at how this plays out..
  • Students fill out a Google Form that asks for information related to life accomplishments, future goals, and positive character traits.
  • Three students are randomly selected from the Google Sheet generated by the Google Form.
  • The information from the Google Sheet is uploaded to a Google Slide deck.
  • The Google Slide deck is displayed on the main hallway television via ChromeCast.
  • Each child is called down to the office to see well deserved recognition on the big screen
  • A certificate that was created on a Google Slides is given to each student as a token for the hard work and dedication they put in during their time here at the middle school. 

The Students of the Day initiative provides each student with an opportunity to shine at some point during the school year. The smiles on their faces when they find out about their designation are priceless. It provides me with an opportunity to get to know each student a little bit better as the slide deck is created and conversations take place when the certificate is presented. Every once in a while a parent will be in the building when their child is recognized as the Student of the Month. This is an extra special moment that is captured on a camera and sent home with the child at day's end. There is no doubt that this sort of initiative can be make a good school even greater. 
​​Brad Currie is the author of All Hands on Deck: Tools for Connecting Educators, Parents, and Communities and the newly released Personalized PD: Flipping Your Professional Development. 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

School Visitations Must Be The Standard

10/8/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
A wonderful group of educators from the Netherlands recently visited with the students and staff at Black River Middle School in Chester, New Jersey.
Over the years I have grown exponentially as an educator from visiting other schools and seeing all the great learning experiences that students from around world are involved with on a daily basis. On the flip side, I am really proud of the fact that educators, on an international scale, have come to visit our school. Both scenarios provide all participants a chance to improve their craft and reflect on how they are impacting student success. Often you will see educational conferences now held at schools, which provides yet another opportunity for educators to experience another learning environment even though school may not actually be in session.

The positive impact school visitations have on education as a whole is truly inspiring and must be the standard. What I mean by "must be the standard" is that visitations should be the main focus instead of standardized testing, educator accountability reform, and wasteful money spent on irrelevant professional development opportunities to name a few. I wish there was some way that the money spent on the above-mentioned initiatives could put into a all encompassing program that would provide educators ample opportunities to visit educational institutions from near and far. The knowledge gained from these visitations could then be put into practice to benefit the school community as a whole. There is no doubt in my mind that school visitations are right up there with the EdCamp model and personalized pd, as innovative ways to provide educators with meaningful professional growth opportunities. 

Other benefits of school visitations include bringing about a sense of pride amongst all school stakeholders. On a daily basis our students and staff are doing tremendous things. So why not show them off to the world at large? Also, they give students an opportunity to truly explain what they are learning about to the special visitors. Visitations also give teachers and administrators alike, the opportunity to share insight on educational trends taking place around the world. Sometimes informal conversations are the most relevant forms of professional growth. 

So what do you say? Consider approaching your administration about visiting a nearby classroom, school, or district. If they know what's good for their school and students, they will agree to providing release time for you and/or your fellow colleagues. What if administration is an actual road block in making this happen? Another alternative would be to conduct a Google Hangout or Skype session with educators. It's free and be done at an agreed upon time. In the end, school visitations are what's best for kids, teachers, and administrators. It's what makes sense as the educational world looks to move forward with providing innovative learning environments. 
​Brad Currie is the author of All Hands on Deck: Tools for Connecting Educators, Parents, and Communities and the newly released Personalized PD: Flipping Your Professional Development. 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

    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