Liberty Today! Summit Reflections

panoramic view of Monticello

The past week I have been fortunate enough to be invited to attend the Liberty Today! Summit at Monticello in Charlotesville, Virginia.  For all of you out there who have no idea what or where this is, let me give you a brief little overview.  Monticello was Thomas Jefferson's home, and as it turns out, is a very appropriate and perfect place for a history conference about the Revolutionary time period.  The program I'm participating in is called Liberty Today! which "Will help teachers make history relevant through new media, and create a growing community of educators to contribute to our modern understanding of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."  Liberty Today will be a highly innovative scholarship program for top teachers and international fellows using state-of-the-art on-site and on-line training."  So I've been asked to help create this Liberty Today website which will help teachers and students learn, interact, and become immersed in the rich history of Jefferson and the Revolutionary era.

Jefferson's Home

Whew, okay, so now that the background info is done, I can get on with my personal thoughts and reflections about the summit.  I guess I should preface first that I have joined with this program one year into it, so most of the amazing teachers here have been working on this project for a year or so.  With that said, I haven't had any of the background work they all have had already.  At first, I thought I was going to be an outsider and really "out of place" since this was a group of people that had been working together for so long already and done so much work and I'm this random gal from the midwest who's going to encroach on their thoughts and work.  Wow, was I completely wrong; not only have these teachers been so welcoming and friendly, they've seemed to welcome an "outsiders" opinions and insights on the work they've already done.  I kind of feel like since I have such "new eyes" on this project I can maybe help with ideas and such that maybe have been at a stalemate or looking for a new perspective upon which to look.

So onto the actual summit...wow, we've done a lot in such a short amount of time!  Instead of giving you a step-by-step of what we've all done, I'm going to instead tell you what I've gotten out of the summit and what I've been inspired with.  First off, we've gotten to spend much of our time at Montalto, a gorgeous building atop the taller mountain next to Monticello.  With a view like this, you can't help but be inspired and immersed in the time period.  Honestly I think that just the atmosphere we've been in all week has greatly helped my own thoughts and ideas (so any of you out there who are reading this and planning a conference: LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION! A good location makes for a fabulous conference!)

View from Montalto

Montalto

Besides the awesome view and location, I have been inspired by so many things this week.  The first is just the feeling I got from touring Monticello and Montpelier (James Madison's house).  Wow, what an incredible feeling it was to walk in the houses where our presidents and their families lived over 200 hundred years ago.  I was inspired and yearning to learn more about not only Madison and Jefferson, but also the period in history.  I wanted to find out more about the dinner parties Madison had, or how Jefferson may have been a bigger weather nut than me.  With this information excitement coursing through my veins it hit me: this is what I want my students to feel when we are learning about history.  I want to make them excited and "come alive" when we are talking about events in history.  This really changed my focus for the week: how can I come up with different challenges and lesson ideas that would make this happen with my students?  So I began to brainstorm different ideas and really tried to immerse myself into the resources we have at MRH and how I can use that to make history come alive for my students.  I then used the resources and collections provided by Monticello that will be used in the Liberty Today site to fuel these ideas.  I remembered back to our Bellefontaine Expedition in May and how much that made the Civil War come alive for students, and I tried to think of ways to recreate that excitement every day in the classroom using the Liberty Today site and resources.

All in all, after seemingly being overwhelmed and "outsider-ish" feeling, I've come to realize that those feelings weren't justified; really this summit has inspired me to embrace history and strive to make it come alive for my students, so that they develop a passion and appreciation for the past, and that they question things not out of spite, but because they are yearning to learn and explore more about the past. 

Google Teacher Academy

Wow.  Where to start?  I have no idea where to even begin this blog post...and not for a bad reason, but for the sole fact that I have a bazillion amazing stories, ideas, and resources that I want to talk about and share, and just don't know where to start!  Usually I blog about the happenings in my classroom, but for this post I decided to use it as a reflection piece for my experiences at the Google Teacher Academy (GTAUK) in London, England on April 4th, 2012.

Prior to attending GTAUK, I had only ever dreamed of becoming a Google Certified Teacher (GCT).  It was something that I really wanted to do, but never expected to actually be selected to attend.  When I completed my application back in February, I capped it with submitting the video below I created around classroom innovation.

After I had submitted my application, I had gone through YouTube looking at the other videos submitted by others who applied to GTA, I became a bit disheartened about my chances because every video I looked at seemed to blow mine out of the water.  I told myself it wasn't a big deal if I didn't get it--there were probably thousands of people applying, and this was my first time applying, so I could always apply to the next Academy.  However, all of my worrying was for nothing.  When I was notified a couple weeks later that I had been selected to attend, I was in disbelief; I could not believe that I was actually chosen!  And, to cap off my excitement, the Academy was being held in London, England--where I use to teach!  I was on cloud nine.

Once my excitement subsided a bit (not too much though), I had a lot to do before jetting off to London for GTAUK.  Less than 48 hours after I was notified I hopped on a bus with 75 middle schoolers to go down to Dauphin Island, Alabama for our 8th grade expedition.  Once I returned from that amazing expedition, I then set my sights on GTA.

The night before GTA I was so excited I could hardly sleep; I felt like I was 8 years old again and eager with anticipation of Santa's arrival.  I had just had an awesome informal meet-and-greet with a majority of the GTA participants at a local London eatery, so it was great to meet some of the people I'd been talking to on twitter and google+ the past several weeks.  The day finally came, and I made sure I got to Google a little bit early just in case there were any problems on the Tube.

At Google we were placed in teams, which was a genius idea.  It gave us a chance (pre-GTA) to meet our group and chat with them prior to the start of the Academy.  I was on Team Lumiére, which was led by the amazing Jim Sill.  Wow, what an awesome guy with a wealth of information and a passion for education and technology.  I felt so fortunate I got to be on his team.  We remained with our team throughout the day, but it was simply for ease of movement of people for different sessions.  I tried to branch out and meet and chat with as many people as I could, on my team or now.

Team Lumiére

Many people have asked me about what I actually did at GTA.  To someone who hasn't experienced it, or doesn't have a knack for Google or EdTech stuff, it is a bit difficult to describe because there was so much going on!  However, in a nutshell it was a complete day filled with everything Google: Google Docs, Maps, Gmail, Google Chrome, YouTube, Groups, Google+, and so much more!  But it wasn't simply "hey, here's a bunch of awesome things Google offers!" but more so it was all of these cool Google resources and how they can be implemented and used effectively in the classroom.  I got so many new ideas from this day my Evernote doc was bursting with new resources, ideas, and how I can use them in my classroom.  I know you're probably reading this and thinking, "Hey!  I want to know what these are!"  So here are a few of my favorites from the day (and I just say "favorites," because my list is substantial and could go on for quite a while!  If you want to chat more about my ideas, resources, or GTA experience, shoot me a tweet or an email)

Favorite New Ideas:

• Have students create their own personal "Google Map" to outline/timeline events in history, or events in their own lives (can add pictures, links, etc... to each location! how awesome!)--this was a great idea I got from Tom Barrett)
• Use Google Moderator as a "discussion board" (or "question board") platform in the classroom--quick and easy way to get students interacting in the classroom
• Google Sites for student portfolios or student websites--have students create a website and have them store their work, documents, notes, etc... in it throughout the year.  They can embed pictures, blogs, discussions, docs, and so much more!  Plus, it's in the cloud!

Looking back, the day feels like a blur; it flew by so fast I think I am still processing all of the amazing information, connections, resources, and ideas I accumulated.  It still feels surreal to me that I was actually chosen to attend, and even more surreal that I am now a Google Certified Teacher.

I cannot tell you how honored I am to now be a part of this amazing community of teachers who are passionate about education and technology.  I feel so fortunate and blessed to be in this group now, and am determined to put my GCT-status to good use.  I feel like I have a wealth of information that I have gained and built upon thanks to the Google Teacher Academy, and I am determined to share what I've learned with others in my district, community, and beyond.  I know the Academy has opened the doors to a wealth of opportunities, resources, ideas, and connections, and I WILL take complete advantage of this.

I want to thank everyone--especially Maplewood-Richmond Heights--for allowing me to attend this amazing Academy and for the wealth of resources, knowledge, ideas, networks, and information I've taken away.  I cannot express my gratitude enough, and I hope my continued passion for learning, technology, and education shine bright in my future as both an educator and a Google Certified Teacher.