I've joined Bluesky!

 Bluesky is a social media app that began in 2023 as an "invite-only" platform.  When it became publicly available in February 2024, it had three million users.  Since then, Bluesky has had rapid growth. In September 2024, it hit ten million users; last month, it achieved thirteen million users; this month, it has crossed over twenty million users and was the number one download of the Apple and Google Play app stores.  (Bluesky's growth is impressive, but to put that total number in perspective, X currently has 586 million monthly active users and Instagram has two billion MAUs.)

Generated with Gemini AI. Digital image, 11/23/2024.

In the last few weeks, I checked out the platform, liked what I saw, and decided to sign up.  It's free of course, and what could be seen as a positive sign of its current corporate independence, there are no Google or Facebook or Apple shortcuts to create an account; you have to provide an email address and date of birth.  My two new Bluesky account handles mirror my two main social media handles across multiple platforms:

• watsonedtech: bsky.app/profile/watsonedtech.bsky.social
• kyedrpg (Kentucky Educators for Role Playing Games): bsky.app/profile/kyedrpg.bsky.social

After using Bluesky for a bit, I wanted to share some quick thoughts and initial findings.  I should point out that last year I signed up for Threads (under the Meta umbrella of apps), and as you'll see below, I can't help but make some comparisons between the two.  

• The interface is very, very similar to X, which is not a shocker when you learn that Bluesky was started as a Twitter project under Jack Dorsey before Bluesky cut ties and went its own way.
• There doesn't yet seem to be options to post from Bluesky to other social media platforms, or vice versa.  This is in contrast to being able to choose for an Instagram post to simultaneously also post on your Threads, or quick shares of an article or Amazon item to X.  I imagine this will change as the popularity of Bluesky grows.
• You can text up to 300 characters!  (For X, it's 280, unless you pay for a premium account.)
• The browser interface is as adept and robust as the mobile app, an issue that plagued Threads when it first launched.
• There are more filters and options to choose what shows up on your feed than with most other major social media apps.
• Multiple hashtags work just fine and in the way you are used to experiencing them on X, Instagram, or Facebook.  A popular one for educators is #EduSky.  (That still remains a sticking point for me about Threads -- it launched without any such tagging, and even now only allows one "topic" per post.)
• My favorite part of Bluesky is the opportunity to create or find "Starter Packs."  Basically, creating a Pack means choosing a title, writing a description, and adding a group of users that fit around your described theme or topic.  (You can edit all of these elements at any time.)  Other users can see your Starter Packs under your profile, and when looking at its list of accounts can "follow all" or individually choose people to follow.  A nice bonus feature is that when looking at your Starter Pack, you can see only the posts made by the users listed in the Pack.  Here's one I made of Kentucky educators I have learned from over the years, and I'll likely add new friends as they join the platform.

Hope to see you where the blue wings flap!

What are your thoughts on Bluesky?  Post a Comment below.

Blended and Personalized Learning

I recently returned from iNACOL 2015, an international annual conference that specifically looks at best practices for blended learning and digitizing classrooms.  I was privileged to present on a session about Shelby's multi-year technology integration plan, along with John Leeper (our Director of Innovation in College and Career Readiness), Maddie Meyer (teacher at Southside Elementary), and KDE's David Cook (Director of Innovation and Partner Engagement). We also attended some intriguing sessions with valuable information, but I was particularly taken by a pair of keynote addresses.  The first was a highly engaging, motivating, and moving presentation by Buddy Berry, the superintendent of Eminence (Shelby's district neighbor).  Mr. Berry challenged us to stop doing school the way it's always been --  because we can show how much we care about students and truly meet their needs by evolutionizing education with digital tools and old-fashioned compassion.  The second was by Craig Kielburger (one of the founders of We.org), who talked about becoming a social activist at the age of 12.  Years later in Ecuador, he shared his story of a village chief who called a "minga" in order to finish building a school:

Had a wonderful #inacol15. I hope we can bring @craigkielburger's "minga" to Shelby County! pic.twitter.com/zmf933MwsE

— Adam Watson (@watsonedtech) November 12, 2015

Isn't it time in education for us to call a minga?

An entire conference about blended learning made me reflect on what is happening here in Shelby County.   But first, some definitions.  I find the articulation of blended learning in Straker and Horn's Blended to be the most useful: "Blended learning is any formal education program in which a student learns at least in part through online learning, with some element of student control over time, place, path and/or pace.”  This focus on the student is what makes blended go hand in hand with personalized learning; although you could personalize without technology, it would be difficult to facilitate. (It should be noted that simply using or integrating technology does not guarantee a personalized experience.)  So how does one define personalized learning?  In short, unlike differentiation or individualization which is managed by the teacher, personalization is unique because it is truly driven by the student; the student has "voice and choice" what will be learned, and when.  (For a comprehensive chart comparing personalization, differentiation, and individualization, click here.)

Thanks in large part to Chromebooks, personalized and blended learning are proliferating side by side.  One example is at Martha Layne Collins High School.  Madelyn Sterrett is a math teacher who uses Blendspace as a way of digitally organizing unit materials and resources for her students.  As students combine analog and digital materials to track their progress, they take ownership of their own learning:

Mrs. Sterrett has students using Blendspace with their Chromebooks to help self-pace math learning. pic.twitter.com/w2DgpnMxdY

— Adam Watson (@watsonedtech) October 6, 2015

Another math example is at the other end of the age spectrum, in third grade at Heritage Elementary.  Julia Lyles had confidence that her students needed only a few days with their Chromebooks before they would get past "how to use the device" and get down to the business at hand: a personalized learning environment managed by Google Classroom.  Now the students' math learning is self-paced.  With daily exit slips and a large chart on the back wall, Ms. Lyles can see when skills are mastered and track their current stage of progress.

Julia Lyles in front of her students' exit slip packets and class progress chart.

In the past, these model examples of student personalized learning may have been silo'd or overlooked. Now, however, social media has amplified teacher voice and given instructors unprecedented access into each other's classrooms.  That's exactly what Shelby County High School math teacher Bart Roettger shared in a recent meeting of Shelby's "Guiding Coalition" (a group of educators and community partners willing to share our district's vision and successes outside of a school building's four walls).  Mr. Roettger explained that, thanks to Twitter, he heard about and was inspired by the personalization of learning occurring in Mrs. Sterrett's classroom.  Now that he knows a high school resource who is a click/tweet/email away, Bart will begin his own transformation of his classroom.  How powerful that we can find inspiration not only from outside our district, but also from within!

Blended learning takes a willingness to fail forward, a strong infrastructure, and patience.  Personalized learning takes teacher time for all the required front-loading of lessons and units in preparation for students that pre-assess themselves ahead of others, and the teacher's courage to loop back to more traditional structures if the class is not progressing as they should.  And yet, even though the moon has only grown full twice since our Chromebooks have been deployed, the future of education is already becoming the present for Shelby County.

Have Comments about blended and/or personalized learning?  Please share below.

TUIT: Zachary Ramsey, SC Area Technology Center

Zachary Ramsey is an English teacher at Shelby County's Area Technology Center, or ATC.  He has been on my radar for a #ShelbyTUITshoutout for quite some time.

I first was impressed by Mr. Ramsey in the middle of the school year, when he came over from the ATC to attend one of my after-school PD's at East Middle School.  His enthusiasm and willingness to learn was extremely evident.  I next began noticing his online presence.  Zachary has grown his digital PLN on Twitter by regularly engaging in multiple edchats, even making a guest blog appearance about Twitter on Coaching Corner Collaborative (run by Jennifer Cox and Tracy Huelsman).  Mr. Ramsey has also began blogging on his new website (PBL Place) about his classroom's Project Based Learning.

The latest nudge that lead to this entry came from a visit I made to the ATC a few weeks ago:

Had a wonderful time visiting @EducatorRamsey & his students at the @shelbycountysch ATC today! pic.twitter.com/rUg6PJJih5

— Adam Watson (@watsonedtech) May 13, 2015

It was awesome to see students take a classic piece of literature and make it relevant -- in this case, using health sciences as a way of analyzing the charged emotional choices of the characters from Romeo and Juliet.

In addition, one of his students made an aura using Aurasma, an augmented reality (AR) tool that Zachary learned from an AR PD that I had presented in February.  Interested in learning more? Here's a short video that showcases how Aurasma can work in an elementary school setting. (While it's three years old, I like how it demonstrates the use of Aurasma by students.)

Congrats to Mr. Ramsey for his well-deserved and delayed #ShelbyTUITshoutout!

TUIT: Julia Lyles, James Morgan, Colby Wilmoth, and an entire high school

Happy April Fool's!  As the days count down to spring break and the end of my embedded tour at Heritage Elementary (Painted Stone, I'll see you Monday the 13th!), I wanted to squeeze out one more Edtech Elixirs entry.

Looking over my latest blog posts, I realized that I haven't given a #ShelbyTUITshoutout recently. Luckily, I have several reasons to do so today.

Julia Lyles is a new 3rd grade teacher here at Heritage. Last week, she asked me to help co-teach her class and we used Nearpod in a work station setting.  (You can read more about Nearpod in a previous entry.)  Ms. Lyles reminded me that even if you have only a few devices, Nearpod can be useful in a rotational station format.  I was glad to see her integrating Nearpod in a lesson with such young students, and happy to help teach in her classroom.

James Ray Morgan is Heritage's music teacher.  He already had an interest in edtech before I arrived, but after our consultation, he is now in the process of creating a YouTube channel of helpful videos for his students.  For example, Mr. Morgan wants to create tutorials for next year's classes to learn to play a recorder (or use the videos for extra practice, support, and enrichment).  In addition, he is creating a website as a launching platform for his class; you can view it here. He's well on his way to flipping and blending his instruction! (Note: if you want help recording directly on YouTube with your webcam, check out one of my how-to videos below.)

Today I observed Colby Wilmoth with her second graders.  What was impressive was not just the edtech tools themselves (a SMART board interactive clock activity, a document camera to demonstrate drawing a clock face, and so on), but how seamlessly she moved from one to another.  In addition, Ms. Wilmoth reminded me of the need for balancing your tools.  Her students drew large clock faces onto their desks with dry-erase markers, then practiced in pairs putting the correct hour and minute hand for a list of times.  Of course, there are digital equivalents you could do for this, but the tactile analog nature of drawing on a desk has its own benefits for engagement and learning.

Last but not least, I have a historic shoutout to give: to an entire school! At Martha Layne Collins High School,  Instructional Coaches Jennifer Cox and Tracy Huelsman (along with the enthusiastic encouragement of principal John Leeper) gave their staff a Twitter challenge this week. Using the hashtag #TitanStrong (created by Mr. Leeper), Ms. Cox and Huelsman have asked teachers to tweet every day, once a day, all week long.

Be sure to follow MLC @MLCTitanNation Ts tweeting with #TitanStrong this week.Goal is 1 tweet per classroom per day! pic.twitter.com/o5kF4iPXi0
— Adam Watson (@watsonedtech) March 30, 2015

The results have been fantastic and it has been very fun to follow the hashtag.   In some cases, teachers are tweeting for the very first time.  Good job, Collins!

A well deserved shoutout to MLC, Ms. Wilmoth, Mr. Morgan, and Ms. Lyles! Enjoy your spring break and the mild weather.

24 Hours of #KyEdChat

With just over a day to go before the beginning of KySTE 2015, another quick announcement.   #KyEdChat will have 24 hours of educational social media conversation starting at 10 am EST on March 5 and ending 10 am EST on March 6.  Spearheaded by Donnie Piercey and others, this marathon of twittering will nicely parallel with the last two days of KySTE.

I was flattered to be invited on this adventure.  This is my first time creating questions and moderating a #KyEdChat, so I'm very thankful and excited. My time slot is 9 to 10 pm EST on Thursday, March 5, and the conversation topic will be an extension of my KySTE session earlier that morning (pragmatic augmented reality tools, as I detailed in my previous blog post).   Thanks in advance to Jennifer Cox (instructional coach at Collins High School) for helping me moderate the session.  If you can't join for my slot, there are 23 others to pick from, so grab your device and tweet!

And now I will leave you with a very cool animated GIF.

  

Snowbound but still learning

Brrrr.  Day #4 of our Kentuckiana snowmaggedon.  In Shelby County, we announced today's closing with some flair:

Here's a fun fact: Kentucky is "the first state to tackle the problem on a statewide basis," and several districts are piloting snowbound learning days.  When a snow day occurs, students know to log in and get their assignments.  (For those with tech equity issues, a "hard copy" packet is provided before the expected snow day or provided to the student when they return.)  The big question, of course, is: will they do it?  As always, students are willing to meet and exceed expectations.   I actually wonder if students prefer the personalized, individual, comfortable learning they can achieve at home rather than the desks in a row, bell-driven experience that occurs for most of our schools. (I think I can guess the answer.) How can we replicate that experience inside our schools?  (For further reading, Kentucky's pilot program is detailed in this national news story, and another article discusses how Lawrence County uses Google Classroom to make "no school" into "snow school.")

Here in Shelby County, several of our teachers and principals are using Twitter to communicate assignments, expectations and/or use of technology to continue learning at home.  Here is a sampling:

AP Phys- make sure to read ch 15 and do problems pg. 494 #1,2,3,12,23,24 and pg. 496 #18,19. Submit answers on socrative. See canvas..
— Ms. Heather McCall (@msheathermccall) February 18, 2015

EnglishFam I sent a remind101 to you yesterday with the assignment again. Link got messed up so here it is again: http://t.co/Evkgqh0WQX
— Ms. Murphy (@MsMurf_MLCHS) February 18, 2015

On these snowy days I challenge every one to read a good book and tell your principal or a teacher about it when you return.
— East Middle School (@EastMSMissiles) February 16, 2015

Found this link from a Painted Stone friend. Anyone can use this website... Check it out K-5 available: http://t.co/WH6IEIp8Zb
— Dawn Riddle (@mrsriddleCCE) February 17, 2015

Whenever we return to the brick-and-mortar buildings (tomorrow? Monday?  April 24th???), I hope that we continue to find innovative ways to blur the boundaries of where and when learning can occur.  Until then, stay warm inside your igloos and be careful on the roads!

TUIT: Jennifer Cox, Tracy Huelsman, Jessica Ruddy (MLC HS)

Jennifer Cox and Tracy Huelsman are instructional coaches. Jessica Ruddy is a social studies teacher.  All three are from Martha Layne Collins High School.  It is their use of Twitter (and in the case of the instructional coaches, the use of a website) that earns all three a #ShelbyTUITshoutout.

First, let's talk Twitter.  Ms. Cox and Ms. Huelsman tried a novel approach to observing a classroom.  They decided to share their observations (and pictures) in real time using the hashtag #theyet.  (They also continue using the hashtag when writing tweets relevant to educators involved in the "becoming" of being an ongoing learner and practitioner.)  To me, this opens up a lot of intriguing possibilities about PD of the future, especially involving lab classrooms.  You could follow a hashtag as the class happened, even tweeting along questions or comments -- or you could look at the archive of the event later, through the thread of the hashtag.  Combine that with a reflective piece at the end, and you have an effective way of achieving professional growth.  Of course, a live tweet cannot replace what you can experience with your own eyes and ears.  However, if it gives the time-harried educator another avenue of "observing," then it is worth considering.

Following the idea of "live tweeting" is a recent occurrence in Ms. Ruddy's AP European History.  Using the hashtag #apeurosalon14, Jessica periodically tweeted out key ideas from the class as they were discussed.  What a useful tool for students!  If incorporated all year long, they could look up the thread to study for the AP test in the spring . . . ask questions of the teacher (and each other) . . . and have a backchannel during a Socratic discussion or while watching a video.

Last but not least, a plug should be given for Tracy and Jennifer's website, Coaching Corner Collaborative.  Only a month old, it is quickly growing into a reference point of relevant links, blog entries, and other resources for instructional coaches or anyone involved in fostering a growth mindset.  In additional, the site looks slick and professional, thanks to the template driven power of Weebly.

Congrats to all three, and I can't wait to see where their tweeting takes us!

 

The Power of Positive Social Media #StartsWithUs

All the negative things about social media is what usually hits the airwaves and the mediasphere.  It's true that people can use Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat and the like in inappropriate ways.  But the same could be said of cars, or other forms of technology.  We cannot respond to new media merely with fear.   If we want to show young people the power of our 21st century world, we have to show them positive models and how to become responsible leaders for change.

Next week is Kentucky Safe Schools Week.  While Shelby and other counties are out for fall break during this time, perhaps we can embrace the spirit of this year's theme to stand up against cyberbullying when we return.  Better yet, we can be inspired by something started at one St. Louis school and is quickly becoming a trending topic on Twitter and an Internet meme.

As often is the truth about human kindness, the act is simple yet profound.  A student or staff member uses a sharpie to write a short positive message on a clothespin.  The person then gives it to someone, who must "post and pass" it on: post a picture of the clothespin using social media with the hashtag #StartsWithUs before giving it to another person so the cycle can repeat.  That's it.  And yet, that's everything.

Here are some Tweets that capture the idea:

To St Charles Library & Beth Phillips for the social media expertise that inspired the kids to launch #StartsWithUs pic.twitter.com/twCBz3Rtsi
— Diane Stirling (@dstirling8) October 16, 2014

Students at Lafayette helped create the #startswithus campaign. Learn more: http://t.co/KLNEplG12b pic.twitter.com/h9VheftG2W
— Rockwood School Dist (@rockwoodschools) October 16, 2014

Make someone's day! If you get clipped w/ a clothespin, post a picture and pass it on! 😊 #PositivePost #StartsWithUs pic.twitter.com/nysxKQy1Uf
— Claudia Gallo (@Claudia_Gallo2) October 16, 2014

The idea has even spread to the St. Louis Rams:

Clothespins are the NEW black diamond earrings & gold chains. Find out why on @FOX2now #StartsWithUs @JOEL9ONE pic.twitter.com/QU4O2OAQyU
— Rampage Rams Mascot (@STLRampage) October 16, 2014

How can we be leaders against negativity and cyberbullying?  How can we fight the dark with light?

Inspired by St. Louis Ss using social media as force for good! Spread positivity online & off. #StartsWithUs pic.twitter.com/jXBGil9miU
— Adam Watson (@watsonedtech) October 16, 2014

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Spread positivity online and off, speak out against cyberbullying. #StartsWithUs

View on Instagram

You have to start somewhere.  One positive pinned message at a time.

@watsonedtech THANK YOU! Please join the cause and get your pins going in Shelby County KY too! #startswithus
— Stephanie Madlinger (@cyberteacher) October 16, 2014

(Note: if you are reading this on email or a mobile device, you may not be able to see the several embedded pictures above.  Please visit the site to see them.)

Innovate, Integrate, Motivate

It is hard to believe Shelby Schools begin in five days!  Counting down...

The title of today's post is three key words for any edtech educator, and the theme of Thursday's inaugural Oldham County Schools Educational Technology Conference. (That is a mouthful!  I'll call it OCSET-Con for short.)  Besides presenting about Teacher Technology Tools, I also attended several sessions and participated in the Twitter backchannel at #ocedtech14, and it's not too late to use the hashtag to review many of the tweets and pictures from the conference.

There were some great presenters and interesting edtech finds.  Here are a few of my favorite moments:

• The keynote was done virtually.  (The speaker, Richard Byrne, is well known for his blog Free Technology for Teachers.)  I was worried if my attention would stray without an actual human presence walking around, but Byrne was clever, concise, and engaging.  Among his edtech shares was a MIT App Inventor site that students have used to emulate their own smartphone apps.  Talk about real world use of technology!
• Tobie Keown (ECE teacher in the Oldham district) presented on Google Drive -- in particular, Google Forms.  She blogs as Mae's Morsels, and her Google Slides presentation and accompanying video are located in this post.  One interesting idea she had: make a table in Google Sheets that can be edited by other users, share a link to the doc with students, and have them enter their thoughts (perhaps as an entrance/exit slip) into individual boxes.  If numbered or color coded, it can be easy to tell each student which box to use.
• Courtney Perkins from South Oldham High School discussed Socrative.  They've recently upgraded their service and this formative assessment / data collection tool has many new features, including automatically saving results in your teacher "dashboard" and allowing quizzes to continue running overnight or for days -- useful for a flipped classroom or homework.
• Christi Unker (@cunker), a librarian at Oldham County High School, shared her work with Animoto.  Creating student accounts that can be monitored by a teacher can be time-consuming, but the program is easy, intuitive, and create fantastic, professional looking videos by simply uploading your photos.  Lots of fun templates and royalty-free music are included on the site.
• Last but not least, I was flattered to present the same session twice due to enrollment interest in my first "slot" making it standing room only.  Besides the ten tools, I gave a "bonus" in the form of beginning the session with a Kahoot quiz, which is fast becoming one of my favorite new edtech tools and was a hit with the audiences.

After the conference, the day ended with a first for me: after trying and failing to make it week after week, I was finally able to participate in a regional Twitter chat.  #kyedchat happens every Thursday at 8:00 PM EST.  (On this particular night, it was moderated by James Allen [@TLJamesA], another librarian at OCHS and one of the leader/organizers of OCSET-Con.)  Educators, I'm telling you -- if you don't yet recognize the power of Twitter and how it can increase both your PLN and your knowledge, participate in one.  You will become a convert. 

Congrats to all who organized OCSET-Con, and thanks for all the new edtech knowledge to start my school year!