#NHCSchat is a monthly twitter chat for, about and by educators in New Hanover County, North Carolina. #NHCSchat is an opportunity for teachers, administrators and other educators in southeastern NC to grow and develop their personal learning network (PLN) by connecting to other educators in our district and around the world. This monthly chat will create a forum for NHCS educators to gather virtually around the common interest of providing the best possible learning experience for students in our district. Chat topics will vary but will focus on best practices for teaching and learning in the digital age and will be moderated primarily by NHCS educators.
Hi! I'm Christy Howe, the Gifted Education Specialist at Bradley Creek Elementary. Excited about the chance to learn with everyone this evening! #NHCSchat
A1: I think innovation is a mindset or a way of thinking; how can we think about things differently in order to improve experiences and make lives better.
#nhcschat@gcouros#InnovatorsMindset
A1: I think @gcouros said it well when he said in The Innovator’s Mindset, "Innovation is not about the 'stuff', but about a way of thinking. While using technology does help with some innovative ideas, it does not drive innovation itself." #NHCSchat
A1: I think that innovation is the willingness to try something new. Innovators are optimistic problem solvers who see failure as an opportunity to grow and improve #NHCSChat
A2: If you want those in your environment to be comfortable sharing new ideas and trying new approaches to tasks, they need to be comfortable in the space and with those that share it - build those relationships! #NHCSchat
We were so lucky today to have math guru @BarbaraUssary come and teach us about building number sense! We can’t wait to get these strategies going. #NHCSChat@SPESharks
A2: I have used Pineapple Charts to encourage teachers to observe others in the building. Teachers often learn best from each other and they are more likely to become innovators if they can see an example in their own school #nhcschat
A3: I incorporate lots of team building & cooperative learning activities to build a strong, positive classroom community. CL not only helps students to identify strengths within themselves, but to see & appreciate talents in others that might otherwise go unrecognized. #nhcschat
A2. Teachers are encouraged and supported when the take risks! They continue to make me so proud of their growth as T leaders and our Ss benefit! @AndersonElem#NHCSchat
A3: We need to help our students understand that different doesn’t equal bad. This video (it's a little long), created by HS students sharing their experiences as immigrants, addresses this. Around the 8 minute mark...wow! https://t.co/W114oeM58i#NHCSchat
A3: Nurture those peer relationships! Research has shown that a sense of belonging is a key factor in a child’s well being and ability to thrive. Where every child feels that they belong and are valued, they learn. #NHCSchat
A3: I think it's also essential to get to know each of our Ss as a whole person, in & out of class. Understanding a Ss interests, talents, and struggles can help us to build a personalized approach to learning that validates & celebrates the uniqueness of each child #nhcschat
A3: Training sessions like Restorative Justice make the staff more aware of the importance of cultural relevancy. Team building and relationship building activities at the beginning of the year help build school and class culture #NHCSChat
Creating a welcoming environment begins before the students walk in the door. It’s how you greet them each day and letting them know that they are an important part of your classroom family and they are safe within the walls of your classroom. #NHCSchat
A3. Spending time developing your classroom community of learners during the opening days and weeks supports a respect and appreciation for all. @AndersonElem#NHCSchat
A4: I utilize Twitter to connect with educators beyond NHCS. Follow @smgaillard@TheTechRabbi@HeckAwesome In addition, I also am a member of various Facebook groups to connect with other educators. Also check out #HiveSummit! #NHCSchat
A4: I've shared this many times before, but that 20 Day Twitter Challenge we created years ago for the district - that was inspired by something found on Twitter! #NHCSchathttps://t.co/cgUADPqMGk
I’m late Gwen Fitzpatrick- WMS
I use flipgrid for students to have more of a voice. They have started #GridPals what ch will allow us to connect with other students all day ver the world. I have also used Google hangouts to chat with a live composer #NHCSchat
A4: I love using @zoom_us or @SkypeClassroom in the classroom. Connection with other educators not our district and around the nation. My students especially loved hearing from @BlissCyndy last year 😉 #NHCSchat
A5: Genius hour is a great way to provide opportunities for our learners to stretch their thinking and reflect on their learning! Also, allow students to further research topics they are interested in! #nhcschat
A5: #geniushour & #academies are two of the ways I try to ignite curiosity & stretch thinking. The chance for Ss to explore areas of genuine passion & identify interests & talents they did not know they had spark a genuine motivation/love for learning. #nhcschat@TeachRunSwim
A5: I like to make sure to build in time to explore and go beyond the basics. Inevitably, someone will ask, "What's that do?" or "What would happen if..." Let them try their ideas - if they fail and try again (and maybe again) that's learning and it will stick! #NHCSchat
A5: Build in choice! Give learners options - #hyperdocs are great tools to allow some guidance, but include student's choice in their path. Check out some of the ideas here: https://t.co/DhffzhhiNM#NHCSchat
My students love to use @Flipgrid to reflect on their learning and as a tool of communication. They also like genius hour to explore and learn more about topics of their choice. #nhcschat
A6: Communication matters - especially feedback...what you say, when you say it, and how you say it makes a difference. Modeling and using peer review strategies that incorporate these elements elevates students' communication skills, too! #NHCSchat
I use @RemindHQ. It is wonderful. Allows me to text parents without them having my real number. I can attach letters,. It is FREE. I don’t send letters home anymore....#saveatree#NHCSchat
A6: Using Google Classroom is a great way to communicate with Ss digitally and is also teaching them valuable lessons on communicating with peers online. I also value my morning meeting time with my Ss. It is a great time just to sit down and talk about the day ahead. #nhcschat
A7: Socratic Seminars, fishbowl discussions, student-generated "wonder walls," authentic problem-based learning, Academies, and #geniushour are some of the ways I encourage students to ask, reflect, and respond to thought-provoking, real-world questions. #NHCSchat
Wonderful to see such a great discussion on collaboration and innovation here on #NHCSchat ! Wishing all the @NewHanoverCoSch educators another great school year!
A2. Teachers are encouraged and supported when the take risks! They continue to make me so proud of their growth as T leaders and our Ss benefit! @AndersonElem#NHCSchat
A7: I used to challenge my middle school students with tasks that made them PROVE a point. Do the research and persuade an audience with facts balanced with opinion. #NHCSchat
A7: for my first graders, I pose a question and ask them to put put their finger up to their lips and think—no one answer—until all students have had the opportunity to think. I also use Partner Talk. #NHCSchat
A8: I collaborate with others by bouncing ideas and building upon those ideas. You can use collaboration through twitter and other forms of social medias to create collaborative experiences for your learners #nhcschat
A7. Asking open ended questions, allowing think time, and asking for individual written responses before sharing out encourages thinking outside of the box and avoids groupthink. #NHCSchat@AndersonElem
A8: Collaboration is my favorite! 😍 #NCDLCN has allowed me the chance to collaborate with other educators across the state. Of course, #NHCSchat is great for collaboration and creating community - it connects us locally so we know we are not alone!
A8: @Twitter is my favorite way to collaborate with other educators. Almost every time I log on I leave with something that can be brought back into my classroom. #nhcschat
A8: Also, Google...Google tools help us collaborate even when we can't meet face-to-face. This we can also encourage our learners to use - they will need to be able to collaborate this way when they enter higher education and/or the workforce. #NHCSchat
A9: Creativity is not something we "have," it's something we learn. Just like math or science, we develop creativity w/ practice & experience. We must provide opportunities for our students to explore & nurture this talent. @SirKenRobinsonhttps://t.co/5mF7uP9Wbc#nhcschat
A9: To get my creative juices flowing I read, I run, and I try to surround myself with interesting, inspiring people! Each one serves to inspire, motivate, and energize me. #nhcschat#RunLAP
A9: Apparently, I drive to get my creative juices flowing again - lately that’s when my ideas that seemed unfinished in the office come together...with glitter! ← not real glitter, just the right amount of whatever it is that makes things fall into place perfectly. 😍 #NHCSchat
A9: Just stepping back from a project and focus on another creative idea or talking out the ideas with others can help get my own creative juices flowing again. Provide opport. for Ss by assign. projects that let Ss unleash their creativity #Nhcschat
A9: I first learned about the #thirtycircles challenge when I read Creative Confidence by @kelleybros - it's a great activity to spark ideas and conversations about creativity. @techrabbi recently talked about this in his episode of the #HiveSummit#NHCSchat
A9: I have been so inspired in the category of creativity by reading The Wild Card by @WadeKing7 and @hopekingteach. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend. #NHCSchat
A10: I think the easiest is to continue to build the community. It's the most natural and educators do this at the start of each year...it's a matter of maintenance. #NHCSchat
A10: Collaboration, creativity, curiosity are easy for me to add to create a culture that supports innovation. Community might be a bit more difficult, esp when I am not as familiar with people within the community. #NHCSchat
A9. I garden- there’s something about digging in the dirt that gets my ideas flowing, not to mention I may turn anything into a planter.... @AndersonElem#NHCSchat
A10: Curiosity seems the hardest to include (especially as learners progress through school) due to structures that aim to keep learning moving towards meeting specific state/local goals, like testing.😕 Including activities that build curiosity have to be intentional. #NHCSchat
So glad you could join us tonight. Be sure to join us on September 12th for the next #NHCSchat when we’ll be chatting about restorative justice. https://t.co/JMNEHujy1J
