Don't smile until December...

So as teachers we've all heard the saying, "Don't smile until at least December." How many of you actually follow this theory?

For those, who don't know the old saying refers to giving your students a stern and demanding demeanor to set the year off right. If you are seen as a strict teacher perhaps then you will not have as many behavioral issues in your classroom. 

For myself I don't follow this old saying. However that is not to say I do not start the class atmosphere off the way I intend for it to go along. I believe in setting true expectations and guidelines from the very first Welcome to my class phone call I make to parents and students. This way we all get off on the right foot and start a year fresh the right way. 

Share your thoughts on the old saying below, I love hearing from my readers!

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Digital Literacy

What is literacy? Nichole Pickard hits the nail on the head in her video I'm sharing below when she states, "Literacy has always been defined by the technology." After hearing this statement it was like a whole new thought process started developing in my mind. Of course, as an ELA/Reading teacher I have known what literacy is but sometimes when I hear thoughts I begin to be able to look at subjects with new and refreshing insight. This video on DYN in the Chicago community did that for me and I hope that it will also get your mind churning too. 

Please do share some of the thoughts you had or now have on digital literacy. Does you city have a program similar to DYN?

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Getting Organized...

One of the biggest challenges I face as a teacher virtual or otherwise has always been being organized. I have noted though that there are thousands of solutions to help organize a brick and mortar school teacher but not as much out there for us virtual ones...or at least not as much marketed toward us and/or shared. My hope is to start changing this!

One of the newest items in my organization arsenal is the program OneNote from Microsoft. This program is any teachers (or person's for that matter) dream solution. It is very user friendly and easy to start using. As a person who has grown up using Microsoft programs the interface is familiar and reassuring. Even if you have never used anything Microsoft though you will find this program easy and hopefully life saving like I have! The below video tutorial from GroupTrailsvids on Youtube will show some of the basic awesomeness of this program.

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