Connect, Expand, Share...

Last February I was working with some teachers in my district to help students build background knowledge prior to reading the Book, Woodsong by Gary Paulsen. We were brainstorming various basic ideas; google searching images, websites and articles online. I just knew that we could do more and that technology allows this. I decided to reach out to my friend Andrew Chlup @chlupa. Andrew is a tech director in Alaska and I met him at ISTE17. This communication created an amazing learning opportunity for our 6th grade students. Students and teachers from Alaska shared information regarding the role of mushing in Alaska, the geographic relationship with mushing in Alaska including weather and equipment and also the mechanics of mushing. We were able to use a Zoom connection with their Alaska class and our three 6th grade classes in Nebraska to connect, learn and share.

This experience was made possible not only by technology but by connections. The connection made at IST17. When attending conferences we all go “in” with goals to learn something about a specific topic or idea. We listen, learn, take notes and think of ways to implement these things in our own classrooms or jobs back in our buildings. But, how do you keep this learning sustainable? How do you share this with others? Whether attending ISTE, EDCamp or NETA, how do you implement what you have learned, share it and keep it going beyond the two or three days of the actual conference or event. The above example was a connection I took away from ISTE17 and was able to create a learning opportunity and connection for students in my own district.

Since this experience, I have been thinking of ways to take learning from blogs, conferences and podcasts and expand on it. I really wanted to take what I learned throughout the
Alaska Connection” and other learning experiences and create a “Nebraska” connection. With some collaboration, brainstorming, problem solving and together with Katie Pfanstiel we have created a plan. We are currently working on a virtual learning opportunity with her students called: Connecting Nebraska the Good Life.

So, as you prepare for spring learning opportunities I have a challenge for you. Whether you are attending a conference, listening to a podcast or reading a blog post, how can you expand and share your learning? What other opportunities can you create? How can you take this beyond the ten minute podcast or two day conference. Strive for something bigger, something sustainable… make the connection...

If you would like to follow our Connection Nebraska journey feel free to check it out at:

bit.ly/ConnectingNebraska

Alexa: More than a Student Flash Briefing

Amazon Alexa is just one personal assistant device popular in many homes. Whether you have Alexa, Google or any other personal assistant device, it's a way to conveniently consume content. What if this content was related to news, updates and celebrations in your school or district? Thanks to Taylor Siebert and Striv we have been able to build on this idea and provide a student opportunity that is also a win for our community.

Here's how we got started at Northwest:

1. A Shared Google Doc: The weekly flash briefing is shared via a Google Doc. Collaboratively we share ideas, reminders and celebrations. Notes are turned into a story for a weekly audio recording.

2. Cell Phone: You have plenty of options here but our student content creators prefer phones for recording the written script. Recordings are usually done in our green screen room.

3. Alexa Audio Upload: Obviously, there are a few tech requirements and specifics to incorporate directly with an Alexa Skill. We are provided this service by STRIV.

Here is where we are going:

Knowing Alexa is not something in everyone's home, we wanted to expand our reach. We had the writing and the audio already, we just needed another way to share. Headliner was suggested as an audio tool that also had easy download and sharing options. By taking the audio file already recorded, uploading it to headliner and adding a background image we had a shareable file with news, announcements and updates. We also had options to share captions right within the recording. Our headliner creations are shared on our school's Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts weekly. This has expanded our reach and helped bring more content into homes of our followers.

Our Alexa Skill content creation team has been going strong for almost a year. What started as just another task for me has evolved into a weekly writing, recording and publishing project for students. We currently have a team of two students working collaboratively on each briefing. Both are able to use and explore passions for writing and recording. They are producing content that is heard well beyond the classroom. They are practicing skills that will open doors and opportunities as they move beyond high school. Each week I am in awe of the content and quality they produce. I look forward to the growth of this project, the doors it opens and the celebrations of success. We truly are creating way more than a flash briefing.