Classroom Design, Challenge 16

This week's challenge is brought to you by one of my favorite people, Greg Smedley-Warren.  Greg is a kindergarten teacher in Nashville, Tennessee.

This week's challenge is all about relinquishing control a little bit.

But I'll let Greg explain more.  You can watch his video challenge HERE.

Now, the hard part, completing the task!  Are you up for the challenge?  Share your progress this week with changing up your classroom design by tweeting or sharing on FB or Google+ using the #EduLS hashtag!  Have fun!

EdCamps! Challenge 15

This weekend I was able to help organize and host my third EdCamp (EdCampNavasota).  I absolutely love EdCamps. For those of you who may not know what an EdCamp is or have never been to one here's a great video for you to check out:

EdCamps are known as an UnConference.  They're completely participant driven.  So much so that the schedule isn't even designed until the day of, and it's based completely after what YOU want to learn about.

My favorite part about EdCamp though?  It's not about presentations.  It's all about conversations.

And even if you can't be at a local EdCamp, there are EdCamps happening every single weekend!  You can just look on twitter and see so many great EdCamp hashtags and you can learn from the EdCamps without even being able to attend one in person!  You can see all what learning happened at the EdCampNavasota this weekend by checking out #EdCampNavasota on Twitter!

So what is your challenge this week?  Well it takes on two parts.

1.  If you've been to an EdCamp, share why you enjoyed it and one thing you learned using the #EduLS hashtag.

2.  The second part is to FIND an EdCamp to attend OR to organize your own local EdCamp! And share your plans/process with the #EduLS hashtag. (you can find tons of Edcamps HERE)

Organizing an EdCamp is not a complicated process and doesn't take a ton of time.  Surround yourself with a great team and it's easy!  You can find tons of information and help on http://edcamp.org/

So there's this week's challenge!  Don't be afraid to reach out to other people who've done EdCamps as well to get ideas or help!  So what are you waiting for???  Find an EdCamp near you (or organize your own) and get to learning!

Innovate! Challenge 14

This week's challenge is brought to you by Jason Bretzmann!  And I think it's another perfect one for this time of year.

Jason's challenge is a simple, yet challenging one.  Simply put, find a way this week to innovate.

You can find Jason's challenge video HERE.  So what are you waiting for?

*** on a side note, I've heard some people tell me "I don't have time for this week's challenge".  Keep in mind that you can do these challenges in any order that you want!  If you miss a week or two, that's ok!!  This learning is for YOU!

Positive Post-It Day, Challenge 13

I am so excited and thrilled for this week's challenge.  This week's challenge comes from the BRILLIANT Tony Sinanis.  Tony did this week's challenge just this last week with his entire staff!

This week's challenge is all about creating a "Positive Post-It Day" on your campus!  Watch Tony's short video below to hear a little about it....

(if you're on a mobile device and can't see the video, click HERE to watch it)

After watching Tony's video you can check out his blog post about it, HERE.

So that's your challenge this week.  Create a Positive Post It Day at your campus and share via the hashtags #EduLS and #PositivePostItDay.

Let's all take a little time to share some positivity and watch the difference it makes!

Learning From Others, Challenge 12

So in case you couldn't tell, last week we took a week off!  Sometimes we just need time to re-focus or even recuperate.

This week's challenge is one that I have gained so much from.

About a year and a half ago, I started a little podcast series with my friends Chris Kesler and Stacey Huffine.  We all loved learning from other technology related podcasts that we were listening to.

But I began to realize that the stories that stuck out most to me, were the personal stories, not just the technology ones.

Through that EduAllStars was born.

EduAllStars is a podcast that seeks to allow educators to share their stories and their journey.  It gives you a glimpse into a person and what makes them a great educator.

Chris and I now co-host the series and release a new episode every week on iTunes, but you can also find all of the interviews on our website.  We choose people that inspire Chris and me.  These people are educators who are just like YOU.  Working their behinds off to change kids' lives.

Your challenge this week is to watch at least one interview and design a tweet, create a canva, make a thinglink, design an infographic, write a blog post, or do whatever you wish!  But show what you learned from that person.  Tweet or FB it out and include the hashtag #EduLS.  Let's all learn together and from each other and share our stories.

Celebrate Someone

This week's challenge is easy, and it comes straight from me!

How easily we forget our worth.  How easily we forget we hold value.  You can look around on any given day and there is someone struggling with self-belief.

This week I challenge you to celebrate someone.  To find a creative way to remind someone of how much they mean to you.  Maybe it's just writing them a smile note, maybe it's filling their office with balloons, maybe it's as easy as looking them in the eye and tell them, face to face, you matter.

Whatever way you choose to celebrate someone this week, share your celebration through social media using the #EduLS hashtag.

Hey, why just stop at one person?  Let's celebrate as many as we can this week!

Send Them On Learning Missions; Challenge 10

I am thrilled about this week's #EduLS challenge!

This week's challenge comes to you from the incredible Shelly Terrell!  Shelly is one of the co-founders of the #edchat hashtag!  She travels all over the world helping educators and kids.  She also just recently released her brand new book "The 30 Goals Challenge for Teachers".

Her challenge this week is simple in theory, but may require some creative thinking on your end!  It's all about sending someone on a "learning mission".  I love the idea behind this and can't wait to see what you come up with!

Click HERE to see Shelly's challenge!  And remember to tweet our your creations using the #EduLS hashtag!  Happy Learning!