tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89759172311581269442024-02-19T07:28:26.742-05:00tales of a techy teacherKammas Kerschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17710824599891279977noreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975917231158126944.post-54013826028854371492021-01-12T21:53:00.001-05:002021-01-12T21:53:01.997-05:00Looking Back on 2020 and Forward to 2021<p>In 2020, I spent some time reflecting on the events of the previous year and setting some goals for the new year and I want to do the same thing this year. I love goal setting. I have loved setting and working towards goals since I started doing it as a part of my martial arts training when I was a kid. 2020 threw us all for a loop and our goals were no exception. I am excited to share some 202 reflections with you and my goals for 2021. Writing our goals down helps hold us accountable and blogging is a great way to do that.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX9Skv2dshyI-_5k8bYJ8kbRv2wzzCkaharSQztMyztP3uQlx_m1wfUZGaLA56PnaMMumSbuui6Tmc0UpSjdSUFS6MmB69dHMTnvdYXiAeFJaHdYA8s4KsTQ7IMYFogpkHgqSajLKsLKFV/s2048/motivation.+there+is+no+better+way.+Looking+Back+on+2020+and+Forward+to+2021.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX9Skv2dshyI-_5k8bYJ8kbRv2wzzCkaharSQztMyztP3uQlx_m1wfUZGaLA56PnaMMumSbuui6Tmc0UpSjdSUFS6MmB69dHMTnvdYXiAeFJaHdYA8s4KsTQ7IMYFogpkHgqSajLKsLKFV/w400-h225/motivation.+there+is+no+better+way.+Looking+Back+on+2020+and+Forward+to+2021.png" width="400" /></a></div><b style="background-color: white; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: 15px;">Looking Back on 2020 ⏪</b><br /><b style="background-color: white; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: 15px;"><br /></b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 15px;">Last year, I said I hoped to earn my 6th degree black belt. Unfortunately, a sprained ankle and global pandemic delayed that testing, but I will be testing this year! I reapplied for testing on January 1 and I am ramping up my training to be ready. I wanted to challenge myself professionally and I am excited to share that I took a started a new opportunity in June. I made the difficult decision to leave the classroom and I am now an educational innovation specialist. Lastly, I wanted to find more joy in each day and while 2020 certainly challenged me, I am grateful for the extra time with my husband and our puppies. There was a lot of joy in 2020. </span><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 15px;">Here are a few of the parts of 2020 I'm most grateful for:</span><br /><ol><li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px;"><b>Coached my mock trial team to the state finals, again!</b> Coaching mock trial was one of my absolute favorite parts of teaching and it was one of the hardest things to leave. In February, for the second time in state history, my team made it to the finals. While we didn't win, we bonded as a team and I have never been more proud of my kids or grateful for my partner in coaching. </span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 15px;"><b>Starting a new job!</b> Leaving my work family and students was incredibly difficult, but it was the right choice for me at the time. In my new role as an innovation specialist, I love the work I am doing and the people I get to do it with. I am getting to support teachers, schools, and districts with STEM and Ed Tech programming. Each day is a new adventure and I am having so much fun growing and learning.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px;"><b>Getting a second puppy! </b>In August, my husband and I rescued our Marvel girl and welcome her to our family. She loves playing with her big brother, stealing our socks, and getting lots of snuggles. She has been a wonderful part of this crazy year. </span></span></li></ol><div><span style="font-family: times, times new roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px;"><b>Looking Forward to 2021 </b></span><span style="font-size: 15px;"><b>⏩</b></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: 15px;">While I was under no assumptions that 2021 would be magically better than 2020, I am looking forward towards working on my own goals throughout the year.</span></div><div><ol><li><b style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: 15px;">Earn my 6th degree black belt! </b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: 15px;">While I had every intention of testing last year, that wasn't able to happen. I am working through a few injuries, but well on the way to being recovered and ready to test. I've started adding yoga back into my routine as well to get my body back in tip top shape. July cannot get here soon enough so I can earn those two stars on my belt.</span></li><li><b style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: 15px;">Start presenting again! </b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 15px;">I first realized how much I loved working with and teaching educators when I started presenting at conferences. The more I presented, the more fun I had and the more I learned about myself. I slowed down over the last 18 months as I changed jobs and worked towards other goals. This year I will be presenting at PETE & C and hopefully ISTE and CSTA🤞! </span></li><li><b style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: 15px;">Let myself slow down!</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 15px;"> One of the blessings of the stay at home order was that I was forced to slow down a little bit. I tend to be on the run and involved in a number of things. I have always been like this and surrounded myself with other people who do the same, making it feel very normal. Slowing down has helped me be healthier and more relaxed and I plan to do so purposefully throughout 2021. </span></li></ol><div><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">I hope and pray your 2021 is full of many healthy, wondrous days and that each day brings new learning opportunities! </span></span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">Happy New Year!</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">-K</span></span></div></div>Kammas Kerschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17710824599891279977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975917231158126944.post-7145943833906777292020-12-16T22:38:00.003-05:002020-12-16T22:52:06.440-05:00Say Goodbye to Snow Days<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTj3P6uS_0E889rM4W4wZp3DaAqh6SlF8fCOq5n_CfPDxucj0NHXoxUD7V91cSC28B0bBatdB9LASJQxUxhKNbcaO7gFSsvLbeypqGYPMad-keb75n670IVOPOg_RV5wy1uXvz1pxZpksh/s2048/filip-bunkens-R5SrmZPoO40-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTj3P6uS_0E889rM4W4wZp3DaAqh6SlF8fCOq5n_CfPDxucj0NHXoxUD7V91cSC28B0bBatdB9LASJQxUxhKNbcaO7gFSsvLbeypqGYPMad-keb75n670IVOPOg_RV5wy1uXvz1pxZpksh/s320/filip-bunkens-R5SrmZPoO40-unsplash.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Today as I worked from my home office, I was able to look out my window and watch the snow fall. As the flakes fell, I did not wonder if school would be cancelled or if I would need to wake up for work tomorrow because for me snow days are a thing of the past. Over the last nine months, across all industries, we have innovated in how we work and how we learn. What once used to be confined to one building can now take place anywhere that internet access is available. Many of us have likely experienced our last snow day thanks to distance learning and working from home. </p><p>As a student and a teacher, I enjoyed many a snow day, particularly having grown up in New England. Snow days brought the excitement of watching the news at 6am to see if your school's name would scroll over the bottom of the screen and time to make snowmen in the yard. Over my years in the classroom, snow days started to fade away as my school introduced cyber days. These cyber days would likely now be called asynchronous virtual days. They required teachers to post learning activities and students to complete assignments. Learning was able to continue regardless if classes were held in the building, so traditional snow days faded away.</p><p>Since March 13, we have watched educators everywhere flip their classes upside down to deliver effective learning experiences virtually. There is no reason to expect this to stop now that there is snow on the ground. While some schools have discussed letting the first snow day of the year be a "real snow day", others are sharing that tomorrow will be a virtual learning day, where students and teachers will follow a pre-established routine. </p><p>Opinions vary on whether students should have snow days that allow them to play in snow or if they should log onto Zoom. Regardless of your opinion, it remains a fact that we have identified ways to largely eliminate the need for snow days from a logistical standpoint. Schools and districts now have plans in place for how to quickly transition to remote learning. </p><p>As we proceed through what looks to be a snowy Winter, we will see how things unfold. Will schools keep traditional snow days? Will virtual learning take place every time it snows? Will schools find a balance between the two? Just as educational institutions have stepped up to the challenge since March, I have great confidence we will continue to see innovation in response to this latest question. </p><p>Enjoy the snow! ❆</p>Kammas Kerschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17710824599891279977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975917231158126944.post-30346249949833479102020-12-09T12:33:00.002-05:002020-12-09T12:33:23.821-05:00It's the Most Wonderful Week of the Year: CS Ed Week 2020<p> Happy Computer Science Education Week! As a computer science educator, this is by far one of my favorite times of year. I love having an excuse to talk CS all week and know every day this week new students are being introduced to the magic of computer science!</p><p>In a perfect world, every student would learn computer science all year long, but CS Ed Week puts the spotlight on providing these opportunities. Through Hour of Code, panel discussions, and guest speakers, students are able to imagine a future for themselves in computer science. This is crucial. "CS education has been linked with higher rates of college enrollment and improved problem-solving abilities" (<a href="http://www.westcoastanalytics.com/uploads/6/9/6/7/69675515/longitudinal_study_-_combined_report_final_3_10_20__jgq_.pdf" target="_blank">Brown & Brown, 2020</a>; <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3328778.3366808" target="_blank">Salehi et al., 2020</a>). For students who are female or are from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, exposure to CS is even more important. There is a lack of diversity in the CS workforce and as educators, we can take steps towards opportunities for all. </p><p><b>How can you get involved? Here are three easy ways to include a little computer science magic in your classes this week, no matter what subject area you teach. </b></p><p>1. Give your students an hour to take part in <a href="https://hourofcode.com/us" target="_blank">Hour of Code</a>. Participate with them. Students in every grade level enjoy watching their teachers try new things with them. This is also a great way to build community with your students, which is especially important if you are currently teaching remotely. </p><p>2. Show your students how computer science is connected to your content area. Have students make a list of the apps or websites related to your content (or jobs in that field). Each one of those apps was created by a computer scientist! Give students the space to brainstorm their own app in your content area. Students can even develop their own <a href="https://www.apple.com/education/docs/app-showcase-guide.pdf" target="_blank">app prototype</a>. </p><p>3. Involve your community. Reach out to alumni, families, and community members to connect to people who are currently using computer science in their jobs. Invite them to create a 5 minute video to share with your students or join a class Zoom call. Students love to see people that look like them actively doing computer science. </p><p>Thank you for all you do to share computer science! I look forward to hearing all about it. Join #delachat slow Twitter chat this week to share the magic of CS Ed Week!</p>Kammas Kerschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17710824599891279977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975917231158126944.post-29236655862827890252020-09-24T17:01:00.002-04:002020-09-24T17:01:20.131-04:00Whiteboard Tools for Remote Instruction<p> I wanted to take a few minutes to address some FAQs regarding whiteboard tools to use during remote instruction. Here are a few of my favorite tools in a variety of categories.</p><p><b>My Favorite Tool for Instructional Video Creating: </b><span style="color: #5ab3b4;"><b>Explain Everything</b></span></p><p>I spent years using <a href="https://explaineverything.com/">Explain Everything</a> to create videos for my classes to implement in my flipped classroom. I love that you can use the whiteboard to draw, type, or annotate. I found it especially useful that you can important PDFs and then zoom in and out as you're recording and annotating. You can download the videos after and upload them to YouTube or Google Drive. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNZRW_-q-qcuLbVP2z98hPh2BMUX9coxzd8lfjiQq2GPXKnSOt6WV_meyOhLhDsV0sA6LjHhnjqMGpndumAghR5zo7s67zRlBKb3mUc7nrMTmoTVN9O7-Mev2iqlVtVTD7SvQJQfMzvifT/s2048/Screen+Shot+2020-09-24+at+4.35.01+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1058" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNZRW_-q-qcuLbVP2z98hPh2BMUX9coxzd8lfjiQq2GPXKnSOt6WV_meyOhLhDsV0sA6LjHhnjqMGpndumAghR5zo7s67zRlBKb3mUc7nrMTmoTVN9O7-Mev2iqlVtVTD7SvQJQfMzvifT/s320/Screen+Shot+2020-09-24+at+4.35.01+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><b>My Favorite Tool for Collaborative White Boarding: <span style="color: #5ab3b4;">Google Jamboard</span></b></p><p><span>Google <a href="https://jamboard.google.com/">Jamboard</a> is a hidden gem of the Google suite! You can access it by going into your Google Drive and using the button to add a new document, choosing "more", and then selecting Jamboard. Jamboard is collaborative, just like the rest of the Google tools we use all the time! You can add sticky notes, annotate, and even add images! </span></p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiltddJwIVJFdD1__vFD9JQshvdTxcHoK8uNkv5sEptAFSPoeMYz5TiRIgexdSmEVa5jDZXL-FJsgtcsgtmbt9WCyprJqyJ2S5Tekbz-k02ni1Ddo5Jz50q7dnhqbLiJFslRrjxPpG2VRCt/s2048/Screen+Shot+2020-09-24+at+4.23.07+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1083" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiltddJwIVJFdD1__vFD9JQshvdTxcHoK8uNkv5sEptAFSPoeMYz5TiRIgexdSmEVa5jDZXL-FJsgtcsgtmbt9WCyprJqyJ2S5Tekbz-k02ni1Ddo5Jz50q7dnhqbLiJFslRrjxPpG2VRCt/s320/Screen+Shot+2020-09-24+at+4.23.07+PM.png" width="320" /></a></b></div><b><p><b><br /></b></p>My Favorite Tool for Video Call Annotating: <span style="color: #5ab3b4;">Zoom</span></b><p></p><p><a href="https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/205677665-Sharing-a-whiteboard">Zoom</a> is a fabulous tool for video calls and synchronous meetings, but the annotation features are often forgotten. There are two ways to share your screen and have your students participating: 1) sharing your screen to an image or document and having students use the annotation features or 2) using the whiteboard in Zoom, found after you choose to share your screen. These tools are easy to use and included in Zoom. Be aware that the whiteboard does not work on Chromebooks. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPOtGsXCdf3t4IK2jKB7CdVvWU4Er9TsFxCk701PEAJ9MotcAQlQ9et56xkQsl-f_w6kXmm-refh2U5o0bvW5VaSRidTU1FDRpmrmZmDD9iLER_-jPivrWV64FW17ebL6fCO19SbgBNKpD/s2048/Screen+Shot+2020-09-24+at+4.38.52+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1294" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPOtGsXCdf3t4IK2jKB7CdVvWU4Er9TsFxCk701PEAJ9MotcAQlQ9et56xkQsl-f_w6kXmm-refh2U5o0bvW5VaSRidTU1FDRpmrmZmDD9iLER_-jPivrWV64FW17ebL6fCO19SbgBNKpD/s320/Screen+Shot+2020-09-24+at+4.38.52+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p>Kammas Kerschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17710824599891279977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975917231158126944.post-28124748626250493442020-08-13T18:22:00.002-04:002020-08-13T18:24:51.027-04:00Spring 2020: The Pandemic Classroom ExperienceIf you had asked me March 1st how I thought this Spring would go, I would have responded with something like, "Should be a smooth end of the year. I am excited to see my kids at prom, complete a service project with my team, celebrate my students completing AP CSP exams, and create pop rockets in my chem classes." If you had asked me two weeks later, I would have said that the remainder of the year was going to be the wildest ride of my career. <div><br /></div><div>This Spring helped me realize how much I am capable when firing on all cylinders. I was reminded how to function on very little sleep and more RedBull than I'd like to admit to. I learned how quickly I could redesign curriculum, develop lesson plans, and create professional learning experiences. I think most teachers would agree, this semester was memorable to say the least. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivvnax9WKSA-eXBRMsnUMhAQSvgXoK9YhotPcLiR_8UrDrZZTsjU8MIttA7ANy05aCSlv5VFVh_oOQ5gozH6TYY5daLN2XYclj2LS5B7-F4noRi5BK50CgQJuYiGaPy_8uLFjNSE_PytvZ/s2048/_I+think+most+teachers+would+agree%252C+this+semester+was+memorable+to+say+the+least._.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivvnax9WKSA-eXBRMsnUMhAQSvgXoK9YhotPcLiR_8UrDrZZTsjU8MIttA7ANy05aCSlv5VFVh_oOQ5gozH6TYY5daLN2XYclj2LS5B7-F4noRi5BK50CgQJuYiGaPy_8uLFjNSE_PytvZ/s640/_I+think+most+teachers+would+agree%252C+this+semester+was+memorable+to+say+the+least._.png" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>These are the the things that I will remember most of all:</div><div><br /></div><div><b>1. I will remember how resilient our students and educators were.</b> </div><div><br /></div><div>Teaching is really hard. This Spring, our educators made the impossible possible from learning new technology on the fly to transforming their homes into classrooms to caring for their families while managing virtual classrooms. They didn't give up, they gave their all everyday, just as they are getting ready to do for the new school year. In my eyes, children are amongst the most resilient people on the planet. A child can fall off their bike and scrape their knee and be back attempting to ride that same bike an hour later. In the same vein, we saw children dive into virtual learning and show their faith in their teachers. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>2. I will remember when I realized how important self-care is.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>About two weeks into distance learning, I remember coming out of our home office after a late night Zoom call and crying. I was so overwhelmed. I didn't know how to be everything everyone needed me to be. I was exhausted and missing my carefully prepared meals that I used to plan. I was missing my regular workouts and social interactions. I am an extrovert and those interactions fuel my work. After a good cry (read: a cry and a glass of wine), I made a new plan. I decided to create some new routines: morning yoga, walking outside at lunch, regularly working out, and making sure there was time every evening where my computer would be closed.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>3. I will remember how learning continued.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Teachers leaned on each other, learned to build relationships over Zoom and kept the learning going. I know at my school, we didn't even miss 1 day of learning! Lessons were transformed and choice boards were created. Teachers didn't just teach, they learned. Professional learning opportunities were created over night to support the required shift and teachers rose to the challenge. </div><div><br /></div><div>I hope that soon it will be safe for students and teachers to return to learning and teaching as normal. I also hope that we learn from the unique situation we were thrust into and we don't try to go back to doing education the exact same way that we used to "because it's the way it's always been done."</div>Kammas Kerschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17710824599891279977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975917231158126944.post-32297500592330325512020-06-29T22:01:00.001-04:002020-06-29T22:01:28.980-04:00Flipgrid LIVE 2020 TakeawaysFirst, let me say that I love this company. 💚I started using Flipgrid several years ago and was drawn to not only the tool, but the community that it built around the mission of empowering student voice. Over the years, they have continued to impress me by how they listen to their community, constantly innovate, and stay true to their mission of empowering every voice. Tonight during Flipgrid LIVE 2020, I was blown away by the new features.<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmCxrnPO9YhWL3sq6ZQPQp5K6u7YXHevS9jv-dP5vOiiK6jDYUP1iFirV1n5J0SWGAqI0uyHDjdIsO0F7MSg1L-mGwAyvZW-eeBa8g7RZ8_TzSS0svSJwgwtKduWINqTxlym3d1af3sWBc/s1199/gf.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="673" data-original-width="1199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmCxrnPO9YhWL3sq6ZQPQp5K6u7YXHevS9jv-dP5vOiiK6jDYUP1iFirV1n5J0SWGAqI0uyHDjdIsO0F7MSg1L-mGwAyvZW-eeBa8g7RZ8_TzSS0svSJwgwtKduWINqTxlym3d1af3sWBc/s320/gf.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /><div><br /></div><div>My Fave 5 Features:</div><div><br /></div><div>💚TEXT COMMENTS- I have wanted this feature for SO long! When I'm giving each student feedback and want them to see the feedback in class, it will be way easier to let them read it then all have to put on headphones. I love that they can be public or private as sometimes comments are for discussion and sometimes they are individual feedback that does not need to be seen by classmates. </div><div>💚MIC MODE- This is amazing! As a high school teacher, my students don't always want to show their faces when they are sharing their voice. They have gotten creative over the years using filters, stickers, or images, but this will give my learners so much more confidence to share!</div><div>💚LANGSTON LEAGUE- Flipgrid announced that Langston League's new series "Decolonized" will be in the Disco Library! This is amazing. It is our job as educators to ensure that EVERY student in our classrooms is represented. This resource will help students be able to learn Black history through age appropriate resources paired with questions that will help them think and reflect. </div><div>💚TOPIC FIRST DESIGN- For years I have taught several sections of chemistry and it would have been sooo much easier to make my topic once and then just check off the different groups (formerly known as grids) that I wanted it to appear it. I am also pumped that we can now make stand alone topics. This will be so helpful for school wide events and such that don't warrant a full group. </div><div>💚GIFS- I am mostly just excited about this one because I love Gifs! I know my students will love that they can be even more creative when designing their Flipgrid videos now that they can add Gifs to the videos and adjust the layering of the things they add!</div><div><br /></div><div>I cannot WAIT to see what else Charlie and the team at Flipgrid have in store for this fabulous community.</div></div>Kammas Kerschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17710824599891279977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975917231158126944.post-53471135131886738442020-05-16T23:18:00.001-04:002020-05-16T23:21:50.865-04:00An Open Letter to the Class of 2020Dear Class of 2020,<div><br /></div><div>I know you are hurting. I know you are missing your friends, your prom, your graduation, your proper goodbyes to high school. I feel for you and I hurt for you. You are allowed to grieve these moments that you will never get back in a traditional way. I also know that what you have demonstrated during quarantine is strength. You as a class are strong. You have handled these new challenges with grace and resilience that most of us did not have at your age. </div><div><br /></div><div>I am so proud of you. You give us hope for a bright future full of your creativity and positivity. I also know that this challenge does not define you. This will be a memory, a strong memory, that stays with you over time. You will tell your children and grandchildren about how you, the class of 2020, gave the world hope during a pandemic unlike anything the world had ever seen. What you will also tell them is how you rallied, how you celebrated graduations over Zoom, birthdays with car parades, and used Tik Tok as a way to share these experiences with the world. You are innovative. You are creative. You are the future and I am so grateful for that. </div><div><br /></div><div>Because of this experience, we are all changed. You will go forward with a different outlook than classes before you because you have are entering the world during a different time. I know you are making college decisions while knowing that your first semester of college may look a little different. You are mourning final sports seasons and school plays. You are saying goodbyes to teachers, coaches, peers, and classmates over videos and from many feet away. While this isn't fair or fun or what you had hoped for, it is the world we are living in right now, but it won't be forever. </div><div><br /></div><div>I hope when you look back, you can see all the silver linings. I hope you can see how your sacrifice of giving up prom and graduation kept your classmates safe that are immunocompromised. I hope you can see how your confidence in technology inspired your parents, teachers, and mentors to use it to bring you virtual events. I hope you can see how you have grown stronger and more resilient from this experience. I hope you can see how proud we are of you for not giving up and for finding the strength to conquer each day. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghaeH2UweEc6IvstLxRrhIPE6o6Rrjk3j3Hce5QPc8oSFq1yZC1molLxMTU6hpetXK5jg67itIzL_ESQmW9IcceOebCttn-rsPCsuVmNCl85H723EYg706Pxx2oz_hG8q4Wpq7rN2rPTBE/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="560" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghaeH2UweEc6IvstLxRrhIPE6o6Rrjk3j3Hce5QPc8oSFq1yZC1molLxMTU6hpetXK5jg67itIzL_ESQmW9IcceOebCttn-rsPCsuVmNCl85H723EYg706Pxx2oz_hG8q4Wpq7rN2rPTBE/w400-h225/The+Passion+Project.png" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />In the Gospel of Matthew we hear the following verse: "I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, `Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." I know these days may feel like mountains that you will never be able to climb, but I urge you to hold steadfast to your mustard seed. A little bit of faith and positivity will take you a long way on days like these. You, class of 2020, have already done the impossible. You have graduated during a time when the world seemed to stop turning. You showed us that it most certainly has not. </div><div><br /></div><div>You are the future. You are leaders and innovators. You are movers and shakers. You are change makers. I know today is hard and scary, but the future is bright because you will be leading the way. I look forward to the journeys that you are all about to begin. So keep your chin up and keep your faith strong. Adventure awaits. </div><div><br /></div><div>And when you need a word of advice or a reminder of how far you've come. I'll still be here cheering for you all the way. </div><div><br /></div><div>Congratulations! I am so proud of you. </div><div><br /></div><div>Sincerely,</div><div>Your high school teacher</div>Kammas Kerschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17710824599891279977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975917231158126944.post-1150339095083918282020-05-13T14:27:00.004-04:002020-05-13T14:32:45.844-04:00Remote Learning - What's working? At my school, we are now 8 weeks into remote learning. I keep thinking about how I've already taught more weeks remotely than we have left in the school year. It completely blows my mind. At no time in my career did I think in that in the year 2020 I would spend 3+ months teaching from my house. This time has been a whirlwind of emotions for me. My husband is an essential worker in healthcare so there is the daily stress of him going out, the stress of me not going out, trying to find work life balance when both take place at home, and remembering to go outside everyday to get sunshine. I know our students are struggling with many of the same as well as additional stressors. So here are a few things that I have found to be working in this new world of remote learning. <div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqn6dqBDlZUd0dEnq19NmJRxEE74vMgM3n2XGBfqgf2ONiQ93Vrwk-BfgKlgd0mbcES5hlEJo2YF-UCe1loAYNHyEztd-tWfbVP76yey7IaZgY3DpOyOpJ0GA4HRFVWibcUs95r3NuBpPO/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="560" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqn6dqBDlZUd0dEnq19NmJRxEE74vMgM3n2XGBfqgf2ONiQ93Vrwk-BfgKlgd0mbcES5hlEJo2YF-UCe1loAYNHyEztd-tWfbVP76yey7IaZgY3DpOyOpJ0GA4HRFVWibcUs95r3NuBpPO/w400-h225/Blogging+Tips+LinkedIn+Post+Header.png" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /><div><br /></div><div><b>1. Flexibility -</b> I have found it to be critical to lead with compassion and grace. I have increased my flexibility on due dates and live participation. I need my students to know that I'm here for them and I support them. I know that learning right now does not look the same for all my students so I am doing my best to differentiate and be attentive to their individual needs. This has meant a lot of parent emails and a lot of conversations with our school counselors, which is a good thing. Communication is always a plus. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>2. Peardeck -</b> I have been a fan of <a href="https://www.peardeck.com/">Peardeck</a> for a long time, but I have found it to be super helpful during Zoom lessons. It has been the best way for me to engage all my learners, provide immediate feedback to those who are struggling, and highlight students who are doing well with praise. My students truly enjoy participating in it and I love that I can see their work in realtime! Several other teachers at my school have also started using Peardeck and are big fans!</div><div><br /></div><div><b>3. Flipped Learning -</b> I am in my 7th year of teaching chemistry through flipped learning and I have to say that it made the transition to remote learning much less jarring. My students were already used to receive direct instruction in my voice via videos created in Explain Everything. My classes were used to using class time to practice and get immediate feedback on their progress. I was already used to chunking my content into 6-10 minute videos in order to provide the best experience. I have been an advocate of flipped learning for a long time, but this experience has definitely sold me on it. I even had alumni reach out and let me know that their experience in my class made the transition to an online semester of college easier. </div><div><br /></div><div>Stay tuned for more take aways and resources for remote learning!</div><div>-K</div><div><br /></div></div>Kammas Kerschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17710824599891279977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975917231158126944.post-11607813869858728152020-04-18T19:32:00.003-04:002020-04-18T19:32:47.880-04:00My Launch of Distance LearningIn early March, I started to get nervous. I found myself married to a healthcare worker and having a gut feeling that my school day was about to become very different. I started to hear about other states implementing plans in case they needed to go to distance learning. I found myself constantly talking to my coworkers about what it might mean for us and when it might happen. I can only compare that Thursday to when you look at the sky and just know that a blizzard is on its way. They were forecasting a storm like we had never seen. We didn't know it yet, but it was going to hit the following afternoon.<br />
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Wednesday I started planning the essentials and identifying the tech that I wanted to test on Thursday before it would be required to launch. Thursday was spent writing plans and resource documents for teachers. Thursday I got the go ahead- we would indeed repurpose Friday's staff day and I would have time to train teachers on how to conduct distance learning. I can only describe the next 24 hours as fueled by Red Bull and my love of my students and teachers. I have no idea how I created all the resources I did and planned for Friday's PD. I am incredibly grateful for friends in other local schools who were willing to brainstorm and discuss in those two days.<br />
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Ultimately, here is what I prioritized as the most important to kick off distance learning.<br />
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1. <b>Student and Teacher Expectations</b> - This was and continues to be critical! What is expected each day? For us, these expectations related to assignments being posted to our LMS, office hours, methods of communication, and expected workloads (for teachers and students). Since then, we have started running shortened live classes a couple times a week and of course we updated our expectations. In the words of Brene Brown "clear is kind" and if we want our community to be successful, we need to communicate clearly.<br />
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2. <b>Using the LMS</b> - We use onCampus (from Blackbaud) as our LMS and as we went into our distance learning launch, it was critical that all faculty were comfortable using the tools for posting assignments and communicating with their classes. We have since conducted additional training on other features!<br />
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3. <b>Video Calls</b> - We launched with Google Meet and we spent that day training teachers on using Meet and how to get students onto a call. That meant that we needed to have some school wide norms for being on these calls. We created and shared these that first training day. Since then, we have moved to Zoom since it is more robust for running live calls and has a multitude of other features that help us to continue to function most effectively.<br />
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4. <b>Asynchronous Content Delivery </b>- We did not hold our first live classes on Zoom until our third week of distance learning. The first two weeks, teachers created resources for their students to be able to learn the content. I trained teachers on screen recording on iPad, creating videos using Explain Everything, and adding audio to Keynote slides.<br />
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5. <b>Set the Tone</b> - I list this one last, but it is the most important. The tone of that day was crucial. It is okay to be scared of new, hard, unknown things. I have never been trained on how to change my pedagogy during a pandemic and no one else had either. Just like we set the mood and tone of our classes for our students, as school leaders in this moment of chaos, we set a tone of calm and a tone of unity. I continue to say "You can do hard things. Don't give up. Just do your best."<br />
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Praying for all teachers, students, and families as we continue to navigate these waters.<br />
-K<br />
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<br />Kammas Kerschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17710824599891279977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975917231158126944.post-71335023779794882282020-03-01T21:38:00.002-05:002020-03-01T21:38:36.969-05:003 Activities to Get You Started With Google Sheets on iPadI love Google Sheets and I know you will too! So many teachers I know are not sure how to get started because spreadsheets can be intimidating. Try these 3 activities to get started.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Activity 1- Averaging Scores</span></b><br />
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<ol>
<li>Create a new sheet</li>
<li>In the top row label the first three boxes:</li>
<li>First Name | Last Name | Score</li>
<li>Type in sample data for 5 students</li>
<li>In the bottom row, for student name type “average”</li>
<li>In the cell under all the scores type</li>
<li>=average(</li>
<li>While still in the cell, select all the scores you want to average</li>
<li>At the bottom of your sheet, click on the tab and rename it “averaging”</li>
</ol>
<div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-0d106ec0-7fff-6ae4-8144-76ce421c53fa"><img height="189" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/JGJ4laQ_IHvcTz4E_nNOdQTweJFu1DJ_3_rsPcuJW_JyVPWKnu3I_-rD87TOhlvUMSKqHm9oEvs3UoyHNy5kjL4axuiUJoTRk8Xqg8Hb58G7Rg2OsnncD7nXOPPPq4mDtH4TZ5sRJLw" width="320" /></span></div>
<div>
<span><br /></span></div>
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<span><b><span style="color: orange;">Activity 2- Sorting Data</span></b></span></div>
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<div>
<ol>
<li>At the bottom of your sheet from activity 1, click on the tab and select “duplicate”</li>
<li>Rename you new tab “sorting”</li>
<li>In your sorting tab, delete the row with the averages and the row with the titles</li>
<li>Tap C and then use the > to find “Sort A-Z” </li>
<li>This will sort your data by column C (by grade)</li>
<li>Tac B and then use the > to find “Sort A-Z” </li>
<li>This will sort your data by column B (last name)</li>
</ol>
</div>
<div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-911568f7-7fff-6122-d6a8-57a6beeb9537"><img height="137" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/z5peExNBYxzt4Z4nVJjYEAxcZACu6lkRSaTkobIsDxDXrp4VlKAQsN7wGQft3k4f3OXyAbCGhMuZJqmKBOd-BhmAb1PrUmAHeKT5JwD_ye82ndePCdUnZeBc9XpO_5-NqWvoiSvSaQg" width="320" /></span></div>
<div>
<span><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span><b><span style="color: orange;">Activity 3- Visualizing Data</span></b></span></div>
<div>
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<div>
<span><div>
<ol>
<li>At the bottom of your sheet from activity 1, click on the tab and select “duplicate”</li>
<li>Rename you new tab “visualizing”</li>
<li>Label the first column “Days” and type Monday through Friday below</li>
<li>In column B, type Number of students and type random numbers next to each day</li>
<li>Highlight all data and tap the + sign and add a chart</li>
</ol>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-3f1b2c39-7fff-877d-1e82-22175e51d675"><img height="173" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/RHMvwoa9fpRVIadDEi11QSqIJQ2yPNFGbNsvGF3uZn3odZrDXbk-CcQ52x4sA2FBpG6Xu_QXwsl8jT_Ga6zR6H8ADcJfeROlHAYT5Juxv_Uzwusx8tz2JR75EHGeTxxX9eX_WVfbd5Y" width="400" /></span><br />
<span><br /></span>
<span>Enjoy getting started with Sheets on iPad!</span><br />
<span>-K</span><br />
<br />Kammas Kerschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17710824599891279977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975917231158126944.post-91242824929380210972020-02-23T22:20:00.002-05:002020-02-23T22:33:15.444-05:00Learning Soft Skills Through CompetitionThis time last year, I posted a <a href="http://www.talesofatechyteacher.com/2019/02/a-reflection-on-vulnerability.html">Reflection on Vulnerability</a>. I was hoping with my whole heart, that this year I'd be posting on the power of not giving up and finally achieving the success that you hope for. I'm not. Instead, I'm sharing my reflection on how the toughest moments of competition help our young people learn crucial life skills.<br />
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As previous posts have mentioned, I have been coaching mock trial since I started teaching. It is one of the greatest joys of my career in education because it provides me an opportunity to get to work closely with and get to know an incredible group of students each year. We spend four months preparing and then have one weekend of competition at the end of February.<br />
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Last year, we graduated an incredibly talented group of seniors after having made it to the finals for the first time in school history. The whole team knew the challenge that this season presented, but were determined to make it back to the finals. Over the course of the season I saw my students grow, not only in the skills needed for competition, but in skills that will last them a lifetime. After an incredible season, they did indeed make it to the finals and I am so proud of them. They did not win the championship they hoped for, but left it all in the courtroom and I could not have asked fo anything more.<br />
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Throughout the season, I saw them grow in many areas and this weekend's competition only solidified my observations.<br />
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1. Leadership- Preparing a team to compete at the highest levels is not possible without strong, selfless student leadership. This season, I watched as my captains worked tirelessly to build a culture that would support their end goal. Effective leadership is not always easy and requires sharing honest feedback, putting in the time to lead by example, and helping others over yourself. It is even harder to be an effective leader when you are not the only one because you have to learn how to collaborate and work as equals for the betterment of the larger group. I was blown away as I watched my captains navigate these challenging waters effectively and give each other credit for the role each played.<br />
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2. Confident Attitude- My students frequently hear me say "it's not what you say, it's how you say it" as we regularly discuss the importance of choosing to portray what you're doing with confidence. Choosing to be positive, effects your outlook, performance, and ability to achieve your goals. This season, especially at competition, I was incredibly impressed with my students' ability to choose confidence and positivity. We had a student come down with the flu and had to make a last minute roster change. The team rallied and it became an opportunity to find confidence in something new, rather than stress over a very last minute change.<br />
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3. Resilience- Loss is one of the greatest lessons you can learn from competition, and it is an incredibly hard pill to swallow. After going into the finals undefeated and feeling very confident about their performance, my students did not win the championship. While no part of me wants for my students to ever feel this way, I am doing my best to see this as an opportunity to learn resilience. So many times in life, we feel like we are the most qualified, best prepared, or most deserving and things don't go our way. I would wish the heartache my students are feeling on no one, but am confident that the resiliency that they are learning will help them in future moments of their lives. I hope they will look back and be able to see this incredibly difficult day as a time they felt supported and cared for while learning a crucial life lesson.<br />
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When life hands you lemons, make lemonade. Today, my team is hurting and I am hurting for them. Watching their hurt is heartbreaking. As competitors, we cannot change results, all we can do is choose how we respond and which lessons we let those results teach us along the way.Kammas Kerschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17710824599891279977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975917231158126944.post-16396323526373527272020-01-13T11:00:00.000-05:002020-02-05T20:23:54.477-05:00Periodic Table BattleshipA few months back I shared that my favorite game is periodic table battleship on Twitter. I first stumbled across a version of this game when I was researching for activities to do as a student teacher many years ago. Since then, I have adapted the game for my students and my purposes. Here is how we play.<br />
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<u>Learning Goals</u><br />
I use this game as review, but it certainly could be put other places in the unit. It is effective way to get students practicing electron configurations and noble gas notations.<br />
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<u>Class Setup</u><br />
To get started, I give each student a laminated periodic table. It works just as well use periodic tables in plastic page protectors. Each student also needs a dry-erase marker and somewhere to do scrap work.<br />
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<u>Game Setup</u><br />
Each student should set up 2 "ships" on their game board (periodic table). This is done by outlining a chunk of elements. I tell my students to do a ship of 3 and a ship of 4. The elements must be next to each other vertically or horizontally.<br />
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<u>Game Play</u><br />
In Battelship, you make guesses using coordinates. In periodic table battleship, students make guesses using electron configurations or noble gas notations. I recommend that their partner confirm the element before telling them if it is a hit or miss.<br />
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An example turn would go like this:<br />
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Player 1: "Do you have a ship at 1s2 2s2 2p6?"<br />
Player 2: "You referring to Neon?"<br />
Player 1: "Yes"<br />
Player 2: "Miss"<br />
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<u>Recommendations</u><br />
My students always have a lot of fun with it. It is ideal to play with partners, but does work in groups of 3 as well. This could very easily be played digitally by annotating an image of a periodic table. On iPad, this could be done using Mark Up in Photos and on Chromebook, the image could be imported and annotated in Google Drawings.<br />
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Please reach out if you have any questions!Kammas Kerschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17710824599891279977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975917231158126944.post-18248465164415898602020-01-04T21:53:00.004-05:002020-01-04T21:57:05.649-05:002020: New Year, New GoalsIn 2019, I spent some time reflecting on the previous year and setting goals for 2018. I enjoyed sharing them with you because I think it is incredibly valuable to write your goals down and to share them with others. I find it helps me stay accountable and I love looking back on the progress I made over the course of the year. I have never been fond of New Year's Resolutions because goal setting should not be a once a year event. I am however very fond of taking time at the beginning of the year to write down what goals I'd like to accomplish by this time next year and I would encourage you to do the same.<br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #747474; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: 15px;">Peace Out 2019 ✌️</b><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #747474; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 15px;">Last year, I said I wanted to bring back #delachat and I am proud to say that I hosted 9 chats last year! We are schedule to start the 2020 chats on Monday. I said I wanted to make moves towards my 6th degree black belt and at the end of December I submitted my application to test because I had fulfilled all the prerequisites. Lastly, I said I wanted to be more flexible and I am thrilled to share that I have added additional flexible seating and changed my outlook on 100% assigned seats. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #747474; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 15px;">Here are a few of my top moments from 2019:</span><br />
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<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #747474; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 15px;"><b>I became an Apple Distinguished Educator!</b> 2019 will forever be a year I remember as the year I was welcomed into the ADE family. This community has pushed me to try new things, encouraged me when I needed it, and continues to help me feel engaged and supported. I cannot wait to see what 2020 brings the ADE community. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #747474; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px;"><b>Coached my mock trial team to the state finals!</b> In my 7th year coaching high school mock trial, we competed in the championship round for the first time in state history. It was one of the most humbling, rewarding, and motivating days of my coaching career. I am so grateful to have a great co-coach and the best group of students to coach.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #747474; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px;"><b>Became debt free! </b> For the last several years, thanks to an introduction from some great friends, my husband and I have been reading Dave Ramsey and working on becoming debt free. We have both worked side hustles and spent 2019 prioritizing this goal. I know 2020 is going to be a great year with this burden gone. </span></span></li>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #747474; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: 15px;">Bring On 2020 </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 15px;">💪</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 15px;">I have had these on my mind for awhile now, so it feels really good to write them down and share them with you. </span></div>
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<li><b style="color: #545454; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: 15px;">Earn my 6th degree black belt! </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 15px;">This year I will celebrate 20 years in the ATA (American Taekwondo Association) and in July, will test for my 6th degree. This year will be about training hard and holding myself accountable because this goal is incredibly important to me. </span></li>
<li><b style="color: #545454; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: 15px;">Challenge myself professionally! </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 15px;">I try to remind myself that leadership is an uncomfortable position and when I feel myself becoming comfortable, it is time to incorporate new challenges. I am looking forward to putting myself out there as a presenter again, diving into AR, and blogging consistently.</span></li>
<li><b style="color: #545454; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: 15px;">Find more joy!</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 15px;"> Over the last several months I have found myself drained, exhausted, and not taking time to enjoy the things that make life the most wonderful. This year I am making a promise to myself to find more joy in each day and to schedule in time for the things that make me the most joyful (lazy days with my husband, weekends with my best friends, and traveling). </span></li>
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<span style="color: #545454; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">I wish you the best 2020 has to offer and that when you come across a bump in the road that you may have a strong support system to help you continue on. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #545454; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">Happy New Year!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #545454; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">-K</span></span></div>
Kammas Kerschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17710824599891279977noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975917231158126944.post-31624703126165983712019-12-17T14:19:00.001-05:002019-12-17T14:30:59.020-05:00Sphero WorkbooksOver the last month, I have started to really delve into using Pages as I created lesson activity guides for Sphero to use with my high school students. I started by using lessons on <a href="https://edu.sphero.com/">https://edu.sphero.com/</a> and adapting them for my students. My favorite part of using Pages is that I can include placeholders for students to take notes, sketch plans, and submit media (images, videos) as evidence of learning.<br />
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The way I structured my unit was that I did the first three lessons (adapted) from the Blockly lessons on Sphero edu and then finished my unit with a cumulative design thinking project. The project required students to (1) sketch out a maze design, (2) measure and create their maze, (3) program the robot to successfully complete the maze, and (4) create a Clips video to demonstrate all the steps they had taken and the finished product.<br />
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I have to say, creating Pages workbooks is so much easier than I thought it would be! I am excited to continue to develop them and share them with you! I saved my workbook as a template so that I didn't have to recreate it each time. I am attaching my template as well as the final project workbook for you to try out. I used these workbooks with students in grades 9 and 12 and had great success! They are easily adaptable to other grade levels.<br />
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HFTEr2rtS4hcLxUqrSzfI_eHYIDMHWOJ/view?usp=sharing">Maze Design Workbook</a><br />
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1X-B8hUX47MxIruBxwAb9OY2TydBSrD_9/view?usp=sharing">Sphero Workbook Template</a><br />
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Best of luck! Have fun!!<br />
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<br />Kammas Kerschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17710824599891279977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975917231158126944.post-83831197694993299462019-12-03T22:24:00.003-05:002019-12-03T22:24:21.978-05:00Video Game Club and a MindshiftIn middle school, I wrote a research paper on all the bad things I could find about video games. I was closed minded and couldn't imagine a case where I would be pitching to my administration all the positives of video games. I never in a million years would have guessed that I would now be overseeing my school's first video game club, but I am and I love it.<br />
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This summer I did an Ignite talk at ISTE. While freaking out backstage, I met Josh Bound, a Pennsylvania educator who I quickly learned was in my Apple Distinguished Educator class. Through that experience I learned about the Video Game Clubs of America and the story behind how the organization was founded. I was inspired by their mission and was finally able to see how video games could be used as a vehicle for social emotional learning and to help students gain confidence.<br />
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Fast forward a few months and a couple of my students came to me about starting a video game club during our activity periods. After a call with Josh to get me up to speed on video games, I was in. We quickly got approval, used the VGC bylaws to put together an exec board and the students planned the first meeting. We had 65 students in attendance!!<br />
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I was blown away. The students cheered for each other, motivated one another, and built each other up. It was unlike anything I had ever seen with video games before. Students in other activities started coming to my door to find out what was going on because "it sounded like a lot of fun". Other adults in the building dropped by to check it out because they couldn't believe VGC was really what all the hype was about.<br />
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We have now had 2 meetings and are planning for the Spring semester. It is so fun and student run! The exec board is learning leadership skills and how to manage an activity and everyone is having fun. If you are at all interested or even a little bit curious, reach out to <a href="https://twitter.com/josh_bound">Josh Bound</a> or go to <a href="http://www.vgcusa.org/">www.vgcusa.org</a>. You'll be glad you did!<br />
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Huge shout-out to Josh for changing my mindset and making a believer out of me.Kammas Kerschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17710824599891279977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975917231158126944.post-21846123990248315902019-11-10T22:23:00.000-05:002019-11-10T22:23:23.636-05:00Finding the Courage to Share Your VoiceOn this chilly Sunday evening, I am reflecting on my last few months and am feeling like I have not been using the voice that I was blessed with. I have been a little absent from my blog and less active in my Twitter presence and I am ready to prioritize using my voice again to share best practices and continue to advocate for teachers and students.<br />
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Why am I feeling inspired tonight? I just watched the Ted Talk my sister in law gave on how she went from ordinary person to advocate. (The Ted Talk is available<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_uqRCJ-olc"> here </a>and I highly suggest you take a 22 minute break from whatever you are doing to go watch it.) Andrea's talk demonstrates the power of using your voice and as an educator I feel passionately that part of my job is to help my students find and use their voice. I want to model this for my students by using my own voice.<br />
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As you may already know, I am a high school teacher. During the four years that my students are in my building, many of them begin to identify topics they feel strongly about, content that interests them, and careers they feel called to pursue. I am always impressed when students begin to take action on those passions. Some of my students have done this through their involvement in programs like Dual School where they learn to be change makers while others have gained the confidence to start their own organizations and non-profits.<br />
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The way I feel tonight after watching Andrea's Ted Talk is how I want to inspire my students to feel. I want them to know that they were blessed with a voice and it is their job to use it to change the world for the better. I want my students to know that persistence and passion will enable them to do things that they currently don't believe are possible. I want them to believe that they have the power to change the world through their actions and voice and I want them to be inspired to do so.<br />
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Thank you to Andrea for reigniting that fire within me and reminding me of the importance of using my voice to amplify student voices each and every day.<br />
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<br />Kammas Kerschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17710824599891279977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975917231158126944.post-73370467184276256432019-08-25T22:41:00.002-04:002019-08-25T22:41:15.510-04:00Takeaways from ADE Institute 2019Let me rewind before I start sharing my takeaways. I have been in awe of the ADE (Apple Distinguished Educator) community for as long as I have known about it. These remarkable educators share selflessly to better others. Knowing it was a long shot, I applied this year to be apart of this community. When I found out I had been accepted as part of the class of 2019, I was in complete shock. I actually handed my phone to my husband and made him read it to make sure I wasn't reading it incorrectly. So before I share my takeaways, let me just say how honored and humbled I am to be counted among some of the most innovative, caring, and passionate educators I have ever met.<br />
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To stay up to date on the work this incredible community is doing and to join the conversation, check out #AppleEduChat on Twitter.<br />
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<u>Top 5 Takeaways - ADE Institute 2019</u><br />
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<ol>
<li><b>Surround yourself with innovative people.</b> My biggest takeaway from institute wasn't an app or a project I planned to create, it was the relationships and the community. From my mentor to my group to the people I sat next to that became future collaborators, this new network has so much to share and offer. I am so excited to have these innovative people to share ideas with and ask for help when I need it. </li>
<li><b>GarageBand and its untapped potential. </b>If I am being completely honest, I have always found GarageBand to be very intimidating. I have never considered myself particularly music inclined and struggled to see its applicability in the classroom. The sessions during Institute opened my eyes and I am excited to see what I can do with it this year!</li>
<li><b>Your story is powerful</b>. Some of my favorite moments during Institute were the Showcases. They helped me to truly see the power of community, but also the effect that your story can have on others. Because of the stories I heard, I am more motivated to refine and share my story with others. </li>
<li><b>Instant Alpha, yes please!</b> Somehow I missed the Instant Alpha train and have only recently jumped onboard, but let me just say this is a game changer! I am so pumped to use Keynote, particularly with Instant Alpha, to help my students be more creative in expressing their understanding. </li>
<li><b>5 days, 5 weeks, 5 months. </b> We are always challenged after attending PD to take it forward and implement, but this was more tangible. In the first 5 days, I reflected. I tweeted. I shared my experience with my teacher friends. As I have now hit the 5 week mark, I am excited to share this blog post and share with you that I have completed my first Pages workbook. In the months to come I hope to create additional workbooks and begin publishing them to the iTunes Bookstore. There is always more to learn. </li>
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This experience was one that I will always remember! I am already excited for my future Institutes and looking forward to staying in touch with the rockstar educators who entered my life this past July. </div>
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Wishing you all a wonderful school year!</div>
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-K</div>
Kammas Kerschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17710824599891279977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975917231158126944.post-10180236248368898002019-07-23T14:08:00.002-04:002019-07-23T14:08:44.766-04:00Takeaways from ISTE 2019Over the summer, I have had the privilege to attend some incredible professional learning events. ISTE has been a highlight of my summer the past two years and I can't wait to share with you what I have learned. I cannot fit all my takeaways into one post, so I'd encourage you to check out the #ISTE19 and #NotAtISTE hashtags on Twitter to see what was going on during the event.<br />
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<u>Top 5 Takeaways - ISTE 2019</u><br />
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<ol>
<li><b>You can use Pages to create self-paced workbooks!</b> If you didn't have the chance to visit the Apple pop-up classroom, I would encourage you to visit the Apple Teacher Learning Center to see what they were sharing. It was so cool to use the Pages workbook to walk through the stations. I can't wait to start creating more in Pages this year!<br /></li>
<li><b>Develop a coaching cycle for your school</b>. I listened to so many tech and instructional coaches share their best practices and while all different, at the heart they centered on the same things. Ultimately, as coaches we want to help our teachers work through the same problem solving cycles that we do our students.<br /></li>
<li><b>Model, model, model</b>. As teachers and leaders in our buildings, it is our job to model effective digital citizenship for our students and colleagues. We also have the awesome responsibility to get to model best practices when it comes to edtech integration. I loved seeing presenters not only talk about the things they use, but actually using those tools in their presentations.<br /></li>
<li><b>UN Sustainable Development Goals are a great place to start!</b> I have heard and seen teachers talking about the UNSDG for years, but had yet to delve into them. In a session with LAUNCH author, AJ Juliani, we actually used them as part of a project and it was so powerful! The resources available are user friendly and help students (and teachers!) to see how they have make a real impact.<br /></li>
<li><b>It is time to reinvent PD.</b> So many of the sessions I went to focused on how to rethink professional learning via coffee edu, podcasts, book studies, individual time, PLCs, innovative newsletters, flipped faculty meetings, and more! I am excited to continue to collaborate with teachers and administrators to best serve our community. </li>
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Also, ISTE is way more fun with friends! Keep sharing your summer PD takeaways and keep your eyes peeled for my post sharing my takeaways from ADE Institute 2019! Have a great summer!</div>
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-K </div>
Kammas Kerschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17710824599891279977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975917231158126944.post-65466012050254481642019-06-20T13:37:00.003-04:002019-06-20T13:54:53.034-04:00Tips for a Successful ISTEWith ISTE19 fast approaching, I have been asked a few times what my recommendations are to have a successful ISTE conference. Here are my top few tips:<br />
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<b>1. Plan for what you want to learn</b> - ISTE is way too big to think that you are going to go and learn everything there is to learn about technology in education. You will get more out of your experience if you focus on a couple of topics. This year I will be focusing on coaching and authentic learning experiences.<br />
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<b>2. Don't just plan for sessions -</b> As educators, we know some of the best learning takes place outside of the classroom and the same is true at ISTE. Take advantage of social events, informal meetups, and the expo hall. These are places tat you will be able to build your network and meet people with common interests and goals.<br />
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<b>3. Arrive prepared - </b>Of course you are going to bring your device, but don't forget to bring a refillable water bottle, snacks, a backpack with lots of room to bring freebies home, and good walking shoes. If you're like me, bring a sweater too. I'm yet to meet a convention center that I'm not cold in.<br />
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<b>4. Tweet it out - </b> If you're not on Twitter, I would consider joining. At the beginning of practically every presentation, the presenters will share their handles with you. This is an incredible opportunity to build your PLN. By building a network of other innovative educators, you'll be able to keep the inspiration you feel at ISTE with you all school year long.<br />
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<b>5. Don't try to do everything - </b>I'll be the first to admit, it is hard to sit anything out, but you have to pace yourself. Do the expo hall in chunks, make sure to take time for meals, and be wary of evening events that can go so late that you won't make it to your early sessions the next morning. There is a fine line between not missing out and not burning out.<br />
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With that, I wish you the best ISTE yet. Where can you find me at ISTE? See you there!<br />
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<br />Kammas Kerschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17710824599891279977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975917231158126944.post-72046724270359236422019-05-31T16:53:00.003-04:002019-05-31T16:54:41.639-04:00It's the Final Countdown (The end of year thoughts)As I finish off the end of this year, today being my last teaching day, I thought I would share my end of year reflections. Reflecting is such an important practice for us as educators and if we effectively model it, our students can use it to become effective learners as well. Blogging is a reflective practice for me and is always a great way to help me share my thoughts (even if I haven't done so for a couple of months, oops!).<br />
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As I think back on the 2018-2019 school year, here are 5 things I learned.<br />
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1. <u>Some graduating classes are harder to say goodbye to than others.</u> For whatever reason, this group of seniors really resonated with me. While I am excited for their next chapters, I will miss the passion for learning and humor that they brought to the school community.<br />
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2. <u>If technology is making your life harder, you're doing it wrong.</u> We are always trying to better our practice and improve as educators. In my first year as a coach, I found that for a lot of my teachers, the way they were using technology was hindering not helping their productivity. One of my goals for next year will be to help ease that burden so they can use technology to assist them.<br />
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3. <u>Attitude is everything</u>. I spent this year deciding that no matter how tired I was or what kind of mood I was in, I was going to start my day with a positive attitude and it helped me have a great year. Balance is hard and as educators, we spend many of our days exhausted and pulled in a lot of directions, but we have the ability to help set the tone of the day for our students.<br />
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4. <u>We (and our students) need to do hard things.</u> I have always felt that we need to be challenged to grow and we need to challenge our students. This year I taught AP Chem for the first time in a few years. This course is hard, very hard and it challenges students, but in the end it helps them grow. We have to do the same things as educators. What is your hard thing?<br />
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5. <u>It's okay to be real.</u> Our students don't need us to be perfect. It is okay to let them get to know you a little bit. My students know I love country music, have a super cute dog, and enjoy running my blog. There is nothing wrong with letting them know that after 3pm teachers are people too.<br />
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With that, I hope you have a fabulous summer!<br />
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Kammas Kerschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17710824599891279977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975917231158126944.post-46106948833807309832019-04-09T13:38:00.003-04:002019-04-09T13:38:25.501-04:00Things Teachers Don't Learn in School - #2 Self CareOn the days that you feel your best, what have you done to reach that feeling? Can you identify the things that help you function at your ideal state? I had one of those days yesterday, where I felt like I had done right by me.<br />
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Morning- Got a great night's sleep and felt well rested going into the day.<br />
Day- Maintained a positive attitude, despite a long day and ate a healthy lunch.<br />
Afternoon- Spent time on the phone with my younger brother. Rehydrated!<br />
Evening- Made a healthy dinner with my husband and then had a great 2 hour workout at the karate school.<br />
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For me, self-care means taking care of myself by eating healthy, staying hydrated, working out, and spending time with my friends and family. On a day that I do that, I feel incredible!<br />
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<b>What do you mean you didn't learn that?</b><br />
I am sure at some point during my education I was told how exhausting teaching would be, mentally and physically. I am sure someone told me that it was very common for teachers to get sick in their first few years teaching. I am also sure that no one told me to schedule time in my week to take care of myself. I know that no one told me to make sure that each week, despite my professional commitments, that I needed to make sure I was working out and drinking enough water. I wish someone had stressed that to me early in my career and I hope I can pass the message along to new teachers. I think my first 3 years would have been a tiny bit easier if I had understood the importance of self-care. I, like many teachers, give so much of myself to my school community, that I need to make sure I am functioning at my best.<br />
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<b>So what's the point?</b><br />
When I read a post or listen to a book about self-care, I always see something along the lines of "you can't take care of others, if you don't take care of yourself" and it's so true. As educators, we tend to prioritize taking care of the people around us (students, colleagues, family, etc) and neglect what we need to be our best self. This year I have a number of students who I see doing this very thing. They spend all their time and energy on the clubs, sports, and classes they are involved in and then they get sick, exhausted, and drained. They aren't able to do their best because they aren't taking care of themselves.<br />
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We need to model for our students what it looks like to be the best version of ourselves by practicing good self-care. If we don't show them how to do it and teach the importance of it, then we continue to perpetuate the issue.Kammas Kerschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17710824599891279977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975917231158126944.post-45203070683890873372019-03-21T10:08:00.001-04:002019-03-21T10:08:45.399-04:00Things Teachers Don't Learn in School - #1 ExtracurricularsAs the title indicates, I am going to write a series of blog posts about the things you don't learn during your undergraduate education as an education major. Today's focus: extracurriculars. This is a topic I feel particularly passionate about and if you've read my other posts, you may have caught onto that, so here we go.<br />
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<b>What do you mean you didn't learn that?</b><br />
I mean that no one ever told me that coaching and overseeing extracurricular activities would be a huge part of my work life. No one ever told me that these experiences would change me as a teacher because they would help me to get to know my students as something other than students. No one taught me that there would be days that being a part of these things would be my favorite pat of my day. I was actually discouraged from taking on these things as a new teacher, but I have always liked to blaze my own trail. I know that taking on additional responsibilities as a new teacher can be daunting, and it is not for everyone. I currently coach our mock trial team and organize our spring break study abroad trips.<br />
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During every trip and every mock trial season, I have gotten to teach lessons that don't get taught in the classroom. In class I don't always get to model how to lose gracefully, stand up for what you believe in, and become an effective leader. During a chemistry lesson, I don't get to show students how to be respectful when entering a new culture or how to take risks when trying new foods to fully experience a new place. I did not learn in college that I would be teaching students how to balance their time and not over-commit, and that these hard life lessons would come through extra-curricular activities. No class was offered on building confidence and helping students find their passions.<br />
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<b>So what's the point?</b><br />
The point is that for every second, minute, and hour I put into planning, coaching, and traveling with students, I get so much back in return. The rapport and relationships I build with my students during these experiences help me build stronger rapport within the classroom. I am not saying that every first year teacher should dive right into coaching and moderating, however, I am saying to consider it when you think you do have the time because it is an incredibly rewarding experience. I am so thankful that my principal encouraged me to coach as a first year teacher and travel to Boston and France with students as a second year teacher. These experiences have helped me be open minded and shaped the kind of educator I strive to be every single day.<br />
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Take the risk by getting involved. It's worth it.<br />
<br />Kammas Kerschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17710824599891279977noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975917231158126944.post-53741487144325186132019-03-03T19:58:00.004-05:002019-03-03T20:03:22.712-05:00Guest Post: Modeling in Blender (CG Cookie)<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 26pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Modeling a Soda Can using Blender</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Blender is an incredibly powerful 3D modeling tool and it can seem intimidating initially. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">This article will help you create your first project in Blender so that you can see how incredibly fun it can be as well.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">We don’t have the space for a comprehensive introduction to Blender here, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">so for that you can watch the</span><a href="https://cgcookie.com/course/learn-the-blender-basics" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">free Blender Basics course on cgcookie.com</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">If you haven’t downloaded Blender yet or need to update, you can find it at</span><a href="https://www.blender.org/download/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">blender.org/download</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">This article uses version 2.80.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Let’s get started!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">To begin this project, delete everything in the default scene and create a mesh cylinder using the Add menu.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><img height="309" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/6lhSk1VXRbd5ypMke-d9tBbbTecEvYHW9zvoDspQm80teSR-7RN8_QEpQz3MkSpBs2GiOUdd_DBc_F92nahp9VDTG5FDoz2gqLPgsnPtc3brm6h3VvhNAY5xfXLkIqNdyTh4HDx5" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="624" /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">To make sure that it’s the proper size, switch the Units to Imperial in the Properties Editor scene tab and </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">change the Length to Inches. </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">Open up the 3D View sidebar with the hotkey “N”, and then change the </span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">dimensions to be 2.6, 2.6, and 4.83 for the X, Y, and Z values. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><img height="437" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/kn3lY7TgoYXH5w_ovnCG9k0nraFgbjqEhBe_prxdsZ7TZjhl87oEbMl-kjFQnq-hYSCviXZcizisNRUaNQiiuWGlgDUMB5471549WavqBNbnZNnr4p7iShpfCLJ2BL6XWSqZc04w" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="624" /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Switch into Edit Mode for the Cylinder, and add a loop cut with the hotkey Ctrl+R. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Before clicking to confirm, scroll up on the mouse wheel to make it two loop cuts. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Hit Enter or click to confirm, and then scale the cuts up along the Z axis so that they are near the edges of the can. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><img height="368" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/nLdN3C8y-4OsAVhs0_KH8Osg-E2PwkyDEeFdtYfKUSuuJDvbwxkdCjYPlccoQt7GD9yhEHtGbCt6g-fiQodcXSGfjKtVr9CckjlL17JC3Fx--kRBi9SnjRFWIf22Ot7-jCHDNjTH" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="624" /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Grab the top and bottom faces, and scale them down along the X and Y axes by pressing “S” and “Shift-Z”. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Then hit “I” and make a slight inset. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><img height="369" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/hi5HVy6ewwxQaMFpG8eguQ1YDG28vfWjhSac3UZ2Px7iGQPtIKE_pmrsGkX-k1yiiMpyG75Qh5DkDk6d-dOrwsD9YJ8C5cMFrSk3KJoNFZYGAyxL2zh42ecwkZ-tdANQ71mqv4cD" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="624" /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">With the top and bottom faces still selected, hit “E” to extrude, “S” to scale down, and “Z” to constrain to the Z axis. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">This will create a lip on both sides. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><img height="392" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/Yk7-yzTrpYUfomadTS_GgW1P4zLWi9SrkalItmvaUjKGyyEYbrRlBt5OAKOyH38EhslDpcHWqEK2568Z8ISqnvQfS-pBB_wyiKRvT2iZulqXl3Dd64ehGCIzmFeACqT1HNMt7Xf1" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="624" /></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Add another edge loop along the slanted surface at the top, and scale it down so that it matches the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">width of the outside part of the lip. </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">If you find it hard to see while zoomed in, decrease the Clip Start </span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">value in the View section of the sidebar. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><img height="403" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qjqlMaeGpG9XY6EQJ1z6mwa-lS461kWG5sbRE3IyqAvj7sMcWMZ6TiL7iyTIsvGUFWAaH8a84aR3t4NBRue2qEFloqMt29kBp4jin0ZzAgUEGgFROwGJn8WWAuRypuw9b7mkeuB" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="624" /></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Head to the modifiers tab in the Properties Editor and add a Subdivision Surface modifier. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">This will smooth everything out, so also add supporting edge loops around any edge that should be sharp. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><img height="473" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pLw3yzJwaWvyny-FoLDIhsU_sVbcYj7bnPiwHnGkRzy9nO4D-jzpTagxKocQ3k56A0_6lewHHRhoT79EBSDLoAyxaXlyevnEZTn6aC_cGEYN9YQVXeFOrQMHw8OmMYefDLvfirX2" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="624" /></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Inset the top and bottom faces to give them supporting loops as well. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Then, only on the top, inset again, scale it down to the size of the drinking hole, and inset one more time. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Move both insets along the Y axis until they are near the edge. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><img height="384" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/CEzMYQwMiHEDYkhC17t3l6Cq5qPzTW7UoYxklZG6vd-PLYs_FkcENQasLbBwh2p0a9_adDK68BkNJFzcoaLqdrxfHxTnDuOxws7njfDLAuDmuSOsyF4g4mg-w_bH99K-KJepcheH" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="624" /></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Scale that area along the X and Y to make an oval, and then delete the face in the middle. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><img height="356" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/l6HyoW5PXxqKag_c7PhpQ1hXn0_-gCtikHJL0Ocg7oGCe41WV3R4thtfw0EiH-xCYl64uOz8lt2Jt7prdJcsGMJxWohntfNjXYHnm5o2VkQU7IPvax98RKHB5WcWPpj6ez95ni3A" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="624" /></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">We’ve finished the main part of the can! Go back to object mode, right click and set shading to smooth, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">and add a Solidify modifier so that the normals inside the can will face the correct direction. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><img height="331" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/gbLzoy4cnNFdjfY4g3eqzqkoXgsuw-v0NEeYjneDgA3wnUFMZ_De4PQGKkZptEstJynvTFxMrtdm_e9tpbq5EkLVrBWGpEKdqzNmFZtPxxJ340sUSmhLul7YB2tQWKj_NzdfNvd6" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="624" /></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">To add the tab at the top, create a plane, scale it down, position it near the opening, and shrink it just a bit along the X axis. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I’ve enabled Cavity and Shadow in my 3D View shading options so that everything can be seen more easily. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><img height="375" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/6QQEoYxIV68eT5EibDeWCMJk--gYyxZflyPHJWL1MGLVKsl6eB9Yw5Q5dE7Dt47KATQw5_Wnk5ZtRZxCxueVGeTJcW9AA73VjbiOJHQl_5vXh7V2qF0h3Ik2NMsDZZnET2Azy0Cd" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="624" /></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Enter Edit Mode for the tab, and shrink the edge nearest the hole. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Then add two edge loops running perpendicular to the hole and scale those up. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><img height="388" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/LA2O6Xy6dP6Z9V1k0SHB4VDO9mNvOd56jGeLmYZLwt4AMoWY26o7ItMI-m-8NBmROPx1L8KS0gDVOOlkXz3uhfehf2gInLN15d1kjE3x7WudfHtZFunf6lyAC8Kf4CzHwQf-ZiXc" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="624" /></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Next, add one edge loop right down the center, perpendicular to those. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Then select the three faces to the right and inset those. Do the same to the three faces on the left. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><img height="416" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/erMen6c8QtKJBfLxXLyKhw9xbC4Z9pkTRVuqczmyUi-IQyCkEmfheNswEGrkP9J25wSMMF3SCTAdGH6QE1laza9hEHXpD9kuKgaYMVijuLS0OgPdHBwCM93RMmVlJmFWZ0sy0gMr" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="624" /></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Delete those six faces, and extrude a little notch for the hole nearest the hole in the can. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Once that’s done, you can also add a Subdivision Surface modifier. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><img height="353" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/FATa3E6A3-54AnEDagLAPv6ODFZY1v5Gn2Gv6dvnmUhS_OVrPwloZKrWsaj_htp2rFaMmGuS8hYM3h8KuvgC808vJOIp40h8cYsf5Kwni92Kb_Wne-0XtoDYkjM7aLNzdXmzpq8i" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="624" /></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">With the modeling complete, go back to object mode, set the shading for the tab to be smooth in the right click context menu, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">and rotate it into place. </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">To give it some thickness, add a Solidify modifier and place it above the</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">Subdivision Surface modifier. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><img height="319" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/6jEPzdDZLAMGGKWIYOjZv1tNxUAioShMIgQ1x0sB6aUceip4IG6Ln59Zdu70znvv4WxQTLPwa0LF_kBXsq72I3Co0SqIK_Joasd1bcMWINM2-Dl0rnH-5S3vMiPediakv3SJD7tz" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="624" /></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">If that’s one of your first models, congratulations! If you want to take this project farther, you can try to make different kinds of cans, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">or use what you’ve learned to make a cup or glass bottle!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><img height="405" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/AqIEvMxykN1F28GP0BwhCzDyjXJZ6bc7GKcAxKGfgWMLIDiJOP62jsZkq78cuSixjFrhx8OVPxYPPtcdhg_1KWxZo99OSNUfAva1fuLV8_0DKS1r4tNORWTL26AjcQiq4Cpy_NKO" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="624" /></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">For more in-depth training on how to use Blender,</span><a href="https://cgcookie.com/course/learn-the-blender-basics" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">watch our free course on the Blender Basics</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">. Happy modeling!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Written by: CG Cookie</span></div>
<br />Kammas Kerschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17710824599891279977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975917231158126944.post-16346418768451430452019-02-24T23:06:00.002-05:002019-02-24T23:06:53.593-05:00A Reflection on VulnerabilityI love audiobooks and at the recommendation of a good friend I am currently listening to Daring to Lead by Brene Brown. The part I am at talks about the importance of vulnerability. When speaking with another good friend tonight, she referred to vulnerability as "sharing your humanness". I don't think vulnerable is something most teachers are comfortable, but as I tell my students leadership is an uncomfortable position. The rest of this post is me sharing about a challenging situation because I think it is important to be more honest about how this is part of our daily grind.<br />
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This weekend, I had the privilege of coaching one of the finest groups of students I have ever had the opportunity to get to know. As my students know, I am a little bit competitive and I take mock trial very seriously. My students (along with our coaching team) work day in and day out to prepare their case and become a cohesive team. Unlike most sports, our mock trial team gets one shot, the state tournament. In order to make it to the final round, you have to start by winning consistently from the first round of competition. It is a very high stress two day experience.<br />
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At the end of last year, my team was ranked in the teens. We were coming into the tournament expected by others to be in the middle of the pack. My students competed with so much heart and polish that they were undefeated in the first four rounds and for the first time in school history, made it to the championship round. They performed incredibly, but in the end, the other team won the title following the final round.<br />
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Following the announcement that we made it into the finals, and again after they announced we placed 2nd, I did something I don't typically do in front of my students, I cried. I showed honest emotion when expressing how proud I was. I expressed excitement at their achievement. I shared in their relief that the emotional rollercoaster of a day was over. I reminded each one of them through nonverbal communication that they helped the team reach this great achievement and that I valued their contributions. Through shared emotions, we reminded each other that they were allowed to have strong feelings about the experience we had been through as a team.<br />
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I share this not because vulnerability means bursting into tears, but because for me, it means being willing to share in human experiences. These experiences include being allowed to have emotions, being allowed to feel excitement, pride, and disappointment. This includes actively demonstrating how to work through high pressure situations as a team, how to overcome adversity, and how to continue to find joy and celebrate success. Vulnerability is hard. It takes courage, just like leadership.<br />
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I hope by sharing this experience, more teachers will consider the value in their vulnerability and will give themselves the credit they deserve for sharing those hard moments with their students and colleagues on a daily basis. What we do is hard. What we do requires courageous, vulnerable leadership. What we do matters. Kammas Kerschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17710824599891279977noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975917231158126944.post-33680821898169966962019-02-18T11:46:00.004-05:002019-02-18T11:46:50.539-05:00The Power of BeliefAs you may know from previous blog posts, I am a high school teacher by day and a martial arts instructor by night. Over the course of the last month, the power of belief has stood out to me in both places. At ATA martial arts, we say that belief is "yes, I can" and we talk about the importance of belief in yourself and belief in others. One of my favorite parts of the ATA Legacy program is how it helps students to grow as people, not just as martial artists.<br />
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Earlier this school year, one of my seniors asked me what the hardest part of teaching high school was. I shared with him that I as a teacher, become very invested in my students. I want to see them succeed and find their passions. I spend 4 years guiding and watching them grow, and then they leave. I never hear from most students to find out how they are doing and how things turned out after high school. A colleague compared it to starting a novel and never finding out how it ends.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpxNu8z8cg7j9Ajzurh6Nt3pbVpqESdLrsfWK8s2fIkstUBMKZsTJ5VvDr4Mgm_9xZQBUzuMa-Jx8KFcI8uUNx_QMLbr_tgB_UURic3voooWbfYaHyhSnYiIXlnzHtkEMfbgzAX_TxsyW6/s1600/Perseverance+requires+not+giving+up+on+yourself.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="560" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpxNu8z8cg7j9Ajzurh6Nt3pbVpqESdLrsfWK8s2fIkstUBMKZsTJ5VvDr4Mgm_9xZQBUzuMa-Jx8KFcI8uUNx_QMLbr_tgB_UURic3voooWbfYaHyhSnYiIXlnzHtkEMfbgzAX_TxsyW6/s320/Perseverance+requires+not+giving+up+on+yourself.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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In January, I had the opportunity to see several alumni and hear how their next chapter is going. I have to say I was in complete awe of them. The alumni who returned were all members of my mock trial team at one point or another. They shared that they have had the confidence in themselves to try new things in college, join clubs, speak publicly, and get involved. They described the influence our program had on them having the courage to do things they would not have otherwise tried. For me, in the middle of winter, when things are not always at their brightest, this was a beam of sunlight. It was so powerful for me to hear that what I am doing day in and day out is impacting the belief they have in themselves in the future. It reminded me why I love being a teacher.<br />
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At ATA, I have the privilege of working with students for a much longer period of time. I have students who have been training with us for many years. When we have students that show that kind of dedication, we are able to watch what for many started with their parents believing in them grow to the student believing in themselves. Board breaking is always my favorite example of this. As students go through the ranks, they progress with regards to the difficulty of board that they are required to break and the difficulty of technique they are required to use. They frequently attempt and don't break on their first try or even their second or third. Perseverance requires not giving up on yourself and when students are able to succeed on something they have worked so hard on, they stand a little taller and hold their head a little higher. This confidence takes place not only on the mats when they're training, but in all aspects of their lives. That is the real success story.Kammas Kerschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17710824599891279977noreply@blogger.com0