Mindstamp: Easily create dynamic interactive videos

It’s been a minute (or thousands) since I’ve blogged new technology finds. This year has us utilizing technology in new ways and in need of tools that support learning in new ways. I thought I’d drop back into the tech-tool blogging world with some of the technology that has kept us sane this year, but are also SO good that we’ll continue to use them even in non-COVID years.

Mindstamp- Create interactive videos for your classroom

What it is: Mindstamp is one of my favorite finds this year. This interactive video creation platform is a major upgrade to remote learning, but we’ve come up with about a hundred ways that it is equally valuable as a learning tool regardless of whether we are in-person or remote. Mindstamp makes it easy to quickly create interactive video experiences that include buttons, questions, hotspots, branching. You can ask questions directly in the video that are free-response, multiple-choice, audio response, video response, or drawn response. The editor is intuitive and easy to use…this is not one of those tools that you will have to spend a significant amount of time learning. When your videos are played, you get a full report showing exactly what the viewer did. You can see how long the video was viewed, how it was interacted with, and see responses to any questions.

How to integrate Mindstamp into the classroom: Mindstamp is an obvious choice for creating learning experiences that can be viewed and interacted with asynchronously. During our remote learning, we used Mindstamp for daily community messages that encouraged students to be part of the conversation. Our goal was to keep our community connected even though our school-wide morning meetings looked very different. We loved the ability for students to respond to question prompts in a variety of ways and for everyone else in the community to see their contribution. We also used Mindstamp to debut our recorded performance of our theater production. We set up the performance as if it were a live telethon and invited our viewers to interact with the video in a variety of ways (text-to-give, leave a message for our performers, etc.). Though we couldn’t be in an auditorium enjoying the performance live, the interactive video gave us the feel of something that our whole community to be involved in.

Mindstamp is a fantastic platform any time you want to “flip” your classroom. Give students the opportunity to ask questions about the content that you can address live during class, or just check for understanding throughout the video. You’ll be able to see exactly what pieces of new learning may be hindering your learners. Mindstamp lets you record your own video or import video from other platforms like YouTube or Vimeo. We have greatly appreciated the ability to import learning content from YouTube and then pausing the video and inserting additional links, photos, videos, or audio that supports the learning just like we would do if we were in a classroom watching it together.

At Anastasis, we individualize learning for each learner based on who they are and where they are in the standards. As a result, we set up our independent learning time as center rotations with one of those rotations being the teacher. Mindstamp could be used to make the teacher available at every rotation with a video message that explains the center and opportunities for students to record their process and leave it as a question response.

Mindstamp isn’t just for teacher-created content. Students can create their own interactive video content. Students could record themselves completing a science experiment and adding supporting research they used in the form of links throughout the video, drawings or photos that support their findings, and ask for feedback from other students or teachers in the form of questions throughout their video.

Mindstamp would be a FANTASTIC platform to create choose-your-own-adventure type videos. It could be interesting for students to explore a historical or current event through video and then explore different outcomes based on the response. It could also be a great way for students to explore different points of view on the same topic. The main video could introduce the topic, and they could use branching, links, photos, and videos to explore the topic through multiple perspectives.

Truly, once you get into Mindstamp, you are going to think of hundreds of ways it could be used to enhance remote and in-person learning. We keep coming up with new ways to support our students through videos. We’ve loved the data dashboard for accountability and support purposes.

Tips: One of the things we learned is that students cannot respond to a question as a video response from an iPad or iPhone. They will need to use a computer for video responses so keep that in mind as you are building interactive content.

Mindstamp is offering iLearn technology readers a 50% discount of any tier. Use the code ILEARN between now and March 15, 2021, for 50% off!

Do you want to form an alliance with me? (Version 3.0)

“Do you…want to form an alliance…with me? “

It was January 3, 2010, that I first created a blog post of this title. It was initially inspired by a blog post that I came across on Problogger titled, “Let Me Show You Inside a Secret Blogging Alliance.” Of course, any time I heard the word “alliance,” this moment from The Office immediately came to mind (clearly a blog title too good to ignore). 

I had no idea that those words, penned a decade ago, would absolutely and forever change me and the trajectory of my life. It was in 2010 that I invited educational bloggers to form an alliance with me (no need for secrecy). This Alliance was a group of edubloggers who were committed to working together for the mutual benefit of all members of the Alliance. The goals were pretty humble in hindsight:

  1. To encourage educators in their blogging endeavors, whether they be new, established, or otherwise. 
  2. To create a united network of educators working toward a larger goal of being heard by those not in education. I wanted the general public to know us for the highly qualified professionals that we are. 

That was it. Humble beginnings. The edublogger Alliance irrevocably changed my life in all of the best ways possible. I was introduced to incredible educators and bloggers who challenged my thinking, encouraged me, inspired me, and mentored me. They became friends and the voices I still seek out before any others on all matters of education.

 They say that you become a compilation of the six people you surround yourself with, choose wisely. The stars had to be aligned in 2010 because overnight, 50 of the most exceptional educators surrounded me sharing their voice, their gifts, and their inspiration regularly.

The person I am today is a direct result of these beautiful souls who decided to jump with both feet into a crazy idea thrown out there in blog form. 

Without the 2010 blog alliance, I wouldn’t have started a school (it was their mentoring and inspiration that had me believing impossible things). Without the Alliance, I wouldn’t still be running a school (it was their encouragement that kept me going). Without them, I wouldn’t have conceived of The Learning Genome Project. The conversations, playful curiosity, challenging discussions, and camaraderie have meant so much to me. To my original alliance members: I cannot thank you enough for answering the call and shaping me so profoundly! I’m forever grateful to you!

With the dawn of a new decade, I thought that it might be time to launch a new sort of education alliance — this one with a slight twist. Before we get to that, a little background on where I find myself in 2020 (friends who have been with me the last ten years, please feel free to scroll):

2010 was a big year for me personally and professionally. I started hanging question marks on all those things I had taken for granted in education. I started asking questions and challenging my own thinking. It was also the year that I had to leave the classroom for health reasons. In that year of questioning and reflection, I created The Learning Genome Project. If I couldn’t change education from within the classroom because of my health, perhaps this would be the way! 

The Learning Genome Project was an idea that came to me while talking with some of my edublog alliance members over a Twitter chat. I was listening to Pandora (remember when it felt so magical to have technology create a playlist based on one song and get it right?!), and I was having a real geek-out moment about this phenomenon. I kept thinking if technology can predict something that feels as personal as a song and gets it right, why couldn’t we use technology to create customized learning playlists for kids? Why were we still stuck in a system of the boxed, one-size-fits-all curriculum? I couldn’t let the idea go. I started digging into the back end of Pandora and discovered it was called The Music Genome Project, based on the Human Genome Project (the one that maps DNA). The Music Genome Project took a similar approach to music, mapping it based on 400+ attributes of music and then having music “experts” tag each piece of music with its attributes.

*Cue my light bulb moment!* 

Learning has attributes, what if we could tag curriculum (not the boxed stuff but real learning experiences and resources) with those attributes? If we knew who a student was, we could create customized learning opportunities for every student. I went to work building out a wireframe of this technology, talking with schools and investors about the possibilities. After a few months, I faced down a painful truth: we do not have an education system designed to see students as individuals. No matter how incredible I made this technology unless we change the model of education, it just wouldn’t work. 

I started blogging ideas of what this model could look like on my other blog, Dreams of Education. One day the family of a student who I used to teach called me out of the blue with the words, “I heard you are starting a school!” I had joked often with my edublog alliance friends that we should start a school, with our collective intelligence, it would be incredible! But no, I had zero plans for actually starting a school…because that is terrifying!! Also, who am I to do such a thing?

Famous last words.

In August of 2011, I opened Anastasis Academy with five teachers (one of whom I had met because of the original alliance!) and 54 students.

It became evident pretty quickly that we were on to something with this new model that we were innovating as we went. By year 3 of Anastasis, we had hundreds of educators visiting us each year to see what we were up to. In 2014 we decided that we needed a better way to share and started the 5Sigma Education Conference. Our goal was to share what was happening at Anastasis, to give people a behind the scenes view of our process. More than that, we wanted to expose others to those who have inspired us along the way. To share the people who have been so instrumental in our thinking. 

5Sigma is in its 6th year this year. Which brings me back to an invitation for you: Do you…want to form an alliance…with me (us)?

We want to expand 5Sigma beyond a conference. Into an alliance, a consortium if you will. 

Education conferences are wonderful; they are inspiring; they connect you to a network of learners; they promote change and innovation. 5Sigma has had no shortage of all of these moments. There is only one problem (and it’s glaring): they are fleeting. Those incredible conversations, the idea synergy, the innovation tend to end with the conference. Back in the classroom, the daily demands creep back in, and it all ends up on the back burner of “someday.”

Like you, I want learning to be better. More meaningful. More creative. More intentional. More fun. 5Sigma was born with the desire to bring together educators with world-changing thinkers and innovators (not unlike my original Alliance) and start conversations that would transform the educational landscape. 

The 5Sigma Consortium will be a network of educational change makers. In addition to our February conference, the 5Sigma Consortium will offer access to year-round inspiration, conversations, studio sessions, and the tools that promote change and innovation in real-time. The Consortium will be limited to the first 50 applicants (not because we wouldn’t love for EVERYONE to be involved, but because I have to be realistic about my own bandwidth to take this on!). 

So, what does this Consortium/Alliance look like? We are envisioning three levels of participation options. 

5Sigma Consortium Membership Options

A ticket to the 5Sigma Education Conference- included in every level is one ticket to attend the 5Sigma Education Conference held in February (this year is February 21-22).

Access to the 5Sigma Consortium Facebook Group- Conferences are a great time to meet other world changers and start transformational conversations. We want to keep those important conversations going all year long in this closed Facebook group for those in our Alliance. Each month, we’ll share a new topic to keep the ideas flowing and reflection going all year long. 

25% discount on any Learning Genome Project Products- Although the full technology of the Learning Genome Project got moved to the back burner as I started Anastasis, it lives on in a series of products that are crucial to the Anastasis model. The product line increases every year. 

Learning Genome Genius Hub Sites- Inside access to the ever-growing Learning Genome Genius hub sites where we share the resources we are using for learning at Anastasis, easily searched, and implemented. 

5Sigma Studio Sessions- Quarterly studio sessions where we will gather in-person to learn, discuss, and innovate together throughout the year.

Book of Choice- Choose from our library of books from the authors that keep our curiosity alive! 

So, the next iteration of the Alliance is born. The question stands, do you want to form an alliance with me? This is a first-come, first-serve situation for the first 50. If you are in, raise your hand by filling out this form.

Let’s join together, making our voices louder through a shared vision and mission; let’s make this year a year of radical change for learners everywhere! 

The Countdown is On! 5Sigma Launch: The Power of Student Agency (featuring keynote speaker @gcouros)

We are in full-on countdown mode for our yearly education conference, 5Sigma. It’s hard to believe that it is just 10 days away! This year our theme is Launch: The Power of Student Agency.

I could not be more excited for our fifth annual conference! Each year we work to include educators who have inspired our work. This year is no exception. We have a pretty incredible lineup! Including George Couros (Author of Innovator’s Mindset) as our Keynote! I’m so thankful for the way that each of the people you see below have shaped me, and inspired me. I know they will do the same for you!

Some things that you can look forward to at the 5Sigma Edu Conference:

  1. We will spoil you (because you do hard work every day, and deserve a weekend of being spoiled).
  2. You will leave inspired, changed, and with practical ways to “launch” (did you see the lineup below? I mean….)
  3. Two incredible food trucks including the famous Mac ‘N Cheese truck!!
  4. Happy hour meet up (because we are convinced that the Happy Hour is Education’s Magic Bullet).
  5. You will see what happens when students are empowered (we can’t wait for you to meet the students of Anastasis, they are seriously the COOLEST! *slight bias*)
  6. The opportunity to talk shop: have you ever dreamed of starting a school? Re-imagining assessment? Throwing away the one-size-fits-all curriculum? Ditching homework? Ditching the test?  Team Anastasis will share how we’ve done it, what we’ve learned along the way, share our insight into what not to do, and be transparent.

We’re excited to meet you! If you haven’t already registered, it isn’t too late! Learn more and register at http://5sigmaeducon.com  If you need help requesting the professional development dollars to attend, we are happy to help out, customize our template letter.

Friday Breakout Sessions
  • Don’t Get Ready; Get Started! with Noah Geisel
  • Strategic PD Planning with Design Thinking
    with Alex Inman
  • Students as Curators: Moving From Student to Learner with Nancy White
  • Tomorrow Was Yesterday with Kyle Erlenbeck
  • Maker Centered Learning with Colin Reynolds
  • Ingredients of Modern Instructional Design
    with Bob Dillon & Kristina Ishmael
Saturday Breakout Sessions1
  • Finding Motivation with Kristina Ishmael & Zac Chase
  • A Computer Science State of Mind 
    with Jeremy Macdonald
  • Honoring Student Agency Through Assessment Practices with Kelly Tenkely
  • Maker Centered Learning with Colin Reynolds
  • Cultivating Creative Thinking – It’s Not Just
    for Art Class!
    with Michelle Baldwin
  • A Computer Science State of Mind with
    Jeremy Macdonald

Class Pad: Free digital scratch paper for the math classroom

ClassPad free digital scratch paper for the math classroom

What it is: ClassPad is free online software that lets you digitize your math scratch paper. You can create original teaching materials for the math classroom quickly and easily. With ClassPad, you can quickly add mathematical formulas, graphs, spreadsheets, and geometry sheets to share with your students (and other teachers). ClassPad can be accessed from tablets and computers. On touch devices, you can write calculations and graphics by hand, just like on actual paper. Students can access your materials through a unique URL.

How to integrate ClassPad into your classroom: ClassPad is a fantastic tool for the mathematics and science classroom. It makes it easy for you and your students to create original materials. Whether your students need extra practice, you want to make your math materials more hands-on and relevant for your students, or your students are creating proofs, ClassPad is an excellent addition to your classroom.

ClassPad could also be helpful for your math students who struggle to get ideas out through paper/pencil work. The ability to use a tablet or computer may help those students with dysgraphia excel in the math classroom.

As a teacher, you can use ClassPad to create learning material for your students. However, my favorite use would be for students to explore the world as a mathematician and utilize ClassPad to help them express themselves mathematically. I think it would be exciting to pose an inquiry question or word problem for students and allow them to come up with a proof addressing the problem. Because students can share work with a unique URL, each student could submit their work for the class to review. Likely there would be multiple ways to think through the inquiry. This would be a great way to talk perspective, different approaches to problems, and how we solve problems in life. This would also give the teacher additional insight into how students are approaching and thinking through problems. Rather than simply looking for a right/wrong answer, this could provide the space to talk mathematics with students.

Tips: There are three different ClassPad plans to choose from. The free Guest account gives you the ability to utilize the calculation, graph, statistics, and geometry options. The Basic account for a registered user offers everything the Guest account offers with the ability to save up to 999 papers, share papers, search papers, add favorites, and save your browsing history. The Plus account requires an annual subscription (they are currently offering a free trial). The Plus account gives you all of the features of the first two plans plus the ability to save unlimited papers and comes with additional features for computer algebra, advanced statistics, and handwriting recognition.

Tinkerine U: Learn and teach 3D printing

Tinkerine U: Learn and teach 3d Printing

What it is: So you have a 3D printer…now what?! Introducing Tinkerine U the place where you can learn (and teach) 3D printing. Tinkerine U is a great starting point (no matter what brand of 3D printer you have!). Not only can you take online courses to learn more about 3D printing, you can also get real-life application stories about how a variety of professions are using 3D printing. Additionally, you can watch Tinkerine U test out myths and facts about 3D printing and access a variety of challenges for your students.

 

How to integrate Tinkerine U into your classroom: So often I see schools who have a strong advocate for new technologies, but don’t know exactly what to do with the technologies they’ve championed when they show up. Tinkerine U is a great place for you and your students to learn the logistics of how to 3D print, while also giving you ideas for practical real-life applications that will launch your student’s creativity. The starter challenges are a fantastic way to get started with using your 3Dprinter. Challenges are fun and vary in difficulty. Allow students to choose their own challenges, or choose challenges for your students to take on as a class.

Of course, you can go through all of the Tinkerine U content (and I encourage you to start there), but ultimately, it would be great to have your students go through all of the Tinkerine U content. Empower THEM to be the experts!

If you have a maker space and want to help your students envision possibility, Tinkerine U could be a great launching point for them. Just enough instruction and videos to spark curiosity and creativity without being too prescriptive.

 

Tips: You don’t have to have a Tinkerine 3D printer to take advantage of these resources! They are 3D printer-agnostic and can help spark learning and creativity for your students.

Wait-don’t you get summer off? (A job that doesn’t feel like a job)

Being an educator is a FULL time job. Nights, weekends, and everything in between seems to be fair game. It isn’t always assigned work. Education is more than a career, it is a worldview. You see everything through the eyes of an educator and are constantly dreaming of how that non-educational thing you saw could relate to something you are doing in the classroom. It’s the sparks of…maybe-THAT-would-work, that occur in the shower. Not to mention the dreams! We’ve been on summer break for 3 weeks and every single night I’ve dreamt about school or students.

This is just one of the reasons that educators find it laughable when someone mentions how nice it must be to get out of work in the afternoon and have summers off. None of those things have ever happened. They are a rarity. Ask my husband about what a summer off looks like! “Seriously, you work more hours during the summer than the school year.” I love the summer time. I love that it makes my schedule more flexible, makes it possible to use the bathroom whenever I want (teachers understand the luxury of this!), go to the grocery store in the middle of the day when they put out the fresh produce and you don’t have to pick through the left over sad and bruised produce.  I love that I can sit and dream up curriculum and lesson plans at Starbucks and come home to read a new edubook in the sunshine. Happy!

I’ve never felt the need to get an additional summer time job. I appreciate the flexible days and I need the time to breathe. This year that changed. I found something that allows me to be flexible, own my own business, and make some great extra money on the side. The best part is that when the school year kicks back into gear, I don’t have to give it up and it still makes mail money (that’s the money that just shows up in your PayPal account, it’s pretty much the best kind of money!) You can do this, too! But first, a story.

There is something about being in your 30s that flips a switch. You’ve finally nailed your skin-care routine and things are mostly balanced and easy. Just when you think you’ve finally got the skin figured out, 30 comes along and is like, “don’t you think a few little wrinkles would make us look distinguished? Sun Spots, you come too!” This is particularly annoying because 30 also insists on trying to hold on to youth and includes breakouts the likes of which haven’t been seen since 13. I mean really?! The emergence of sun spots, wrinkles, WITH breakouts. Not fair at all. I think I could have handled any one of these issues, but throw in all 3 and I have NO idea how to deal. The sun spots creeping in are supremely frustrating, because I’m the queen of dutifully applying sunscreen as part of my daily routine since the age of 10. I mean sun spots? I did all the right things to keep those puppies from ever existing.

I have always been a sucker for the newest miracle cream in drugstores and magazines. Sort of a, “Well, she looks amazing, this must be the fountain of youth!” I’m kind of a beauty store product junkie. “This time, this will be the one! I think as I pour over the directions of exactly how to use it (because heaven forbid I put the cream on wrong and THAT is the reason it doesn’t work). I’ve found a few standbys over the years, but I wouldn’t say that they did a great job of living up to their promises. They are more like that old robe that you keep around because it’s kind of comfortable and has just always been fine.

I started a school 4 years ago, about this time of year. I’m one of those dreaded millennials, the one who doesn’t really fit Gen-X or millennial neatly, and believes they can totally change the world, and wonders why everyone else is just sitting around doing what has always been done. Cut to 4 years later and INTO my 30s and suddenly it makes sense why not everyone is trailblazing like there’s no tomorrow: it’s hard. It sucks every ounce of time and energy. The shiny veneer of changing the world starts to wear off when ANOTHER email pings in (a good day is less than 900…email is from the devil). Then you start to wonder if the fatigue you see in your face isn’t really about 30, maybe it is all the other stuff aging me. I definitely blame email.

Then I found it (or rather, it found me), the miracle answer that takes care of all three of 30’s “gifts” and gives me back the manageable skin of 25. A teacher friend of mine has been telling me about Rodan and Fields for years. I paid little attention until her Facebook feed started filling up with before and after pictures of people I actually knew. Holy smokes!! Dramatic differences. They looked rested. I was half convinced that they had somehow found an extra 8 hours in the day to get a good night sleep. Then I started seeing the posts about matching her teaching income as a consultant. Then I started seeing Rodan and Fields products pop up in the beauty magazines I flipped through while getting my hair done. These weren’t ads, but beauty editors touting R+F products as the favorite. My friend and I met up for coffee so that I could beg her to be our long-term sub solution. I hadn’t seen her in person since I started Anastasis Academy, and was excited to catch up. She looks AMAZING. She was always stunning but her skin looked younger than it did the last time I saw her. Glowy, gorgeous, and makeup free. As I was leaving, she handed me a little pack of goodies to try. Rodan+Fields Summer job!

SOLD. The pack of goodies turned out to be the Micro Dermabrasion Paste which polishes skin with a sugar-salt scrub with vitamins C and E, a “magic” blue pill (Redefine) night serum, and a “magic” grey pill (Redefine) lip serum. Holy smokes, my face hasn’t felt like that since I was 2 or 3 years old! Honestly, the results were immediate in the way that my skin looked and felt. Some of my glowy came back. The next day I messaged my friend and told her that I needed to order this miracle to have on hand. She graciously gave me the link to purchase but followed with a, “you know, if you are a consultant you get 25% off.”

I run a school. I honestly have NO extra minutes in my life to add anything else. Initially, I told her no. I do not have time for one more thing and I assumed that being a consultant meant that I had to sell a minimum each month for the discount or had to carry product. My assumption was wrong. There is no minimum monthly orders, there is no product to carry. To become a consultant, you purchase the product you are already planning on purchasing and fill out the form to be a consultant. There was no catch. Honestly, you can start a business for as little as $45 (depending on what products you want to order). I’ve been enjoying my vastly improved, evened out skin, and have the added bonus of 25% off for two months now. These skincare products are designed by two of the most respected dermatologists in the country with a legacy of delivering on what they promise. Using these products is about as close as you can get to visiting a dermatologist without an appointment. It truly can change your skin (and even comes with a 60 day money back guarantee…always a good bet).

R+F skin selfie
Selfies are awkward, and this one is no exception! But you will notice the even skin happening.

The thing about good products is that you tend to talk about them. Obviously, I’m someone who naturally shares the things I find and love (this whole blog is based on that premise!) When people ask if I’ve gotten extra sleep, I tell them about Rodan and Fields. When people ask what I use, or lament about a skin care problem they are having, I naturally want to share my find. The bonus, if they try it, I get that mail money I mentioned above. You know what kind of email I don’t mind? The kind that pings in and tells me that money has been transferred to my PayPal account.

The unexpected bonus that came with being a Rodan and Fields consultant: I get access to a whole library packed full of business advice, brand equity, marketing ideas, business presentations, templates, training, etc. Because my worldview is education, I think about how I could apply some of these tools to my school. How could this kind of communication better help me communicate with parents? How could I use this idea to build a lesson in finances? How could I use a similar method to help students set and meet goals? I had no idea that this would be such a treasure trove of new approaches to teaching/learning! A happy bonus.

My friend started her Rodan and Fields business just a few years ago. In that time she has matched and surpassed her teaching income, she has travelled the country on business trips, and she has earned a Lexus. It is inspiring! Her goal at the time was to raise a little extra spending money for her growing family. She has met that goal and then some! My goal began very simply: prolong the even-tempered skin of my 20s. After being on the “inside” and seeing success stories of my friends and new friends, my new goal is to help other educators make some mail money and to use my own mail money to help fund projects that I am wildly passionate about (The Learning Genome Project). It doesn’t feel like extra work because I only talk about R+F as it naturally comes up in conversation. I buy what I need (it lasts way longer than the beauty store brands that I had been using), and don’t think about it until I have time or want to put energy into it. I’m not punished when I’m swamped with school and can’t think about it, and I have an incredible support system of others when I want to put energy into it.

So, if you are looking for a summer job (that doesn’t feel anything like a job), want to keep your skin looking and feeling amazing, and want to start something now that could impact the rest of your year: Rodan and Fields is worth a serious look.

Perfect Summer Job for Teachers!

If you are interested in learning more about the product, click here for  your free consultation to find out what products are best for your skin. 

Start your own business with R+F

If you are interested in learning more about starting your own business, leave contact information in the comments below, or you can email me directly through my contact form. Currently this opportunity is only available to those in the US and Canada. (Sorry my overseas friends…soon!)

I get paid to wash my face and talk about it! R+F

If you have questions, I’ll be happy to answer them.

Happy Summer!

 

 

Beyond Lockdown: Invitation for #Colorado educators to join for FREE

I’ve been radio silent in the blogging world since the shooting at Arapahoe high school. It hurts. I hate that this has happened again. I hate that the waiting to hear from former students felt so familiar. I ache that all kids live in a world where school isn’t always a safe place. The week before the shooting at Arapahoe, the kids at Anastasis were creating bracelets, paper airplanes, and a video for the Sandy Hook community and I wrote this post on our school blog.

It’s hard to write about new technology finds and educational tools when you ache for your community, when lives have been forever altered and two families have to learn how to exist differently. Despite the pain and sadness, there is also a time of healing. I’ve been incredibly proud of the Arapahoe community who IS warrior strong. The Colorado community has once again rallied and has come with an outpouring of love, support for one another, and healing together.

One of my friends on Twitter, @LauraScheer, contacted me following the shooting at Arapahoe, and extended an amazing gift through a friend of hers.  A private “Beyond Lockdown” training for the Anastasis staff and 15 of our Colorado friends.  TAC ONE consulting is providing their “Beyond Lockdown” training course for free.  This training has been designed to help prepare school faculty with an aggressive response to an active gunman. During this course, we will learn to: understand the “active shooter” and identify active shooter incidents/trends, identify current mainstream practices and shortfalls, acquire basic understanding of firearms, understand new aggressive action plans, and receive training and recommendations.

The class is being held on Saturday Jan. 11, 2014 from 12:30-4:30 in Centennial.  We want to invite 15 of our Colorado teaching friends to join us for FREE.  If you are interested, please contact me in the comments below OR on Twitter @ktenkely and I will get you complete details.  This training is typically costly, this is an amazing gift from TAC Consulting trainer Joe Deedon!

It makes me sad that we live in a world where this type of training is becoming a necessity. I’m thankful for people like Laura and Joe who make it available in a time of need and prepare us accordingly. I hope that you won’t assume that this could never happen at your school.  I hope our Colorado friends will take us up on this offer. I pray that none of us will ever need to put this training to use.

Last day to enter for a Koostik! #technologymadenatural

Koostik give away: iLearn Technology #technologymadenatural

Today is your last chance to enter the Koostik giveaway! Winner will be announced tomorrow 🙂  The winner should receive their Koostik just in time for the holidays. Happy things.
Details for this giveaway below:

I’m particularly fond of small business shopping because my family has always owned small businesses. My dad is the ultimate craftsman. He is always dreaming up new inventions and he uses one of my favorite mediums to carry out those inventions: beautiful cuts of wood. There is something about having wood in your home, it evokes feelings of warmth and a connection to nature. When my dad started Koostik, I was especially excited because it connects technology (which you know I love) with the natural beauty of wood. These are not just functional, they are truly pieces of art. Each Koostik is handmade and unique.  Because no cut of wood is exactly the same, each one has a slightly different feel.  Every time I visit the shop I want to take more product home.  I constantly get the, “but Kelly, you already have a Pivot.” My response, “I know but it isn’t THIS Pivot in the Ambrosia Maple!”

Koostik is a true small business.  My dad works on the woodwork with a few other guys in his shop, and my mom does the finishing and packaging. My brother works sales and does all the photography and website design. There is a passion and attention to detail that you find in small businesses that just doesn’t exist anywhere else. I support small business because I appreciate that attention to detail. I appreciate the craftsmanship and passion that go into every product. I like knowing that I am supporting a neighbor, a family.

I’m offering a giveaway for the Koostik product of your choice. Sorry international friends, this one is for US citizens only! To enter you will need to do one (or all) of the following:

A winner will be chosen on December 7, 2013.  Hurry and get as many entries in as you can! The winner will be announced on iLearn Technology and contacted through the social media that you used to enter.

 

Support Small Business Saturday: Koostik #technologymadenatural

Two give aways in two days. That is pretty awesome!

Koostik give away: iLearn Technology #technologymadenatural

 

Today is support small business Saturday in the United States.  I’m particularly fond of this cause for shopping because my family has always owned small businesses. My dad is the ultimate craftsman. He is always dreaming up new inventions and he uses one of my favorite mediums to carry out those inventions: beautiful cuts of wood. There is something about having wood in your home, it evokes feelings of warmth and a connection to nature. When my dad started Koostik, I was especially excited because it connects technology (which you know I love) with the natural beauty of wood. These are not just functional, they are truly pieces of art. Each Koostik is handmade and unique.  Because no cut of wood is exactly the same, each one has a slightly different feel.  Every time I visit the shop I want to take more product home.  I constantly get the, “but Kelly, you already have a Pivot.” My response, “I know but it isn’t THIS Pivot in the Ambrosia Maple!”

Koostik is a true small business.  My dad works on the woodwork with a few other guys in his shop, and my mom does the finishing and packaging. My brother works sales and does all the photography and website design. There is a passion and attention to detail that you find in small businesses that just doesn’t exist anywhere else. I support small business because I appreciate that attention to detail. I appreciate the craftsmanship and passion that go into every product. I like knowing that I am supporting a neighbor, a family.

In honor of Support Small Business Saturday, I’m offering a giveaway for the Koostik product of your choice. Sorry international friends, this one is for US citizens only! To enter you will need to do one (or all) of the following:

A winner will be chosen on December 6, 2013.  Hurry and get as many entries in as you can! The winner will be announced on iLearn Technology and contacted through the social media that you used to enter.

 

Don’t want to wait to see if you’ve won? Koostik is currently running a sale for 30% off all products and 50% the Mini Koo! The sale runs through Cyber Monday (December 2). You could be the star of the holidays with your awesome Koostik gift giving skills!