CUE 2017 Conference: A brief recap

It was my first time at the CUE National Conference in Palm Springs! Once I got past my initial feelings of overwhelm, I found the conference a great space to gather new ideas, feed off the energy of 6,500+ Computer Using Educators, and revisit why I became an educator in the first place.

Overall Message:  Technology can transform the way we gather information and express ourselves at any age, as well as make the school environment more personalized, adaptable, and accessible. But it's not enough to recreate analog teaching methods in digital environments, or throw neat apps at students. Teachers must rethink the way they teach and examine their ideas about how students learn so that they can capitalize on technology's biggest benefits in the classroom.

Resources: Yes, the overall message of the conference seemed to be that some cool websites/apps do not instantly guarantee great learning experiences. However, I did run in to some useful sites and apps that I couldn't help but share:

• George Couros - His keynote speech was incredibly well-done and motivating. He is a Canadian educator and education advocate who wrote a book called Innovator's Mindset, which I immediately put on my To Read list.

• GoNoodle - This website provides a collection of videos to get kids (probably grades K-5) moving. This is great resource for brain breaks, indoor recess, advisory & morning meeting activities.

• Wonderopolis - A database for random questions and wonders. Probably best for grades 3-8. 

• Actively Learn - Using Actively Learn, teachers can embed comprehension questions, notes, and quizzes into reading passages. Access to 3 articles/month is free.

• ThingLink - Using ThingLink, teachers and students can annotate images and videos with other media (web links, videos, pictures, text, audio, maps, etc.) to easily create a sort of multi-media "poster" online.

• TES Teach with blendspace - A place to create interactive lessons and presentations.

• Smithsonian TweenTribune - Kind of like Newsela - a site with leveled nonfiction articles. Unlike Newsela, you don't need to sign up for an account and there aren't paid features. It does contain ads though.

• Chatterpix Kids - An iPad app where students can animate photos to "talk" and then record the audio so a still photo looks like it has come to life. Could be great for mini-reports or creative formative assessments.

• Screencasting - Screencasting is a great tool for teachers and students alike to show learning and teach others. There's screencasting sites like Screencastify for Chrome or Screencast-o-Matic. On iPads, students (and teachers) can use apps like Explain Everything, ShowMe, and Educreations (see my previous post about these apps!).

Make Your Prep (More) Productive Using Omnifocus

Let's face it: being a teacher means a never-ending To Do list and not enough prep time to achieve all that you need.
 

I'll admit, I'm a bit disorganized. It takes effort not to lose student papers, forget appointments, or remember to prep the lesson I'm teaching in 5 minutes. I'm also a bit anxious, so remembering to remember also takes mental energy away from simply taking action.
 

I started listening to the Out of School podcast by Fraser Speirs and Bradley Chambers. In several of their episodes they discuss David Allen's book Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity (the method commonly known as GTD). I was intrigued. I bought the book, skimmed some and read some, and tried it out using Omnifocus 2, a productivity tool for iPad, iPhone, and Mac.
 

In Getting Things Done, David Allen argues that in order to be productive and creative, you need to free your mind from the taxing work of remembering to do stuff. He has five steps in his methodology that you can explore here and read about in detail in his book.
 

This was in early January. Now it's March and I'm still using Omnifocus 2 quite successfully. It has become my go-to organization system because I can input "action items" quickly into my Inbox from a variety of sources. Here's my diagram of it all:

Why Omnifocus 2 is worth the $25 (yes, there are educator discounts!):

• When I'm driving away from school and I remember something that I need to do: I set it up so that when I ask Siri on my iPhone to set a reminder, the reminder automatically goes into Omnifocus.

• When I'm working on my iPad or iPhone, I can send other materials like photos and websites to Omnifocus.

• One of the best things about Omnifocus is how it has allowed me to manage my work emails from MS Outlook on my work PC. Using the Mail Drop, I can transfer important emails to Omnifocus by forwarding them to a unique email address. Then in Omnifocus, emails become To Do list items to which I can assign due dates.

• I have also synched my work Outlook calendar with iCal on my iPad, which is synched with Omnifocus. Whenever I'm looking at the day's To Do list, I also see my appointments.

• I can set certain projects to pop up at certain times. I have a Project called "AM Routine" that pops up on my Omnifocus every morning. That way, when I'm still half-asleep at 7:30, I don't have to worry about starting my day correctly, I can just plug through my AM Routine list and get my morning started. I got this idea from Fraser Speirs in his "GTD" series of the Out of School podcast.

The result is that I am hardly ever without a tool (iPhone, iPad, computer) that I can't use to add items to Omnifocus so I don't forget them. The trouble with organization systems of the past was that if my To Do list was in a notebook and I happened to leave it on my desk (yes, I am forgetful), then I'd have to keep a "To Do" item in my head and hope I'd remember to write it down when I got back to my notebook.

Other Cool Features

• Review: One of David Allen's GTD tenants is to review outstanding projects and to do lists frequently. In Omnifocus, I can set certain projects to be reviewed however often I wish so that I make sure to update these lists. 

• Projects: I can break down projects into actionable items to organize my projects into small, manageable pieces (David Allen says that a Project is technically anything more that one action item).

• Contexts: I can attribute a context to my inbox items so that I can view certain items when I want to focus on certain contexts (work items, home items, etc.).

• The Omnifocus Forums online are great resources to browse for more information about the program.

 

An example screen from a day's To Do items with Calendar items included

In conclusion, I'm a big Omnifocus fan and it is definitely worth the price of a license. My productivity has gone up, my anxiety has gone down, and I finally feel like I have an organization system I can use with fidelity.