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a system administrator works amongst a tangle of cords

Celebrate 2021 System Administrator Appreciation Day

by Andrew Roush July 30, 2021

written by Andrew Roush

Let’s start with the basics. What is a system administrator, or sysadmin? In short, they’re professionals who maintain and configure computer systems, particularly multi-user systems, like servers or networks. With that in mind, it’s easy to see why sysadmins have a big role to play in ed tech, keeping up the tools and tech educators and administrators use each day and ensuring that learning can happen on campuses and in districts across the country and around the world.

That’s why July 30, 2021 marks the 22nd annual commemoration of System Administrator Appreciation Day. This event is an opportunity to express our gratitude to the techies who keep things running smoothly for all of us. Especially after semesters of flipped, blended, and remote learning, it’s worth taking time to thank our sysadmins for their expertise and dedication.

Origins and Ideas

The idea to celebrate sysadmins wasn’t part of a groundswell. Rather, it started as a joke. As we described last year:

It all started with a fruit basket. Sort of. In 2000, system administrator Ted Kekatos saw a magazine ad for HP’s then-latest printer, the HP LaserJet 4000. He’d just installed several of that model at his company. But the ad didn’t seem to match his experience.
Here’s how Kekatos described it in a 2011 interview: “The ad showed a sysadmin sitting in his cube. Outside of his cube was a line of users bringing fruit baskets and flowers. I tore out the ad and showed it to my coworkers. I thought ‘Hey this is great! A sysadmin is getting flowers, fruit and wine from his users!’ So that was how System Administrator Appreciation Day 1.0 got started.”
Kekatos meant it as a gentle ribbing to his coworkers, but soon the company’s annual July barbecue became SysAdmin Day, now formally known as System Administrator Appreciation Day. The idea caught on.
“Why System Administrators Matter“

Traditionally, it’s a day to share your gratitude with the administrators at your school in the form of small gifts and tokens of appreciation. Consider small events, parties, cakes, cards, gift cards, and more. The official website for the celebration even suggests posting photos of your hard-working admins and your celebrations on “Facebook, Flickr, Reddit, Twitter, and your preferred social media.”

Resources for System Administrators

Find more ways to celebrate your system administrators — or promote and enhance their work. Check out some previous TechNotes posts below that are meant to offer fresh, practical resources for those who work in the tech trenches. But before you admins put these tips into practice, don’t forget to take a break. It’s your day, after all.

Looking for ways to treat your admin? Check out our 2017 SysAdmin Day post here.
For sysadmins, technology coordinators, and tech support workers interested in becoming a leader in the field, TCEA’s TEC-SIG special interest group might be for you.
You can also read about TEC-SIG events, resources, and engaged members here and here.

And don’t forget, TCEA’s own System Administrator and Technical Support Conference happens Oct. 21–22, 2021!

How will you be celebrating your system admins? Share your ideas and stories in the comments!

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

July 30, 2021 0 comment

How to Plan and Moderate an Online Panel Discussion

by Miguel Guhlin January 12, 2021

written by Miguel Guhlin

I’ve served many times as both a panelist and a panel organizer in my career. Over that time, I’ve come up with certain tips that can ensure you have a well-organized, engaging panel conversation, and I’m excite to share them with you now.

A Few Words Before Beginning

Every panel is different. I’ve had panels with panelists who agree with each other. In others, the participants engage in a bit of parallel play, like toddlers. Each showcases what unique aspect of a topic they have to offer, but there’s seldom a mix. Shifting your panel from a bunch of experts sharing to a team can be challenging. It may even be impossible in the time you have.

The key is breaking past the ice of strangers sitting next to each other. You have to encourage relationships between panelists. This warmth and interactivity shifts your panel’s stilted utterances to a chat. The first tip, then, is to engage your panel before the date and time of the discussion. Build that connection before the day of the panel. Otherwise, your panelists will be in competition with each other. Who’s contribution is the best? Will one presentation outshine the others?

But how do you begin building that relationship between panelists?

Tip #1 – Collaborate on Planning

One approach that works well is to invite the panelists to collaborate on planning the event. You can set up a Google Doc or OneNote notebook and provide all of them with access to it. The key is a common space you can work in together to plan what the panel will include. Several things I like to make sure to have in my planning documents appear below:

Welcome. Be sure to outline the goals of the panel and what you hope to get done. This needs to be open-ended. I like to phrase my welcome as an invitation that gives panelists permission to share. When panelists get invited to take part, they interpret their part in a narrow way and may see it as a sliver of one aspect of a topic. You need to “bust that open” so they feel comfortable sharing anything relevant. They are a panelist because of the connections and ideas they have, so you want those shared.
Logistics. This is something you need to have, so get it out of the way early. Address who, what, when, and where. Make sure to include any relevant websites. You may also want to include technical support suggestions (e.g. headset with microphone). If technical requirements are many, you can make technical support its own component of the document.
Panel Questions. Invite participants to contribute what questions they would like to respond to. This gives them ownership over the questions. It also allows them to showcase their expertise and helps them differentiate each other’s contributions. One fear panelists have is that someone on the panel is going to “scoop” them, sharing their exact same idea or tip. By having them come up with questions, you can include even more questions, and perhaps ones that you as the moderator would not have thought of. But always be sure to provide the questions to your panel so they can think ahead about them. The goal of a panel is to get expert testimony, not interrogate or put a panelist on the spot. This is not a courtroom drama; you are the panel moderator, not the district attorney.
About the Panel. Since my plan is to create a website featuring the panelists, I include a short bio and twitter/email address for each one. A headshot image is also requested. I like to organize them on a Google Sites, although others prefer a slide deck program. I don’t recommend spending a lot of time on the About the Panelists part during the panel. Refer people to where they can find out more about the panelists on their own.

Some more items appear in the Google Doc planning. I cover those below in the tips listed area. Those include the panel schedule, tweetmeet schedule, resources, and chat transcript.

Tip #2 – Schedule Event and Tweets

When creating schedules, you may want to divide them up into several parts. For example, I like to create a rough outline of the event schedule. That becomes a timeline to keep us all moving forward. I also create a Twitter schedule. Let’s discuss the event schedule first.

Your Event Timeline

With an event schedule, you create blocks of time people can move around in. Ten-to-fifteen-minute blocks work well to organize the time. In the first chunk of time, I like to let the panelists introduce themselves. Invite each to speak for no more than two each (and less is even better!).

After introductions are complete and I have responded, I invite opening statements. Some panel moderators combine the introductions and opening statements. My preference is small chunks of speech interspersed with audience participation. Having a timeline makes directing the flow of conversation easier than negotiating time in the moment.

Your TweetMeet

An exciting component of a panel presentation is how hyperconnected everyone is. You can take advantage of that through the use of a custom type of Twitter chat called a Tweetmeet. This type of chat allows you to escape the immediacy of a live twitter chat. Of course, creating a unique hashtag is a necessity to track those tweets.

Need some amazing tips?

Check out TCEA’s Sara Qualls Twitter chat tips.

In a Tweetmeet, you use a tool like Hootsuite or Tweetdeck (free) to schedule text and images to appear as a tweet. You can pose questions and invite panelists to respond. Each person schedules their own tweets. In this way, tweets appear at key moments during the panel discussion. The tweets are both independent of the panel discussion, but related to the content.

Organize tweets into three categories: PRIOR, DURING, and AFTER. In PRIOR, I schedule advertising tweets. These introduce the panel, either one by one or all together. Given time, I’m able to share insightful quotes from the panelists. Be sure to include pictures and panel registration information. I schedule one to three tweets a day.

To assist panelists, I create a table and account for every minute of the panel presentation. I put in some of my tweets, dividing the time into topics. Then, I invite panelists to post a response to the topic with the hashtag. In this way, a conversation happens via social media. It amplifies the panel conversation topics, creating a sense of expectation. You can learn about how to archive the tweets using either Wakelet or Twitter Archiving Google Sheets (TAGS) to get the job done.

Tip #3 – Gather Resources

One significant challenge faced is gathering relevant resources during a panel discussion. Ask your panelists to put anything they would like to share in a Wakelet or a slide deck to ease sharing. In advance of the panel discussion, ask them for any resources they would like to share with the audience.

Example of a Google Sites resources page for a panel

Compile those resources and put them on a website (e.g. Google Sites or OneNote). Share that resource link with participants up front. This prevents pointless questions like, “Will that be shared anywhere so we can get it?”

Tip #4 – Optimize Panel Density

What I like to do is pack the panel so that there are diverse viewpoints. Each panelist brings their own unique perspective. Reconciling those viewpoints can be fun. How do you know how many people to have on a panel? Here’s one way to optimize panel density.

If you have panelists who know each other, less is better. These panelists will interact and their conversation will make time go by quick. If you have panelists who are strangers to each other, then more is better. For the latter group, each can share their insight and then you move on to the next. In this way, time passes with each panelist sharing their unique perspective.

Packed panels are great when it’s about content knowledge. Less packed panels allows relationships between ideas to shine. Choose the panel density that spotlights your topic.

Tip #5 – Engage Chat Participants

It’s important to remember that participants in panels may lurk. Make lurkers feel comfortable and share resources with them. Amplify the voices of participants who speak up. For those who offer commentary or resources of their own, call them out by name. Credit them for what they have contributed. Don’t be afraid in a Zoom or Meet discussion to give them the microphone as time allows.

Move It, Move It: Keep Them Active

A few parting thoughts. In an online panel, it’s important to remember the power of movement. A body that moves keeps the brain awake. TCEA member Lisa Monthie (Twitter:@lisamonthie, Waco ISD) recommends you keep these points in mind:

Cue your panelist before calling on them.
Praise participants for desired behaviors. For example, “Thank you, Jerry, for having your camera on.” Or, consider, “Thank you Lenard, for posting that in the chat.”
Have participants move and act out responses. This can include asking participants and panelists to hold up fingers, point to your eyes or ears. These small movements engage everyone.

Two final tips she suggests include allowing more time for responses and using sentence starters. The sentence starters make feedback fun, lessening the fear of participants.

Feature Image Source

Photo by Antenna on Unsplash

January 12, 2021 1 comment

Android Chromebooks Good Teaching Google Tips and Tricks iOS Tips and Tricks

Converting PDFs/Images to Digital Worksheets

by Miguel Guhlin October 13, 2020

written by Miguel Guhlin

“I need help! PDFs! Parents are frustrated with how we have kids submit assignments,” says Sammie. She left her PDF lament in a popular Facebook group for Schoology. If there’s a question that reoccurs often in any forum, it’s how do I edit PDFs? How should I be converting PDFs into easy-to-edit documents that students can use? This includes exit tickets, assignments, digital homework, printables, quizzes, and more.

That’s the million-dollar question for educators. They are struggling to convert paper worksheets into digital learning opportunities. In this blog entry, we’ll explore a few ways educators are getting the job done.

Step #1: Digitizing Content with an App

Need to digitize that worksheet? In previous blog entries, we’ve covered some quick tools you can use to digitize content. How do you digitize that paper worksheet in your manila folder? One easy solution is to convert documents to PDF. Use Microsoft’s Office Lens app on iOS and/or Android. You can snap a picture and convert it into a PDF you can put anywhere.

edit easy

Photo Credit: Windows Community

Need another choice? Give my favorite app, Fast Scanner, a try for free,or get the pro version ($4.99). This app makes saving black and white, color, and greyscale images/PDFs to Google Drive easy.

edit easy

Now, remember that there are many websites online that share worksheets in PDF. For example, GreatSchools offers worksheets for all ages. Other sources of worksheets include:

And let’s not forget Seesaw’s Activity Library. With a free Seesaw account, you’ll be able to take advantage of the Activity Library they offer. What’s more, with a SeeSaw Plus or for Schools account, students can edit and annotate those PDFs and turn them in.

Did You Know?

Get up to speed with all that SeeSaw offers via the TCEA SeeSaw Educator self-paced, online course. Learn more online.

Step #2: Converting PDFs to an Easy-to-Edit Document

Making PDFs into an online form boggles the mind. How do you take images and PDFs and then turn them into something students can type on or draw on? And, is it possible to track assignment completion on a PDF or image? The answer is, “Yes, but it depends on the tools you decide to use.” Each of these tools has its own advantages and disadvantages.

You can use a popular PDF to JPG/PNG website (e.g. PDFCandy, PDF2PNG, ILovePDF, SmallPDF.com). Each of these websites makes conversion a breeze. If you need to install a PDF tool on your Windows computer to split PDFs, get PDFsam Basic. It makes splitting, joining, adding, and deleting pages in a PDF easy.

edit easy

But what do you do afterwards? It all depends on what you need students to do and where. Let’s explore what’s available.

Step #3: Convert PDF/Image into Learning Activity

Let’s take a quick look at the tools available, from free to more expensive:

Google Slides (read blogs and view videos)
Microsoft PowerPoint/OneNote
Teacher Made
KAMI (listen to this Ed Tech Club podcast featuring KAMI)
Wizer.me (watch this video, “Making Worksheets Interactive”)
Canvas LMS (read related blog entries)

My favorite tool is the one that does the most and costs the least. For web-based users, free Google Slides/Microsoft PowerPoint, or OneNote work great. Need scoring? You will need a tool like TeacherMade.

How To: Google Slides/PowerPoint/OneNote

Import a PDF into Google Slides and/or PowerPoint. Set it as the background, then add text boxes on top. Assign it to students to complete. OneNote users also have it easy.

Other tools, although they offer a trial or lite version, like Wizer.me ($35.99 a year) and KAMI ($99 year), cost money. My least favorite tool is the PDF tool built into Canvas because it is quite limited. Erin Hartman does a great job exploring it in this blog entry, “Edit PDFs in Canvas Assignments.”

edit easy

Note: Only a portion of the chart is shown.

The above comparison chart may assist you in deciding which is the right tool for you. I’ve made the chart easy to edit if it needs correction or additions. What do you think will be your go-to tools?

New Tool Spotlight: TeacherMade

Since I hadn’t seen Teacher Made before, I thought I’d do a quick walkthrough. I was able to create my free account with my G Suite EDU login credentials. Two seconds later, I was working on creating my single page worksheet. (Of course, TeacherMade supports PDFs up to 12 pages long). Since I didn’t have one handy, I saved one from the Great Schools website mentioned earlier.

edit easy

For fun, I decided to turn this into a matching activity rather than a circle one. I inserted color blocks to cover the words and turned the line border to transparent. Then I set up matching pairs, drawing boxes and then linking the two matching items. It was easy. Finally, I revised the instructions.

edit easy

You can see a worksheet preview here:

Once you have customized the worksheet for students, you can assign it to them, as you can see below:

edit easy

Start your journey of TeacherMade.com discovery with Kimberly Jacquay’s video series:

Lean into TeacherMade with these two follow-up videos:

And don’t forget that TeacherMade is free.

Now You Know

Get started soon transforming paper worksheets into digital learning opportunities. Use tools like PDFCandy to convert anything into a PDF or JPG/PNG. Or, get a PDF worksheet from a free online source. Then, make it interactive and scorable with an available tool.

October 13, 2020 0 comment

Technical Support

Why System Administrators Matter

by Andrew Roush July 26, 2019

written by Andrew Roush

Modern education is a complex, ever-evolving system, one that relies on technology and computer networks for record-keeping, classroom instruction, communication, and just about everything that happens on campus or in district offices. Behind all of that are system administrators — and today’s their day. Here’s why.

A Day of Appreciation

It all started with a fruit basket. Sort of. In 2000, system administrator Ted Kekatos saw a magazine ad for HP’s then-latest printer, the HP LaserJet 4000. He’d just installed several of that model at his company. But the ad didn’t seem to match his experience.

Here’s how Kekatos described it in a 2011 interview:

The ad showed a sysadmin sitting in his cube. Outside of his cube was a line of users bringing fruit baskets and flowers. I tore out the ad and showed it to my coworkers. I thought ‘Hey this is great! A sysadmin is getting flowers, fruit and wine from his users!’ So that was how System Administrator Appreciation Day 1.0 got started.

Kekatos meant it as a gentle ribbing to his coworkers, but soon the company’s annual July barbecue became SysAdmin Day, now formally known as System Administrator Appreciation Day. The idea caught on. This year, SysAdmin Day is July 26.

Powering On

If you’re not one, you may not entirely grasp what a system administrator does. Indeed, the title is less than descriptive. If you are a system administrator, you may even have a hard time telling your coworkers exactly what you do—an ever-changing and overlapping set of responsibilities. For the purposes of clarity, let’s consult the experts.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:

Computer networks are critical parts of almost every organization. Network and computer systems administrators are responsible for the day-to-day operation of these networks. They organize, install, and support an organization’s computer systems, including local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), network segments, intranets, and other data communication systems.

Saying Thanks

In a sense, sysadmins make the trains of education run. They keep tech on track and functioning. That, in a nutshell, is why sysadmins matter. How should you celebrate? Here’s what Kekatos, who still runs the official System Administrator Day website, suggests:

This is the day that all fellow System Administrators across the globe, will be showered with expensive sports cars and large piles of cash in appreciation of their diligent work. But seriously, we are asking for a nice token gift and some public acknowledgement. It’s the least you could do.

Around the world, people are doing just that: writing songs celebrating the keyboard warriors, giving gifts, or sending cards (though, despite requests, SysAdmin Day is yet to be recognized as a Hallmark holiday). The day has even spawned its own mini-musical.

Of course, one of the best ways to support sysadmins is to support their work. Check out TCEA’s System Administrator and Technical Support Conference, October 24–25, for outstanding opportunities to grow technical skill sets, share knowledge, and build your technological capacity.

Resources for System Administrators

At TCEA, we wanted to offer our own token of appreciation. Check out some previous TechNotes posts, below, meant to offer fresh, practical resources for those who work in the tech trenches. But before you admins put these tips into practice, don’t forget to take a break. It’s your day, after all.

Looking for ways to treat your admin? Check out our 2017 SysAdmin Day post here.
For sysadmins, technology coordinators, and tech support workers interested in becoming a leader in the field, TCEA’s TEC-SIG special interest group might be for you.
You can also read about TEC-SIG events, resources, and engaged members here and here.

Photo: Taylor Vick

July 26, 2019 0 comment

CTO/CIO Leadership

Metrics and KPIs Made Easy

by Miguel Guhlin February 21, 2019

written by Miguel Guhlin

“I want you to come up with metrics,” said my assistant superintendent. He wasn’t speaking only to me. His gaze went around the room touching on each of the directors seated in front of him. “They should be short, to the point, and tell me in one page how you are getting things done.” This was my first introduction to the concept of key performance indicators (KPIs). In this blog entry, we’ll explore some ways you can use KPIs to gauge effectiveness.

Defining KPIs

Before we jump into KPIs, let’s take a moment to define them. A well-defined KPI can make it easier to gauge success. Here’s a definition that I use with folks attending my webinar for TCEA’s IT/Director Certification:

KPIs are an actionable scorecard. They focus your strategy. They are metrics that make management, control and achievement of desired results possible.

There is a purpose to setting up KPIs, says Steve Young (former CTO for Judson ISD, San Antonio, TX, now CTO for VIA Transit). He says, “It is to create an easy-to-understand visual representation of metrics. The goal is to integrate and automate data analysis from a few key systems and share this data in a public way.” This makes it simple for staff to update data and for the end user to see it, too.

Spotlight District: Crowley ISD Features a Digital Dashboard

Jerry Allen, CTO, uses several tools to power the District’s digital dashboard. He combines Google Sites, Sheets, Domo, and Pingdom. The first three yield a wide variety of viewable data. The last, Pingdom, provides insight into the status (e.g. offline or up/down) of web-based services.

Created by author, **View Canva version**

Types of KPIs

There are many types of key performance indicators. While you can find a complete list online, here are a two examples:

Input KPIs measure assets and resources invested in or used to generated results. For example, they could help you gauge the answers to these questions:

How much has staff spent to enhance employee knowledge and capacity? Think of this as useful for online or face-to-face certification programs.
How much time has your staff spent planning a future initiative or project?

Output KPIs measure financial and non-financial results of activities. Two output KPIs include the following:

How many people did the HelpDesk or onsite support serve in a given time?
How many staff members received professional learning on blending technology into the curriculum?

Whatever KPIs you decide to use, make sure of one thing. Align them to your organization’s strategic goals. Then make every an effort to put these KPIs online for others to access. Once you start making KPIs for technology, the curriculum department will be after you to make some for your own.

Case Study: Crowley ISD

Since I first saw web-based data dashboards highlighting KPIs in my work in San Antonio ISD a scant ten years ago, the technology has gotten easier. In East Central ISD, I made KPIs with Google Sheets and Sites. Each Sheet had to be filled in with data collected one row at a time. Then the data was graphed. On a published update schedule, the graphs were updated. To be honest, my cobbled together data dashboard was light years ahead of anything any other director could put together at that time.

Now you can create data dashboards with low-cost tools that update in real time. Crowley ISD’s Jerry Allen has done a phenomenal job of featuring usable data.

Take a quick visit to Crowley ISD’s Data Dashboard website (a Google Site). In no time, you’ll be drooling (like I was) over the data available. When I asked Jerry Allen how he started off, he said, “I started putting numbers in a Google Sheet. The Sheet connects to Domo, which gives me embed code for a live graph. I put that code on a Google Sites page.” Over time, the people who owned the data learned how to add to it themselves.

As you might imagine, putting data into Google Sheets and then reflecting that data as a graph via Domo is quite straightforward. What KPIs are you using (or could be using) to capture your department’s efforts in alignment to district strategic goals and objectives?

Sample KPIs

Looking for examples of KPIs specific (link goes to Google Doc you can get a copy of) to your area? Here is a quick round-up of a few popular ones you can find online.

Instructional Technology

Percentage of Classes Using Technology
Percentage of Administrators Using Technology
Social Media Engagement
Level of Teaching Innovation (LOTI) or Brightbytes Clarity Survey Data

HelpDesk

Calls to HelpDesk Per Month
Average Handle Time for HelpDesk
Average Response Time for Onsite Support

Technology Administration or Infrastructure

Technology Budget as a Percentage of Total Expense
Out-sourced versus In-sourced Services Cost Overview
Cost and Quantity of Devices Deployed in Schools
Inventory: How many items are part of an active inventory, have been removed from inventory, are “aged” and have become obsolete. This should be connected to the equipment replacement plan and costs planned in advance.

Another approach you can take is to rely on an SLA. An SLA is a “service level agreement” that you share with your stakeholders. It describes what services you offer, the level of priority assigned to each, and response time. A critical computer lab at the high school goes down? How often does that happen? How quick did your team respond? Get a copy of an SLA I adapted from another CTO for use in a school district I served.

Metrics and KPIs Made Easy

As mentioned earlier, there are various tools for creating an online KPI dashboard. While you can pay a pretty penny for these, you can put your own together. Do you like KPI tools like Domo, Pingdom, Google Sheets + Google Sites, CatchOn, or Microsoft’s Power BI? Need some inspiration as to crafting KPIs? Check out these examples to get you started.

Want to learn more about KPIs? Why not sign up for the TCEA IT/Director certification course?

February 21, 2019 0 comment

Announcements/Important Dates

Must-Know Tips for the 2019 TCEA Convention & Exposition

by Lori Gracey January 30, 2019

written by Lori Gracey

If you will be one of the thousands of dedicated educators joining us in fabulous San Antonio February 4-8, then you know that this is the first time TCEA has been to the Alamo City for convention. That means that you may be feeling a little out of your depth with all of the changes occurring because we’re in a new place. But never fear! I’m here to share all of the must-know tips and tricks to make you feel at home and have the very best professional learning experience ever. So read on to be in the know!

Before You Go

There are more than 1,100 learning opportunities at the convention this year. That’s a lot, so many that it can sometimes be overwhelming deciding what to go to. So the first thing you should do is to select one or two topics of need that you want to focus on at the event. Maybe your district is implementing iPads or Chromebooks or you want to learn more about blended learning or how to incorporate STEM in your classroom. Pick one or two big topics to concentrate on and spend most of your time at those sessions. Concentrating will ensure that you don’t feel scattered or overwhelmed and that you have a solid plan to put into place when you return to your campus. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you can’t attend sessions on other topics, but simply that you will have a strong focus to keep you anchored.

Next, download the TCEA app. We are using a new app company this year. So if you have our old app downloaded, it won’t work for this event. Search your App Store for ‘TCEA Convention‘ and download the app.

With the app installed, you can now search for presentations on your two topics. Tap “Start” and then “Session List.” You can type your topic in the search bar at the top. Once you find a session you want to attend, use the Bookmark to mark it for later.

Because there will be so many attendees at the convention, you will need to have a backup plan in case one of the sessions you want to take part in is full. And for those presentations that you absolutely have to get into, get there early!

The sessions are provided in a wide (and dizzying) array of formats to best meet each attendee’s learning needs. You can read up on what each one offers here.

Attire and Things to Bring

The weather should be pretty nice for February. There is a chance of rain on Thursday, but otherwise, it looks great.

Convention centers can be cold places, regardless of the weather outside. Especially on Monday and Tuesday, when there are usually fewer people in the building. So plan on wearing layered clothing that you can remove as needed.

WEAR COMFORTABLE SHOES! This is not a fashion event. You will be walking anywhere from two to five miles a day in this big place. So wear cushiony socks and really comfy shoes.

With all of that walking, it’s easy to get dehydrated. The convention center has water fountains and some water coolers scattered around. So your best bet is to bring a refillable water bottle instead of paying too much money for bottled water there. And because you may want to skip lunch to get in an extra session, pack some snacks: fruit, nuts, crackers, cheese, whatever will keep you energized for all of the learning that you’ll be doing.

The Convention Center

Be sure to get familiar with this new convention center before you arrive on site. We will be using the entire building except for the River Level rooms. There are detailed map on the app that you can look at. But here are the basics:

The main lobby is on Level 1. It’s where most people will enter the center and where the shuttles will drop you off. Here, you’ll find registration, volunteer check-in, the membership booth, social media wall, exhibit hall main entrance, and exhibitor registration.

Level 2 has the majority of the session rooms. You’ll find Solution Circles, presentations, Exhibitor Showcase sessions, the Apple Playground (on Thursday) and Apple help desk (all week), and the Dell room there. The Innovation Lab is also on this floor (and has some really cool things going on in it!)

Also on Level 2, you’ll find the poster sessions, Innovator Spotlight, Google room, SMART room, CDWG room, Microsoft room, and the Amazon Web Services room.

The BYOD workshops, featured presenters, and keynote sessions can be found on Level 3 (below).

Additional maps are available in the app and in your printed program.

After Hours

San Antonio is an amazing city and has so much to offer. So don’t just leave the convention center and spend the rest of the evening in your room. Two longtime San Antonio residents, Convention Chair Elect Charlotte Dolat and Area 20 Director Caleb Hudgens offer their insider ideas for the best places to visit after your learning day is done. You can catch their fabulous tips in this video.

Secrets (Don’t Share with Anyone Else!)

You’ll be glad that you read to the end of this blog because of the three secrets that I’m going to share with you now. First, if you arrive a little early for the Tuesday keynote, you’ll receive a fabulous momento of your experience at TCEA in San Antonio. (And, of course, you’ll get to hear the amazing Mae Jemison!) Seating for this event is limited.

Also, the TCEA Membership Booth is having a special contest during the convention. Each day, the membership staff will hide 100 plastic light bulbs that contain a tech tip, a TCEA fact, or other interesting piece of information around the convention center. If you find one of these light bulbs and bring it to the Membership Booth, you will receive a free t-shirt. In addition, you’ll help to light up a real display as we all get Fully Charged!

Finally, if you can find me during the convention (I’m usually wandering around!), I’ll be happy to provide you with a unique ribbon to add to your badge. As you may know, having the most ribbons on your badge is a standard non-game that we play at TCEA each year.

Be sure to take full advantage of this amazing learning experience by following all of these tips, which will guarantee that you leave San Antonio FULLY CHARGED!

2019 TCEA Convention

January 30, 2019 10 comments

Libraries Professional Learning

Shine Bright in 2019

by Guest Blogger January 17, 2019

written by Guest Blogger

Happy New Year! For those outside of education, the New Year is a time of renewal, a time to make new goals and plans to achieve them. It’s often a new fiscal year for companies, businesses, and individuals. The New Year brings the promise of a fresh start and the opportunity to reset elements in your life that need a reboot.

As an educator, I have always felt that this is my midpoint. It’s often the midpoint of the school year and when we change semesters and get different students or classes. It’s after the first set of breaks, but before the next set. It’s at this midpoint in the school year when we look at student growth and not just academically. This is when it becomes evident to many of us how much our students grow and change physically and emotionally. The midpoint of the school year, or New Years, often becomes a time of reflection.

Multitasking Can Take a Toll

As educators, I think we tend to get down on ourselves easily. Many of us work so hard every day and pour ourselves into our students, our colleagues, our school, our district, and our profession. When I describe what a day of school is like to family and friends, I often use the analogy of jumper cables. Being a teacher or working in a school is like being a battery that is hooked up to jumper cables. Every few minutes you get jolted. All day. Every day. There are several good blog posts and articles about the sheer number of decisions and tasks a teacher faces and makes in any given day (Teachers Are Master Multi-taskers (But We Already Knew That…, A Teacher Makes 1500 Educational Decisions A Day, Decision Making). That constant multi-tasking wears us down mentally and physically. There is a quote that has become a widely used analogy in education. It’s that teachers make more minute-by-minute decisions than brain surgeons. Honestly, it could be fairly accurate, but no one has done any official research. It does, however, paint a vivid picture of a day in the life of teacher for those of us that live it. There isn’t a lot of recognition or glory in an educator’s day-to-day world.

Find Your People

Educators are notorious for not sharing their triumphs, their successes, or their awards. We also may not share our failures or mistakes and what we learn from them. So when we do share or put ourselves out there, there are often colleagues at our school or friends and family members that are less than impressed.

My PLN however, my carefully selected PLN on Twitter, is my professional chosen family. I know I can open that app, and in less than five minutes, find something that makes me think, something that inspires me, someone I can help, or something that just makes me smile. Many of the people I follow, I actually know. I have a personal relationship with that person to some degree because we have real conversations. I know I can go to them and share a success or a moment in the spotlight that lifts me up and propels me forward, and there, that community will celebrate me. Sometimes the rest of the world is like “Congratulations! That’s great. What’s for dinner? Can you go to the store and get me some new earbuds? Is the laminator on? Do you have a book recommendation? Can you help me with my YouTube channel?” But my PLN gets it. They get what a momentous achievement it is when I win an award or a publish an article or have a presentation that is well received. They get it when I write a blog post about something that I learned with my students that took days, weeks, or months to develop. They get it when I share pictures and videos of my students learning and growing and changing.

Just as so many are there for me and have my back, I try to do the same for them. I celebrate others when they have an achievement, and I try to LIKE the things people put out there because I know it helps people feel acknowledged and seen. Some people are natural encouragers, but I feel like social media allows us to be intentional about encouragement, even if it doesn’t come naturally.

Let Your Community Lift You Up in 2019

This brings me back to my original reflection: It’s our midpoint in the school year, and many of us are looking for those things that lift us up and propel us to the next moment. We want to find the motivation to be genuinely excited about on Tuesday in January as we work with hundreds of students and other teachers and staff in our buildings. We are looking for those things that bring us real joy. As you reflect at your midpoint in the school year, I encourage you to find the community in your life that lifts you up. I like Twitter, but yours may be another social media platform, the TCEA Community, a text strand, or a group messaging app. When you find that community, or if you already have one, make it a habit to share all the things with them. As an educator, you’ve earned it. Embrace your ability to shine bright and be seen in 2019!

This is a guest blog by Nancy Jo Lambert. Nancy Jo is a high school teacher librarian at Reedy High School in Frisco ISD and Vice President of LIB-SIG. This blog is part of a monthly series of blogs from LIB-SIG.

January 17, 2019 0 comment

Professional Learning Web 2.0 Tool

TCEA Responds: Making Connections

by Miguel Guhlin July 23, 2018

written by Miguel Guhlin

Listen to Blog Entry

Dear TCEA Responds:

We are an organization that provides access to various digital resources for K-12 public and open enrollment charter schools. Over 95% of the eligible students (and teachers) in Texas now have access to these resources. One challenge, as an education partner, is getting these resources into the hands of teachers. TCEA has been a great place for us to connect directly with educators. I wonder if there are more ways to take advantage of the platform TCEA offers to reach our core audiences. Ideas or suggestions are greatly welcomed!

Thanks, Leandros

Dear Leandros:

Thank you for sharing the excitement and information. High access, low usage is, unfortunately, a common problem in K-12 education. The best products and resources, even if free, compete with many offerings. Some ideas came to mind that I’ll share below. May I share them with you?

Tip #1 – Write Guest Blog Entries

An easy way to reach connected educators, those most apt to take advantage of your non-profit educational resources, is to write guest blog entries. Write blog entries that address a specific problem, offer the appropriate solution, and align to curriculum standards. For example, I often encourage individuals and organizations to write a guest TCEA blog entry. Add an infographic, video tutorial, and/or an audio reading of your blog entry or podcast that we can include.

Tip #2 – Create Powerful Visuals

Looking for different ways to get information, tips, and suggestions out there? Make informative graphics that share bite-sized pieces of data and best use scenarios. You can access some examples with templates in this TCEA blog entry. After creating them, I share them via social media (e.g. Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Linked In). A blog entry or video will accompany the infographic. Research shows that engagement on Twitter can be grown over time. Gain audience with more images than text, custom hashtags, links to blog entries, and blend Instagram with Twitter (IFTTT.com is the perfect tool to use to publish once and then share to many social media outlets).

Get a copy of this sample social media flow diagram

Tip #3 – Collect Podcast Testimonials

Are educators using your product now? Find teachers who are using it, then feature them on a regular basis. Use a simple tool like Anchor.fm to create a podcast on the go with a smartphone. Anchor.fm will post your audio (record on smartphone, via web browser, or upload edited audio from your device) to Apple’s iTunes or Pocketcast and provide you with an RSS feed. Share the podcast link on Twitter with a visual. Do you have a subject matter expert? Perform short interviews (five to ten minutes) inviting others to respond. Publish each set of interviews as a podcast. Beef up the podcast with tips and suggestions.

Here’s an example of a podcast. You can find TCEA’s TechNotes podcast online at Anchor.FM

Tip #4 – Make Your Own Free Webinar Series

Many are creating free content and sharing it online. Avoid the fight to get people to sign up for your paywall. Instead, create free content that all can listen to, embedding suggestions for paid aspects of the services you provide. Create a webinar series that features your resources (maybe around a topic/content area), as well as several tools you can combine with it. Do one a week or month. Be brief (10-15 mins), start with a problem and offer solutions in authentic voice. Bring in guest speakers and announce it via social media. Spotlight amazing uses of your educational resource.

webinar schedule

Tip #5 – Setup Tweetmeets

Marjolein Hoekstra of OneNote monthly twitterfests fame first introduced me to Tweetmeets. Tweetmeets are like twitter chats where all questions and responses from guests are scheduled in advance. Participants think it’s happening live, but all posts (questions and answers) are pushed out on a schedule. This leaves the facilitator and guest(s) free to respond. Blend audio/video chats to add some excitement to the tweets. Do you have a local presence and active users? To kick off your Tweetmeet, do what Northside ISD in San Antonio, Texas does. Set up a face-to-face meeting with pizza in the evening to heighten engagement. You can track engagement with free tools, such as Twitter Archiving Google Tools. Here are some more suggestions.

Here’s what TAGS looks like in action:

Final Thoughts

As you consider the best way to share your education resources, remember to begin with enthusiasm. Commit to a short-term strategy that will advance your long-term goals. In this way, you can switch your strategy later on as the response grows.

July 23, 2018 0 comment

Leadership

Every Educator Has a Story to Tell

by Kristy Breaux May 8, 2018

written by Kristy Breaux

Educators are lifelong learners, admirably. Whether it’s listening to a podcast in the limited time they have between life and school or diving into another series of YouTube shorts, the love of learning never ends. When it comes to finding new pedagogical strategies or resources for transforming the classroom, many educators also look to their peers and other education trailblazers. So this is your call to step up and submit to present. Share your stories and help your peers find the inspiration they need.

Don’t Crave the Spotlight?

I don’t normally like the spotlight. While most educators can stand in front of an audience five days a week, many are not confident in sharing their successes with their peers. At the annual TCEA convention, more than 1,000 presentations share the stories of great educators and keep the learning fluent. Here’s how to dip your toe into becoming the next thought leader or just make an impact for another empowered educator.

Scenario: Your students have made strides with a new project and the impact is worth sharing.

Poster sessions are a great opportunity to showcase your students’ work, the challenges they have overcome, the progress they have made. These sessions are super informal and allow one-on-one conversations with peers to ask questions about your program(s).

Scenario: You just implemented a brand new reading program/class structure/parent resource/device/web tool.

We know you had to do a ton of research and may still have lingering questions. Solution Circles are where you belong. These intimate round-table sessions allow you to dig into complex issues in a comfortable space with others who are also searching for answers. Remember, sharing is caring!

Scenario: You’re the go-to resource on the campus when it comes to creating flyers for upcoming events.

So, what’s your skill set? Do you use tools like Wix and Canvas? Or do you dive right into Adobe Suite? Share your skills in a hands-on workshop letting the participants follow along and learn. Think about it like this: if you teach someone a new skill, it’ll probably alleviate the stress for one more person. Or, who knows, they could teach the next group of GT students.

Scenario: This isn’t your first TCEA. You’ve made friends from other districts who have similar goals and may or may not quite agree on the solution.

Panels are where we want to see you. Discuss the topic from various viewpoints and allow the audience to soak it in from all perspectives. You can do a smackdown, a “debate,” or just talk about how you implemented something.

Scenario: You just discovered one of the latest and greatest features of Google, Apple, and/or Microsoft and you’re slightly giddy about it.

Presentations are all about the sharing and caring of technology for learning. Use this 50-minute platform to give a recap of how you’re using the tool and the difference it has made. Share your tips and tricks and empower others.

Scenario: You feel siloed and are not even sure of the next step in tech integration.

You belong at the annual TCEA Convention & Exposition. This is where educators who are passionate about changing the way teaching and learning looks belong. And we can’t wait to welcome you.

Not Sure You’ve Got What It Takes?

If you’re worried that you may not be the best presenter in the world, take heart. All of the greats had to start somewhere! Check out this blog for some tips to make your presentation one that will last and inspire others.

I’m fortunate to have some really great friends in education that I can go to for a quick tip, question, or inspiration. Janet Corder, Joan Gore, Leslie Fisher, Peggy Reimers are all icons in my ed tech world. But, just like you, they had to take that leap to begin sharing with their peers. Join the force of educators transforming learning. Click here to start your presentation submission now. The deadline is May 31. I look forward to hearing your story in San Antonio!

May 8, 2018 0 comment

Good Teaching

You Might Be a Teacher If… Part 2

by Lori Gracey February 28, 2018

written by Lori Gracey

We took a somewhat tongue-in-cheek look at elementary teachers in our last post. So that means it’s time to shine the spotlight on secondary educators.

You Might Be a Secondary Teacher If…

You put up your bulletin boards in August and take them down, somewhat faded and abused, in May. (Or, if your school lets you, you leave them up all year round.)

You originally became a teacher because of a strong love for your content area, and then later learned to love (like? tolerate?) students.

You secretly scoff at elementary teachers when they complain about their work load with 22 students as you view the 150 essays waiting to be graded on your desk.

When your students tell you they drew you a picture, you’re afraid of what you’ll see.

You gain ten pounds each year just from from the candy and cookies fundraiser sales each club holds at school.

You wish you were paid a nickel for each time you answered the question “Miss, why do I need to know this?”

You love attending pep rallies every Friday because it gives you a chance to sit down.

You don’t understand how students who can remember every lyric to every song written in the past ten years can’t remember to put their names at the top of their papers.

You routinely break even your non-work days up into 45-minute segments.

The phrase “I like how (student name) isn’t stepping on my last nerve” has come out of your mouth more than once this week.

You want to stop at a fast food restaurant to pick up dinner, but hurriedly leave when you see several of your students working there.

You feel like a rock star when every student in the class passes the test.

You find yourself saying things that no one else can understand:

“I’m just going to wait until it’s quiet.”
“No, we can’t ignore the fire drill to stay in the room and listen to music!”
“Please stop collectively losing your minds!”
“Oh, it’s your birthday today? Students, on the count of three, everyone creepily whisper ‘happy birthday’ to James.”
“Your binder is not a chew toy.”
“We definitely do not want to see your underwear. Please pull up your pants.”
“No, writing your essay in hot pink ink is not acceptable.”
“Why did you just do the same thing that I told your classmate not to do?”

You lie in bed at night unable to sleep, worrying about a few special students and what they will become in the future.

You spend hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars of your own money on snacks for hungry kids, pencils and pens for those without, and classroom supplies to engage your students.

Your best moment is when you see a student who has been struggling finally grasp a new concept and determine that he/she can be successful.

February 28, 2018 0 comment

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