I'm Turning 40 Next Week...

Hey all, sorry I don't get around to updating over here as often as I'd like. I've been super preoccupied with my Google Innovator project, ResetEDU, and you can always check out and keep up with what's going on over there! Have you seen the latest video, my first-ever collab?!

My stretch goal for 2019 is to reach 1000 followers on YouTube, and I'd love to have your support! My 40th birthday is next week (eek!) and you can give me an awesome FREE gift just by helping to spread the word about my project.

Since my birthday is April 9th, here are NINE ways that you can help:

1. Subscribe to the ResetEDU channel on YouTube.
2. Hit the "like" button on any/all the videos to help get me more views!
3. Make a comment on any/all of the videos - this also helps with algorithm stuff and getting views!
4. Follow ResetEDU on Twitter
5. Follow ResetEDU on Instagram
6. Re-tweet/repost any and all of the posts that you see on social media! Here's one you can RT right away!
7. Make your own posts on social media about ResetEDU! Tag #ResetEDU and/or @ me so that I'm sure to see it! 
8. Tell a friend about the channel. Send them the link to a specific video you think they'd enjoy. 
9. Contact me to be a part of an upcoming ResetEDU project! 

Thank you! :)
- Mrs L.

Google Project Culture Shift

I've been participating in (yet another) project since the fall of this school year, called Project Culture Shift, through the Google Certified Innovator program. In this program, we were tasked to work with a group of teachers in our school district or building to create an initiative/project that would help shift the professional culture in your school/district.

I worked with a small group of teachers from our school leadership team to create an initiative that motivated teachers to start observing in each other's classroom (in a non-evaluative manner), to gather new ideas and spark conversations about professional practices as part of our regular habits.

You may have heard similar initiatives with names like Pineapple Charts or something similar, but we wanted to really personalize our project to our school culture - so we chose a popcorn/movie theme we dubbed "Pop-Ins." Our school colors are red and white, which lent itself perfectly to a traditional striped popcorn bucket theme... as well as tons of popcorn puns. Of course. :)

Just last week, our final showcase was live-streamed through Google channels. It was recorded, and you can go back and view it here:

Set your 📅 to join #GoogleEdu Certified Innovators around the 🌍 for a livestream on 1/22. Find out how they've been leading Project Culture Shift in their schools. Livestream avail during 2 times. Join at 12PM PST: https://t.co/e59lbki1Bo or 4PM PST: https://t.co/f4O0dYgHem pic.twitter.com/ya2MPYpywr

— Google For Education (@GoogleForEdu) January 16, 2019

I was super nervous to present and talk about our initiative (You know how you're always comparing yourself to others and you never quite feel like you're good enough? Uh yeah, that's me. Pretty much always.), but it went pretty smoothly, and I felt like I had enough content to discuss my project, so that was good.

I'm really proud that I pushed myself to do another thing outside of my comfort zone, and I know that the more I continue to present and talk in front of others, the less anxious I'll be. So bring it on!

How do you deal with situations when you're feeling nervous/anxious? 

- Mrs L.

Introducing: ResetEDU! (An Origin Story)

I'm really happy to have finally released my Google Certified Innovator #GoogleEI #LAX18 project into the world, ResetEDU!

ResetEDU is a web series where I strive to help educators hit their own professional “reset” button by applying Design Thinking principles to their teaching career, be it curriculum, physical spaces, or even professional relationships.

 

WHY YOUTUBE?

A lot of physical and mental energy has gone into this project, and well... will continue to do so! I really struggled with HOW to get my message out into the world. I've been a blogger for about 10 years now in one form or another. But the community isn't the same; people don't comment on and follow blogs like they used to. Podcasts are quite popular at the moment, but I wasn't sure if that was right for my project - there are a lot of podcasts that I already listen to that are done with such high-quality... and it just didn't feel like the right fit. 

I didn't want to create an entirely new platform or community. If I personally didn't want to sign up for another thing and have to check another "thing," I know I couldn't ask other educators to do so, too. I want to meet teachers where they already are. Facebook? Nah. I actually quit that last summer, and I've never looked back. I definitely haven't regretted that choice. 

So... I like making videos, and I have a ton of fun being goofy and creative using WeVideo tools and posting instructional videos on my teacher YouTube channel... so why not go that route? ResetEDU projects often involve quite a bit of visuals. Plus, I'm a visual person... former art teacher holla! Viewers can subscribe to the channel, and I can hopefully somewhat seamlessly integrate into a habit (watching YouTube) that already have. I want to make it as easy as possible. So that's my gamble. I'm also trying to keep the videos short - five minutes or less? - to keep it really convenient and easy to watch. 

GOALS

My future goals for the channel are to connect with people who have video production experience who are willing to donate time and/or services to help increase the quality of my work, and to help distribute the work load. (I'm 100% DIY right now!) 

My 10x goal is to make this my full time job; to travel around and help educators while creating video content that other educators can watch and apply to their own professional work! (LOL, who's ready to hire me - let's connect!)

INSPIRATION

When I first graduated college, my favorite tv show was an interior design show called "Interior Motives" with Christopher Lowell. He would decorate rooms, but use this process of steps that he applied to every space that he designed, like floors, ceilings, texture, lighting, accents, etc... I ate it up! I thought about it and applied it to my own spaces and I thought it was the greatest thing ever. Dang, I wish that show was still around! 

If I could have that impact, to be what Christopher Lowell was to interior design, what Gordon Ramsay is to kitchens and restaurants, or Jon Taffer is to the bar industry, that would be the 10x result of my dreams!

THE ORIGIN STORY

Both the name "Reset" and the logo of my project are really significant to me. Because I teach computers, the idea of resetting/restarting is like the golden rule around here. Something's not working right: Have you tried turning it off and back on again?

via GIPHY

So, I wanted a word for my project that was simple, but expressed that same sentiment. Also, my son, Iggy, who is now six, used to (and occasionally still does) struggle with temper tantrums and meltdowns, as all kids do. My husband and I had a trick when he was younger where we told him to press his "reset button" when he was getting too upset. Iggy would literally press an imaginary button on his body to refocus and calm down (kinda cute, huh?). RESET was perfect! 

When designing the logo, I knew that I needed to incorporate the universal symbol for restarting/resetting: you know, the circle with the arrow thing. But the cloud is incredibly symbolic, too. The cloud is a nod to a YouTube video recommended to me by my #LAX18 coach, Michael Kosko:

Uri Alon: Why truly innovative science demands a leap into the unknown

"The Cloud" is the unknown area, the indirect path, between getting from point A to point B (or, often times, alternate point C). The Cloud is that area of uncertainty, confusion, and frustration, where in order to move forward, you must get creative, explore new ideas, and walk into the unknown, even if there's a chance that you could epically fail. The Cloud is not only where I found myself in the middle of #LAX18, but where I imagine a lot of the teachers who need a Reset exist. 

THANK YOU

I simply cannot forget to thank and give credit to my #LAX18 mentor, Kevin Jarrett, who has been incredibly patient and understanding throughout my struggles with getting this off the ground. His support (and directives to stop and take a break when I'm overwhelmed!) has been key. I've noticed how much even a quick text or check-in can help at times; just knowing someone is out there cheering you on is the best feeling. Thank you, Kevin!

Wow, this post became a whole lot longer than I had thought! I guess I've had a lot swirling in my head about all of this. I'm really excited about my project, and I hope that it connects with other educators, too.

Final thought: My project cannot continue without the support of as many other educators as possible. Please share my project with others. Please subscribe to the ResetEDU channel, follow the project on Twitter and Instagram, tell a friend... any and all support is appreciated! If you're interested in connecting with me on a ResetEDU project or episode, you can fill out the form here bit.ly/ResetEDU or contact me via the ResetEDU website.

#ResetEDU

- Mrs L.

ALL THE GOOGLES

So, I've been a little slow as of late on the blog, but it's because I've been about a zillion times more busy than normal IRL! The latest news is that I earned the final badge in my Google collection, Google Certified Trainer! Now I told everyone that I have #allthegoogles and hopefully they don't come up with even more because geez that'd be hard.

So, as of right now I'm still up to my neck in my Innovator project. I've done like three different video shoots for my first and second videos and then I decided that none of them were quite right and I'm back at square one and it's mega frustrating.

So because I need to just focus on that and get going, my former focus over here, the blog, has taken a bit of a back seat. But it'll come back ASAP. I've got a bunch of ideas to share, including a major project FLOP a couple weeks ago in 8th grade that I've really learned a bunch on and can share, and my new class website, and a super sweet robotics kit I was lucky enough to trial and share!

But first, breathe. :)
Talk soon!

- Mrs L.

EPIC SUMMER BREAK #LAX18 GOOGLE INNOVATOR ACADEMY!

professional photos by Andrew Weeks Photography

So, we got out of school right before Memorial Day, and I found out shortly after that I was accepted into the Google Innovator program for the #LAX18 cohort! My summer plans instantly became 100000x more exciting.

So from July 9-11, I flew into California and got to hang with 37 of my new best friends and seven coaches for some intense training at the Google Venice Beach offices. It was overwhelming and wonderful all at the same time!

My innovator colleague Manuel Herrera @manuelherrera33 drew super cute cartoons of all of us! 

Day one started with a tour of the YouTube Creator Space LA, and then headed over to Google LA for team-building and design thinking intros. We ended the day with a relaxed dinner and got ready for day two, which ran from 8 am to 8 pm!

Day two was an intense day of spark challenges, design thinking, brainstorming, prototyping, testing, and obtaining feedback from our fellow innovators and coaches. We were taught to think big, to start small, and to fail fast! It was incredibly energizing and overwhelming to be around so many like-minded educators and I want to take them all home with me so we can start our own school! :)

deep thoughts at #LAX18

my overflowing vision board for my Innovator Project brainstorming sessions

Day three also started bright and early, was filled with more Sparks and design thinking, and ended with an awesome live-streamed graduation event! I was so excited that my husband, son, mom, and mother-in-law were all able to watch me in California from back home here in the Chicago suburbs. I was a big crybaby because I was so happy and overcome with emotion that the whole experience was ending.

my crew, Team Nacho Mama, and a sappy graduation pic

Here’s why I told @MrKosko our team should’ve been called The Crybabies - be sure to watch til the end to see the text my mom sends my husband immediately following my #LAX18 graduation. 😭 #teamcrybaby #nachomama #googleei pic.twitter.com/ZZdhqKj2iG

— Jennifer Leban (@mrsleban) July 12, 2018

I am so grateful and amazed that this whole experience happened to me! It pretty much still feels like a dream. I have a lot of work ahead of me in the next year for my innovator project, which will be all about giving teachers a chance to try new things and to re-energize their teaching, which is something I'm really passionate about.

I know my blog post here hasn't done the whole experience justice. Several of my colleagues have also done reflections on #LAX18 that you should also really check out:

• Eduardo made an incredible video reflection and posted it on YouTube!
• Jay wrote an excellent blog post looking back on his experience.
• Natasha also wrote a really nice blog post on our time at the #LAX18 innovator academy.
• Misty created a really cool infographic highlighting inspiration gained while at #LAX18!

I'm so happy and proud of myself for taking a chance and applying to be a Google Certified Innovator. An extra special thank you shout-out goes to Ben Hartman, my colleague at Churchville Middle School and fellow Google Innovator for helping me with the entire application process! I couldn't have done it without you!

- Mrs L.

My First ISTE Experience

So, I'm almost a week out from my very first ISTE experience. For anyone who's never been, ISTE is the International Society for Technology in Education, and their yearly conference is a super big deal in terms of size and scale. It's basically the national version of your teaching association group, but for anyone who uses tech. 

Then multiplied by 100. 

In Illinois, we have a state group, called Illinois Computing Educators, with regional chapters and such. Their state conference is big and all (it's the one I usually go to) but I was grossly unprepared for what to expect at ISTE. 

This year, ISTE was local to me, being held in Chicago at McCormick Place... the place that the auto show and Comic-Con is held, if that helps. Oh, and it's expensive, like too much for a person to pay out of their own pocket. So you have to be lucky and have your company or school district send you there. Thankfully, because of my history with WeVideo and willingness to present on their behalf and work in the exhibitor booth, they offered to send both myself and my husband, who teaches art in Oak Park. We worked in the exhibitor booth for 2 of the 3 days, and just that experience alone was insane and fun and basically a giant overload to the senses!

I know it's mostly because it was my first time, so I was unprepared as to what to expect. I'll do better next round. 

Mr Leban and I doing what we do best. Being weird. 

For starters, it felt like we were non-stop hit by people at the booth! Some with questions, some who wanted to try out awesome green screen activities using WeVideo, and LOTS of friends: both my coworkers AND my virtual friends who I was finally able to meet up with in real life and say hello! 

from upper left, clockwise: Suzee Reinheimer (my D205 coworker) and Todd Burleson (author/librarian/twitter buddy), Ben Hartman (another D205 coworker), Kaitlin Fajks (my grad school colleague), and Abby Almerido (one of my new #LAX18 cohort pals!)

I was able to hit up a few sessions, including one on creativity by Todd Burleson, who was kind enough to include me in his Green Screen Makerspace Project book last year, and one on the Google Dynamic Learning Project, which I am super interested in learning everything about! 

Not only did I meet friends at the WeVideo booth, I also had the chance to present at the Google for Education booth on WeVideo. (WeVideo is a Google for Education partner and so we had a space to present - it was super fun!)

I haven't actually shared the awesome news here on the blog, although I've been tweeting all over - I was accepted to the Google Certified Innovator program this summer! I'm going to LA in a little over a week to work on my project, and I am so so psyched about it. I have a really amazing and friendly group of teachers in my cohort with me, and a bunch of us were able to meet up IRL at ISTE! Don't worry, I'm sure to have a blog post all about it after I get back. :)

(Note to self #1: Always take selfies with everyone you meet at ISTE. I forgot this like 90% of my time here.)

We were invited to the special WeVideo/Soundtrap social at Underground on Monday night, which was super fun, and I met up with even MORE friends. Seriously, this ISTE thing is the best place ever to connect with your PLN! :)

Our WeVideo crew! Back row L-R: John, Todd, Me, Jaime, and Krishna. Front row L-R: Emily and Allison

On day three, Todd and I had the time all to ourselves, so besides hitting up a session AND meeting another friend for coffee, we made a valiant attempt to make it through the vendor hall... and I'd say we did a pretty good job of it? 

I was ridiculously excited to find the Osmo booth (I don't use it in middle school, but Iggy has a setup at home and we keep buying more stuff for it because IT IS AMAZING) and I got to meet Awbie of the Osmo Instagram account, who I'm kind of obsessed with. He's just the cutest. 

I also got to talk with exhibitors at some of my other favorite (and new favorite!) vendors, and learn a bunch of new and exciting tricks and preview a bunch of upcoming fun things: Makey Makey, littleBits, iPevo, Swivl, Flipgrid, Creaza, Strawbees... oh geez and I'm probably forgetting a whole mess of others... I told you this ISTE thing was overwhelming! :)

Did you go to ISTE? What was your favorite part? 

- Mrs L.

I'm A Failure, And That's OK!

I’m writing today’s blog post to tell you all about how I’m a failure. I’m going to my first ISTE Conference this summer. Because I’m a WeVideo ambassador, I typically present a session on their behalf in exchange for admission to the event. Well, this time around, the deadline for sessions had already passed, so I was asked to submit proposals for the “New Ideas” sessions at ISTE.

Well, yesterday I found out that BOTH proposals were declined. Heck if I know why, but it happened. It is what it is. I still get to go to ISTE, and I’ll be running some fun demos at the WeVideo booth (so stop by and say hello!), so it’s not really a loss on my part except for a little blow to the ego.

I really feel like it’s important to talk about our failures as well as our successes, for a variety of reasons:

Failing teaches us about what DOESN’T work. 

In the great wise words of Jake the Dog, “Dude, sucking at something is the first step towards becoming kinda good at something.” We learn a lot from failing!

You won’t have ANY success if you never put yourself out there.
If you never try, you never take a risk, you never even gave yourself the chance that you just might succeed. You’re doomed to fail no matter what!

Failure makes us human.
Failure is a part of life. No one is perfect, or succeeds all the time, and showing vulnerability is just one way that we can relate to other people.

Trying new stuff (whether we fail or find success) is good for your brain.
It stimulates creativity. You get to know yourself better. You overcome fears.

Failing shows others that you’re trying.
Again, as in #2, if you never try, you’ll never achieve. Others see you working hard and putting in effort regardless of your success (or lack thereof).

So speaking of taking chances and putting yourself out there, I decided to apply to become a Google Certified Innovator - the next cohort is being hosted in LA this summer (#LAX18). I know a few people who have done it, and I decided that I’m ready to take the plunge, knowing full well that many people do NOT get accepted the first time they apply, and it takes several tries before they got in. But I’m doing it anyways. Because failure is good.

Guess what? My theme, or problem that I want to tackle as an Innovator, is all about failure and risk-taking! I want to help other teachers and school staff be OKAY with failing. Let’s try new things! We always tell our students about how failure (or trial and error) is a learning process, so why don’t we follow our own advice?

I had to make a movie about it, you can check it out here:

Applications close TODAY. I’ll know if I’m accepted sometime after school gets out (our last day is May 25th), and although it’s nice to be accepted, if I fail, I’m okay with it.

Actual footage of me failing miserably. :)

Just get back up, and do it again!
Hope to see you at ISTE this summer!

- Mrs L.