Category: Apple Distinguished Educator

Synthesis in Action: #OneStoryForward

7/20/2017

I have a new appreciation for the word "synthesis."

This summer, I traveled three times.

First, I attended ISTE2017 in San Antonio, TX, where (among a hundred other amazing experiences) I was tearfully inspired to find untold stories in my community from Jennie Magiera's incredible keynote. A seed of an idea was born.

A collage of images from our trip to Montreal.

Then I flew to Montreal, Canada, to participate in a reflective journey with other educators from schools like mine that were founded by the Sisters of the Holy Names. There I was reminded of the absolute importance of building community, and gained a new appreciation and commitment to my school's mission to both educate and inspire young women to make a difference in the world. That seed of an idea began to grow in a new direction.

Just this week, I attended the ADE Academy in Houston, TX as a new Apple Distinguished Educator, Class of 2017, where I met an amazing group of women--Kasia Garza, Nikole Blanchard, Dr. Joan McGettigan, and Morgan Vondenstein--who all had similar ideas in mind. The Apple Team challenged all of us to create new educational ideas and resources using Clips, Apple's new video app, and from this gorgeous collision, a new program was born.

Meet #OneStoryForward

Our mission is to help schools build community, both inside and outside school walls, one story at a time.

And telling these stories is super easy using Apple's new app, Clips, which allows for dynamic, engaging, short videos that can be easily posted on any type of social media or website. Check out #ClassroomClips on Twitter for lots of great examples of Clips in action.

We are already developing materials to help schools or individual teachers get started, including downloadable logos, storyboards, and easy-to-implement introduction activities, which will soon be available on our website, www.onestoryforward.com.

Morgan, Nikole, Kasia, Alyssa, and Joan: co-founders of #OneStoryForward

In the meantime, check out the videos below that help explain the idea, and please spread the word to your schools and on social media! Don't forget to use #OneStoryForward so we can cheer you on!

Our promotional video, starring (in order) Dr. Joan McGettigan, Nikole Blanchard, Morgan Vandenstein, Alyssa Tormala, and Kasia Garza.

A sample video I created to share with my incoming 9th graders. I can't wait to promote this idea to other teachers at SMA!

2 Comments

Should educator reflection look more like the Apple Distinguished Educator application?

3/12/2015

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I've taken the leap and applied for the Apple Distinguished Educator program for the class of 2015. Knowing how many amazing educators out there have also applied, I have no idea what my chances are of being accepted.

But here's the intriguing part--once again I discovered the truth in Rainer Marie Rilke's claim that "the only journey is the one within."

Like so many educators, my days are saturated with taking care of others--my students, families, and colleagues during the day, and my family at night.

When do we really have time to engage in high-quality, in-depth reflection about our work? As much as we might wish otherwise, the reality is that we don't, and when forced to do so in the more traditional sense (e.g., filling out goals and evaluations), we kick and fuss about it because so much else in our lives seems more important.

The ADE application happened in the middle of my busiest, most chaotic time in the school year. Did I have a lot of other important matters to attend to? Heck, yes. But I made time for it anyway. Not because it could result in some tangible reward, but because I love my job, am proud of the work my students and I do together, and would like that work to be recognized.

But I was surprised at the depth of reflection I had to engage in to create the video portion of the application (see above.) Two minutes to share who I am as an educator and how I incorporate technology? Yikes! It was a daunting--in fact, intimidating--concept. But of all the reflective activities I've engaged in over the past few years, it was by far the most effective. It not only revealed what I'm proud of, but also clarified the areas in which I still need to grow. And isn't that the whole point of self-reflection?

So I wonder...what if our professional goal-setting and reflective activities were like this? What if we asked teachers to create a video, or presentation, or multi-media project instead of filling out forms? And more importantly, what if the ultimate purpose of those reflective projects was to share them with each other and our larger communities?

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Synthesis in Action: #OneStoryForward

Meet #OneStoryForward

Should educator reflection look more like the Apple Distinguished Educator application?

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