Synthesis in Action: #OneStoryForward

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.

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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!