They say that Philly is the city of brotherly love. I have to say that during these last few days it was much more than that. I am not always the best at being well spoken so I will do my best to tell about the love I saw and felt in Philly. As I ride home on the train I am trying to restrain from crying because I have never seen so many amazing people do so many amazing things. 

The week started off for me on Tuesday morning where the day was kicked off by a quick shower, a short nap, and a trip to Rosa's Fresh Pizza with our main man Mason pictured below. 

If you haven't been to or heard of Rosa's Fresh Pizza I will let you in on a little secret...they are amazing! Mason has done a great thing by starting a pay it forward program to help those in need and by offering his slices for only $1. Some friends and I decided a few months back that we wanted the conference experience to be different and Mason helped us achieve our goal. We wanted to give back to a community that is used to conference goers devouring their beautiful city. We decided to visit Rosa's Fresh Pizza (mostly because I was hungry) and  used the hastag #sliceofISTE to share with others our love of Mason, pizza, and giving back. We decided that going and donating at Rosa's was going to be a great way to give back to the community. The best part was that there were so many teachers showing up and as of today, we ended up giving back 1,650 meals! My great friend Scott wrote any amazing blog giving some more details about the logistics of the event. It was an amazing experience and I went back each day. You can also purchase t-shirts, sweatshirts, and more from their website if you are interested in helping out Mason and the rest of Philly. 

Another phenomenal part of the conference that showcases some brotherly love was the Edcamp Session as well as Meet up put on by the Edcamp Foundation. After wrapping up an awesome Edcamp Session in Edcamp style of course, we walked over to  the String Theory School on Vine Street in Philly which is a beautiful school to be in. We had a ton of people that had either attended an Edcamp or was an organizer. It was so amazing to see so many educators from all over the WORLD join us for some cheese steaks and pizza. It was also amazing to be in the city where Edcamps had first started. It was so great to connect with other Edcamp Organizers who were able to talk me through my hopes and worries of our next Edcamp Vegas. I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to hang out with for the rest of the night! 

My time at ISTE was better than I could have ever imagined. I am so glad that I got to see friends from far and wide. It was a unique experience that I can't wait to go to again. Thank you to everyone for the great conversations,  ridiculously fun nights, delicious food, and for just being awesome. Thank you Philly. 

Until next time, 

I have never been one to stay super organized and that includes my multiple inboxes. That is...until I stumbled upon Unroll.me. This website is amazing and will change your inbox forever.  

Every time you go to just about any retail store they always ask for your e-mail address. Don't you love getting those great coupons especially when you really need them? What about when you get them every single week? Maybe you are too busy to unsubscribe or maybe you are like me who suffers from fomo on those great deals when I really need them. Well, unroll.me has answered your inbox prayers. 

When you sign up for unroll.me, you can not only save those fabulous deals but you can even unsubscribe from those annoying e-mails you get day after day. When you first sign up you simply put in your e-mail and it gives you the list of all websites you are subscribed to. From here, you can decide to do the following: Add to Rollup, Unsubscribe, or Keep in Inbox. Then once a day like magic, all of the items you decided to add to your rollup appear in one beautiful e-mail. I can now take a quick look at all of my steals and deals instead of archiving them like I normally do. 

Ever had a crazy ex, junk mailing grandma, or just wanted to block someone? Unroll.me also allows you to block specific contacts that are driving you nuts. The insanity is gone! 

Now what happens if you delete your rollup in your e-mail you ask? Unroll.me has your back and you can go into the archives to find the missing e-mail. You can also go and find a previously unsubscribed website and resubscribe to your desire. Also, you can decide do you want your rollup morning, afternoon, or evening as well as a grid form or list form. 

I have used this will all of my e-mail accounts and will never go back to the old way of getting my inbox cleared out. I get to keep all of my favorite subscriptions and sanity as well, what more could I ask for?

Have questions about Unroll.me? Feel free to comment below and I will be happy to assist. You can also check them out on Twitter and Facebook as well. 

Happy Rolling Up! 

Ahh my PLN, my Professional Learning Network. How near and dear I hold you to my heart. My PLN is my support team and has grown immensely over the past few months. 

I have always been interested and up to date with the latest technology (so I thought). I had a Myspace page, Blogger, G-mail, Hotmail, Twitter, Facebook, and so many other accounts I thought I was in the know of things. When I started teaching I was using Pinterest and Teachers Pay Teachers. I would go to Professional Developments and write down the coolest new thing and think about how to use it in my class. I would read about 40 app in 40 minutes and suck  up everything I could. I would also reach out to other teachers and see what they use. I thought I was doing a great job and was awesome. 

Then, thanks to my friend Jon (@ipadsammy), I soon learned that I was indeed not as nearly as advanced as I thought I was. I had a regular Twitter account and Jon urged me to get one for educational uses. I quickly obliged and am glad that I did. A few months past and I still felt great at learning more about technology. The big change came when he added me to an amazing group on Voxer. I had used Voxer but never in this way. Since then, life hasn't been the same (so corny but so true). 

I have this support system to learn from including @ipadsammy, @tedrosececi, @MsVictoriaOlson, @LS_Karl, @classroom_tech, @MrMacnology, @WhoIsGoldberg, and so many more amazing people. Whenever I have a question, concern, a bad day, or even something I am really excited about they listen (most of the time). Everyday I look forward to hearing their great ideas and conversations about education to Oreos. I feel so lucky to be part of a great learning network. Without know it, they are pushing me to be a better teacher everyday. I am trying things I would have shrugged off last year, I am not afraid to ask questions (no matter how silly), and I feel accepted. Without my PLN I would be in the dark ages still. I know it is past Valentine's Day my dear friends but I hope you accept my late love letter. You guys seriously rock my socks and everyday I am so thankful to have you guys to lean on. Thank you for being my biggest support system. I love you guys. 

Who is in your PLN? What is your favorite part of having a PLN online and offline? 

Happy Sunday and Belated Valentine's Day. 

All my love,

We all have that great intention to make resolutions that we will keep throughout the year but come on.... our great intentions last all of two months or longer if we are lucky. I decided to change the world resolution to goals this year and that being said, I have five big goals that I would love to accomplish. Three are educational and two are personal so here we go...


1. Ramp Up My Patience-

I love my students, I really do. Just ask them and they will tell you that I care so much but sometimes I may or may not lose my cool. No screaming, yelling, or going crazy but I just lose my patience with them. I want to in those times, step back and realize they are in second grade, seven to nine years old. Such sweet little kids that I love oh so much and the brief moment of my losing my cool will be gone if I just take a deep breath. =)

2. Use More Technology-

I feel that I use a lot of technology in my classroom but I would LOVE to use it more in my classroom and use it consistently. We already use our Chromebooks daily for typing lessons, printing our AR reports, and for listening to stories. We also use Educreations on the iPad to work out our math problems. In the next year, I would love to have my kiddos to blog, type up their stories, listen to stories with Storia, and use so many of the great apps and websites out there!

3. Be More Productive-

Being a crazy extrovert and a passionate teacher, I tend to spend a lot of time focusing on my classroom and how I can improve. I am not trying to toot my own horn but I spend so much time on my classroom and thinking about my kids that I never get me time. Or me and family time and this is something I need to change. I am going to stick to my strict 4:30 rule; Leave at 4:30 (exceptions include report card time and sub plans). 

4. Connect With More Educators-

I love connecting with educators but once things get crazy with school, I tend to stop blogging, stop using Twitter, and also stop listening to my favorite podcasts. I want to dedicate some time each day to take a break from the norm and spend more time connecting with my fellow educators. 

Lastly, I'm sure that a lot of people have this goal/resolution so I won't go into detail ;)

5. Budget My Money-
I know this is a popular one but I want to become better at balancing my money. I am in the process of getting a house, growing up, and all that jazz (Being old stinks sometimes). I love using Mint.com as I have tried many other ways of budgeting and this is the only way that seems to work. 

These are a few goals/resolutions that I figured I would be able to keep. 

What are your goals for this year? I'd love to hear about them in the comments section! 

Lots of love and I hope you celebrated the coming of the new year in style!

First off, I apologize for not putting up a blog last week and being a few hours late this week. I had family in town and forgot to post before they came in. 

Secondly, I had such a great time at the EMU (Educational Meet Up) sponsored by CCSD last week and can't wait to attend another one! Check it out and join us if you are a CCSD teacher, you won't regret it! 

Anyways... enough of that awesomeness (It's a word right?) and on with the show! Here are 5 things (applications, websites,  etc.) that have changed the way that I teach both in and out of the classroom. 

1. Twitter- This has to be the greatest thing to happen to me as a teacher. I have been on Twitter since 2007 with a personal account and I had seen the articles on using it as an educator. I just didn't have enough time or interest to sign up as an educator. I finally did thanks to a push from Jon (aka ipadsammy) and am so glad that I did! There are so many great people on Twitter that have helped me out.. the list is too long to count. I have built up my PLN (Professional Learning Network) and they have helped me from getting free books to teaching me about different educational events and even Skyping with Mrs. Moses(@MoTechChef)! I would love to keep going on but will have to save it for another post... On to the next one! 
2. ReadWorks- Readworks has saved me so many times when it comes to teaching reading. Readworks is free to sign up and has awesome lesson plans for each grade level. They also have novel studies to go along with the older kids. One of my favorite things about Readworks is that each lesson plan has a book to go along with it. What if you don't have the book? Well Readworks steps in and gives you a list of multiple books to use. They also provide you with a script to use, worksheets, and answer keys to go along with the lesson. This is a great tool for new and old teachers alike. 
3. Sumdog- I love using this in my classroom and so do my kiddos! Sumdog is an online game where your students can practice reading, writing, and mathematics. While you have to pay for the reading and writing, a good portion of the math games are free. This is great for students at any age, is very addicting, and very user friendly. My class ended up purchasing the year subscription for mathematics, reading, and writing. We couldn't be more excited. Sumdog allows the teacher to control the learning of their students, and it also figures out what level the student is on to keep them engaged. This is a teacher and student favorite in my class. 
4. Geddit- While it is hard to use Geddit in my own class, I think that this is a great tool for teachers looking to assess their students during a lesson Geddit allows teachers to understand the learning confidence of the student right there. This is not only free but great to use for those educators who are working in a 1:1 classroom. The best part? It works across all devices so you can start that B.Y.O.D. day right away! It is super easy to use and the the man behind Geddit is always accessible on Twitter! Check out Justin here. 
5. K-5 Math Teaching Resources- This has to be the one of the best resources for math games ever (along with Teachers Pay Teachers). Here, teachers can find their grade level and standard easily, then print the games all for free. The games are really fun and engaging for the kids and they all align to CCSS. I usually put my games in page protectors so that the kids can write on top of them with whiteboard markers and ta-da! Instant engagement, differentiation, and it only took me 20 minutes to prep. This is a great edition to add to your must have list. 

So there you have it, my list of 5 things that have changed the way I teach. There are a TON of resources out there and there are a lot more that have changed the way I teach. I hope that these 5 are diverse enough to get you started thinking about doing cool and exciting things in your classroom

Keep on searching the internet and share your favorite websites with me!

Have a great rest of the week and don't forget to share your favorite resources with me, I can't wait to see what you use in your class!