A few weeks ago, amidst the "country music song" of my life, I traveled to hear my friend Kristy Vincent give her first keynote at a TCEA area conference. It would have been easy to succumb to the roadblocks and stay home but going to support my friend was something that I could not miss. I left that event feeling lifted, inspired and emotional for reasons that I can’t even explain other than the whispers in my ear reminding me that all will be okay. A roadblock is a barrier and barriers are meant to crumble… Last week, I was supposed to travel to Georgia to present at #GAetc. Unfortunately, I got sick and could not fly which is why I made sure that I attended Edcamp Austin. I was dealing with a different "roadblock" this time. Professionally, it’s been more difficult for me than I expected to make the transition from a school setting to a district setting as I thrive better in a school environment. I was beginning to feel like I wasn’t doing "enough" and I needed some ideas and inspiration. When I say that God speaks to me in whispers, I mean it. However, on that day it felt more like a continuous scream of…"Are you kidding me???" I ran into several teachers that I’ve been connected to on twitter and I was extremely excited to hear them speak about implementing ideas that I tweeted or blogged in their classrooms. Many asked about Braeden and his worksheets, often following that with…"I changed the way that I did things because of that". I’m not a person that needs nor thrives on self-validation but I will say that as I was in the middle of a "low" moment…those conversations were uplifting. The day continued with a few conversations with others in my job role and hearing that we are experiencing much of the same. I left Austin fulfilled …knowing that I was not alone and that what I was doing was okay. Roadblock…crumbled Today, I woke up to another "country music song" life moment…to say it mildly. After dealing, like I always do, I headed to work and sat in a meeting fighting back tears.  The roadblocks were back in full force and every creative thought that I normally had was silenced. My mind, heart and spirit had drawn a blank. Somehow, amidst all of the great things that have occurred, I managed to allow this "one big thing" to deter me in a major way. I know better…period. My mom would say that I gave negativity an "in" straight to my head by allowing myself to be shrouded in self-doubt which punched the ticket for misery to show. When I stopped tonight and just listened through silence, the errors of my ways turned into gratifying realizations of what is still yet to come. My mind is no longer blank. Echoes of whispers ring as plain as day… "Focus Rafranz Focus"  

This post is absolutely NOT about tweeting with students. That is an entirely different ballgame and one that works beautifully as modeled by @MsSandersTHS. If you haven’t followed her stream of classroom tweets, you should. Today, I woke up thinking about the teacher that taught next to me who made facebook connecting via gaming more of a priority than the students in her class. That was years ago and twitter wasn’t yet the "drink of choice" for educators connecting socially. We’ve heard many arguments about why tweeting in school is necessary with many of them being, "that’s how I learn and grow". Others say that they tweet between classes and that makes it okay. Right? Anyone that knows me personally knows that my phone was my escape from the social world for a long time. If I was bored, and I often was, I sat and sent messages, tweeted and searched the web. I did this because being on my phone kept me away from dealing with the insanely boring world around me. That was years ago and those habits helped to inform how I connect now. When I am learning, I tend to capture many thoughts via twitter backchannel. My focus during those moments is on the device and tweeting the ideas. What happens is that I miss the nuances of the environment. I miss the non verbal communications of the speakers because I’m typically too busy capturing thoughts. I caught myself being "out of the loop" while trying to capture images with my own kids in a maker space. Instead of communicating, I was taking pictures and posting. I missed a few critical moments because of that and as soon as I realized it, I put the phone away and dedicated my attention to the moment. Tweeting in Class Revisiting the "excuses to tweet" in class above, I have to wonder how many conversations are missed. How many moments are delayed because kids don’t want to disturb the person taking the pictures or tweeting the moments instead of being in them. How many "much needed" hellos were missed because the eyes were focused on the twitter app versus greeting the children and adults in school. Capturing learning moments is one thing but making the capture an overwhelming priority is another. When we are with kids, we should be with kids…period. As someone that works with teachers, this applies to us as well. There has to be a balance between being a socially connected learner and being a responsible communicator. Our kids deserve our undivided attention and no matter what, we should always make giving them that a priority.

Today I had the opportunity to support a group of 1st grade teachers in integrating technology during the planning process. I’ve never taught 1st grade so this experience was definitely a welcomed one. Each teacher had classroom access to two ipads at all times. In addition, their campus had an ipad cart that could be checked out weekly. As for ipad use, teachers had only used practice apps and games during centers. Creativity had not been heard of. Even after being told "I’m not a tech person", this group excited me because I knew that all of these issues were ones that were within our power to address. After discussing the intended outcomes for each lesson, I talked to teachers about creativity and how students could collaborate, even as first graders, to better enhance, explore and express their learning. When creativity is a new idea to teachers, it’s important to not overwhelm them further with tons of apps at the start. It was amazing to hear them reiterate this idea as they decided to learn one app really well and use cross curricular in lieu of allowing the apps to overtake the learning. In other words…Focus on a Few. During the course of 55 minutes, we were able to talk about 4 apps, how kids would use them and how I would be supporting them through this process. One of the apps that we discussed was 30 hands, which I learned about this past weekend at Edcamp Austin. 30 Hands is a digital storytelling app that allows users to add voice to an existing image or draw and then add voice. Once the presentation is complete, it becomes a video that can be saved to camera roll or uploaded to the 30 hands cloud service. For these 1st grade classes, I suggested that students collaboratively create so that each person has a slide which means that each student would share a part of the story. 30 Hands is super simple to use and is an amazing tool for student creativity. Important Note: Planning meetings must always begin with the end in mind. It’s not about the app or "tech-ing" up a lesson but about intentionally designing for students to learn and grow. It’s also important to not get caught up in what teachers do not know but to start where they are and focus on helping them to grow as well. There are plenty of "cool apps" out but teachers new to integrating tech need a baseline to start. Let the intended outcomes lead you to collaboratively determining that baseline. My goal is that these teachers are running this process for themselves and eventually they will. Right now, it’s about empowering them to start. Today…they did. To read about this meeting in greater detail and also how students may use Haiku Deck, Tellagami and Educreations, Click HERE. (Our Instructional Technology Department blog)

A few years ago a young man that I knew stole a set of Dr. Dre Beats from a teacher’s desk. No one would have even known had he not gone class to class bragging. What made matters worse was that he bragged about the principal "restating the offense" in a way that made it appear to be an "accidental theft". He admittedly took the headphones because he wanted them which is sad because he could’ve bought 100 pairs that day. Instead of suffering any consequences, he was given a free pass…one that would not have been given had he not been who he was…rich and white. Sadly, this is the norm of the environment in which many of our kids have grown accustomed to. As a mother, I teach my kids right from wrong but I also have to teach them how the rules of life sometimes apply differently depending on many factors with the majority being race and class. Growing up, we heard…"you know you can’t get away with that…you’re black!". As much as I hated to acknowledge it, it was true and to not acknowledge it would be not preparing my own children for the world in which they live. I’ve referenced Jose Vilson’s (@thejlv) work multiple times as someone who challenges my thinking. His most recent post, regarding privilege after a pretty hefty twitter conversation, was the subject of discussion in our home this morning. The premise of our conversation was mainly centered around the debate as to whether or not privilege was a discussion related to education and if it were of importance enough to discuss. My son, a freshman and eternal voice of reason, wrote the following… "Privilege is nothing more than a fancy way of acknowledging our biases and prejudices. The thing is that it exist everywhere. There’s a  "tall man" privilege in basketball. We’ll give a free pass to the tall guy until his actions on the court prove otherwise. There’s a "good looking" privilege at parties. If you’re looking fly, you get in and if not, you better be friends with someone looking fly. There’s a "black educated" privilege. If you speak a certain way, white people take you seriously and are not afraid to engage in conversation. If you speak or act like you’re "from the hood", the assumption is that you aren’t educated. There’s a "skinny" privilege too but that’s largely because looks are the first point of judgement. We pay a bit more attention to the "skinny person" in the room versus the one who is not. Look around and tell me that I’m wrong. Teachers have biases too and certain kids, mostly white, are given free passes over others. They get treated a certain way.  I’ve heard time and again, "certain kids don’t do well in that class" and year after year, it’s brushed under the rug. Year after year, non-white kids are removed from certain classes and no one ever deals with the real problem…the teacher. Yet, every year a white male excels and wins awards from that teacher’s help yet none of us ever stood a chance. We can call it privilege but let’s be real and call it what it is…excused racism. Even when you didn’t get a certain job, clearly because you’re black, you didn’t sit here, cry, complain and take it. You packed your bags and went somewhere that privilege didn’t matter. It exist because we let it. What if we didn’t let it?" This is the moment where I shall ponder over the words of my son. "Privilege exist because we let it. What if we didn’t?"  

There’s a long standing phrase between myself and one of my trusted colleagues…#WWDLD…which in essence keeps me from going off on numerous rants daily. #WWDLD = "What would Diana Laufenberg do?" I live and post by this piece of advice from Diana Laufenberg… "If it doesn’t add to or further enhance a conversation, don’t post it." This is NOT easy by any means. Social media can be annoying at times. Admit it…You KNOW that I’m right! For all of the amazing blog postings, tweeted links and insanely productive "app-tivities", there are plenty of moments of "Heeyyy Look at Meeee" that seem to be rewarded with even more "Heyyy Look at Himm" and I know that many are experiencing the same as evidenced by my DM timeline which seems to be the "go to" for many "Are you kidding me?" moments. Yeah, I’m not kidding. (Newsflash: You too can be propelled to "edutwitter greatness" if you share what you actually do as well as what you claim to do, tweet everyone that you did it and then nominate yourself for every opportunity that arises. Seriously….that’s pretty much it!) Or…You can walk your own walk…experience your own journey…and do it regardless of who is watching. Let them be them….You be You. Many have asked how I’ve been able to steer through those "mind numbing" moments without going on a mini rant yet remaining eternally optimistic on my own path. It’s simple… I have to remain true to who I am at all times and accept that not everyone sees the world from my point of view. I naturally accept it and I’m okay with that. I hope that I’ve taught my own children the same. I’ve found that if I focus on the negatives of connected life in lieu of the many positives, I am in essence falling prey to the minion-like thinking that has propelled many to place the "perceived achievements" of others over their own ideas. A Few Life Remedies for Social Annoyance Read a great book or blog post that stimulates your creativity. Spend time with your family. If you’re at work, focus on your job. Write your own blog about something that matters to you. Work on a project. Watch a TED talk. Walk the dog…or play with your cats. Go for a walk…work out! Help someone accomplish a goal. Work on your own life goals. Realize that your inner "Sheldon Cooper" is just too much for nonsense. Have great friends that will privately listen to your thoughts (rants) until you come to your senses. If all else fails… Ignore, Mute, Unfollow, Unfriend or Zip #WWDLD    

In the years that I’ve been an educator, I can only recall one instance when an administrator sat in the same technology training as teachers. It was last year and our principal was there on a Saturday learning with his staff. I remember feeling shocked because he was there on a day that many would have reserved for other activities…or excuses…depends on how you look at it. I’ve talked with several personal friends who are campus administrators and the consensus amongst them seemed to be that professional development was for teachers and that they "earned the right" to not have to attend by means of their title. Surprisingly, I get it. It’s the equivalent of a child wanting to grow up so that "mom’s rules" no longer apply. This entire thought process was ridiculous then and it is most certainly ridiculous now. Dear Admins, if you want to show your support, interest and commitment to your learners..attend staff development WITH your staff! If your campus is implementing new technology, you should be right there in the center of learning…WITH your staff. How can you evaluate the way that a tool is used in a classroom if you have no clue as to how it works? How can you determine PD needs for your campus if you have no idea how students may use it? I understand that things happen and there are moments that are certainly out of reach for admin attendance but to make no effort is to say that it’s not important. Guess what…if it’s not important enough to you, it won’t be to your staff…not by a long shot! If it’s not important to YOU, it won’t be for your students either. When you attend, don’t just stand on the wall as a clock watching observer. Sit down at the table of learning. Plan with teachers and discuss how students may be impacted. Doing this will teach you how you can best support your learners. You will need this information and it won’t happen from the comforts of your office. Somewhere along the way, take notes and consider how the tools and strategies that teachers are learning can be implemented within your own administrative roles. Change happens from the top and it starts with YOU. I’ll end with this quote by the principal who attended tech training with his staff… @RafranzDavis A learning leader is a growing leader is a better leader. — Demetrus Liggins (@DDLiggins) November 23, 2013 ; Greatness happens when we allow it. Regardless of your place in education, NEVER stop being a learner.

A few weeks ago, we started reading Wendell the World’s Worst Wizard. At the time, Braeden was dead set on building a robot so when he heard of Wendell’s interest in the same, he was stoked to know Wendell a bit better. Then, something happened that I did not expect. He connected with Wendell "the maker". Yes…an artistic robot making storybook character told my nephew that it was okay to be a maker. He hasn’t stopped "making" since. Every time we met a scenario that correlated to his own life, he’d stop and insist on it being read again. I had no idea that Braeden felt "odd" as a kid who creates things. I had no idea that he was even being teased about it. The book gave him the freedom to open up so much that we owe its writer, John Spencer, a huge pile of thanks! Wendell is a wizard, who is non-magical, but even Braeden said that magic is what happens when you can build things. The book solidified that thought. Wendell’s "shop" of choice was "THE DUMP", a collection of human objects that Braeden immediately related to because that’s what he does. He makes things from other things that he finds. He giggled with excitement as we read about Wendell’s desire to be a designer or maker. This was a character that WANTED to do what Braeden LOVED to do. That hasn’t happened in any other book that we’ve read. Finishing the book took a bit longer than expected because creativity crept its way in once Wendell’s plight inspired Braeden’s journey! The planning for a robot led Braeden to animatronics which led him to puppetry. For the last week, he has been designing and creating puppets with a level of zest that we haven’t seen in a long time. I think that we have Wendell to thank. For the 8 year old maker, Wendell made "being him" okay. We would both encourage you all to read Wendell the Word’s Worst Wizard. It is most certainly an amazingly inspiring book for all readers. In case you missed it…You can watch Braeden talk about one of the robots that he intended to build Here’s another video of him talking about the puppets that occupy his thoughts now! (facetime)

While most kids are scouring the internet and pages of "black friday" sales for the hottest toys of 2013, our Braeden doesn’t get into that. He doesn’t care for purchased toys at all and insists upon making them himself. We can walk through the toy aisle at any given moment and the kid won’t even flinch. He’s not amused. Last year, the only thing that he asked for was an ipad mini because it served as his immediate window to creativity. It captures the things that he wants to create. He creates with it and lately he’s been blogging his work. Now, life is entirely centered around puppetry which may change again, but for us…we live in "the now" and THIS is it! When you have a "maker", that’s important. Braeden doesn’t just start random projects. He throws himself all in through research and constant learning via youtube. This is where he finds his inspiration. Through research, he opened himself up to techniques that would not have been possible without his device. He also found a neat website that enabled him to design the muppet that he wanted and have it made. Of course, he wants that too…for the bargain price of $99.99. He says that he will continue to make his own puppets but he at least wants a professional one which, by the way, opened him up to the idea of "making" for a living. He had no idea that anyone could do this. Braeden located the website of a real puppeteer…James Kemp. (The baby monster is his favorite) I almost cried when he explained that I needed to go to the search bar, type in baby monster and click the article "Baby Monster Completion"! Being a researcher is AWESOME! I’ve learned so much through being a silent observer. We don’t ask him to "make" anything nor do we sit him in front of a collection of things that we buy expecting him to just "make". Everything that he does comes from his own imagination. We encourage it by trying to provide the tools necessary when needed AFTER he decides that he needs it. The space to do so is his own. His "makerspace" is his imagination. What has he learned from making? He sums it up in his favorite question and statement… "Auntie has your mistake happened today yet? We all make them. If you pressed backspace, you made a mistake. We all make them everyday. When you make mistakes, you just have to get it wrong and do it all over again. Just remember, that when you hit backspace….you get to go back and press the letter that you wanted." In case you’re wondering, below is Braeden’s Christmas list… Faux fur (orange, green, and red) Fleece (tan and any other color) Material (like felt) red, black and pink Foam Foam Rubber (???) Ping pong balls (white and yellow and any other color that they come in) Green screen Ostrich feathers (fake ones) Feather boas Long black craft sticks for rods Good Scissors Good glue Magic Markers Muppet Whatnot (pictured)

It was two years ago when we noticed that Braeden’s childhood drawings were a bit more than typical childhood drawings. The first smurf movie was scheduled to be released that year and we started seeing drawings of smurfs around the house. Of course, we thought that they were tracings. We had no idea that he was looking at pictures either physically or imagined, and drawing what he saw. That was the year that his school pumpkin transformed into a smurf. That’s when we knew that the kid had an eye for art. A few months later, while watching Phineas and Ferb, Braeden had another idea. He wanted to play with his favorite characters so he drew them, cut them out and attached them to craft sticks. He was so excited because he made his own puppets. That was the day that nothing interested him more than the things that he made. All that I kept thinking was…please God don’t let him lose this!   The Self-Assigned "Genius Hour" Project A few weeks ago, Braeden decided that he wanted to make a robot. That decision morphed into multiple forms with puppetry being his current focus. The cool part about watching the kid go was taking note of his process. He captures inspiration in his ipad via pictures. He researches through youtube and learns the necessary steps to create what he wants to create. Prioritizing isn’t a problem because during the school week, the homework load is so heavy that these projects normally happen over the weekend. Last week, he had no homework so every night was dedicated to puppets. For Braeden, "Genius Hour" happens at home and we’re okay with that as no one had to designate time for him to create. He’s doing it because he wants to and that’s important! His Way or No Way! When kids are creating, adults need to step away unless summoned by the kid or if there are safety concerns. There were moments when I looked at the patterns that Braeden was making and thought about how I would do it instead. I never shared my thoughts with him. Braeden’s creative process includes room for making mistakes and he prefers it that way. In his words, "that is how he learns", and we respect that. I’ve seen many projects be taken over by adults and the kid becomes an afterthought. For Braeden, it’s his way or no way. Any variation on that can potentially destroy a kid’s creative mojo. Don’t do that. Document the Process Braeden learned through youtube. We discuss this often and in our discussions have talked about him creating his own "how to" videos for other kids to view. Each step of the way, from idea to creation, Braeden asked that we snap pictures to document the process. We decided to share via social media and every share was initiated by him. Again, it’s important that the kid owns the process. It’s his project, after all. We are, however, very mindful of Braeden’s age and aside from his own blog…most shares are done via my social media account. That part is important as well. Check out How to Create a Puppet by Rafranz Davis on Snapguide. What to Do with Creations Braeden made it clear early on that he wanted to make puppets so that he could make his own puppet show. People have asked me if he had his own youtube channel. I stuck to my guns and insisted that when his channel came to life, it would be of his own doing. He designed every aspect, including the storyline. I’ll be honest in saying that this is where we were at odds. He wrote a great story but he ad-libs when he performs in order to be comedic. Again, this is where I had to suck it up and let him be him. Braeden said that he wanted to create a show that he would want to watch. It’s not perfect but it’s his and again…that is what matters most. Below is the story that Braeden made… What I Learned Just as dancers get a stage and athletes have a field…visual artistic kids need a platform too. My job in this process was to provide that. The rest was all him…as it should be.  

Know Your Audience: Research is the key to knowing and even understanding your audience. Have an interest in your students not only engaging in what you are teaching, but once they can see that you are interested in them, you’ve just built the best means to communicate your message. Find the Connection: Once you have an understanding of your audience and have built the bridge to communicating, every experience that involves them learning should focus in making that bridge stronger. The student learning experience starts before they come into the classroom and doesn’t end. Make it memorable: Branding is about giving. Making everything center around your intent to give your audience/students the best experience that relates to your core objective. If it’s teaching about math speak about math in such a way that they NEVER forget that experience. Much like the advertising industry has realized, consumers are inundated with information from the time they wake up, until the time they go to sleep. Your students are the exact same, they consume. They are presented with information and have come to your classrooms with information overload. Many time it includes what I like to call "UN-formation" or bad information. So it’s important to recognize that and do as much as possible to enhance the overall brand/learning experience to impact the desired results. Derrick Walker - Dallas,Tx Brand Strategist @iamdwalk