I have wrote here in my blog about using Padlet in EDU and yesterday the company itself announced that they are switching to a subscription model. They say there will always be a free option but it appears as if this version is extremely limited. This subscription they are pushing is a $99 per year per user. They did not offer any education pricing plan and needless to say, the response on Twitter has been pretty harsh. The feedback shows a mass of frustrated and disappointed teachers who are either asking Padlet for an education price or looking for alternatives to turn to. 

I have a few thoughts on this subject, I’d like to share.

First… This reaction to this announcement is pretty telling. It shows that users of this tool love it and that they know how to use social media to try and demand change. From looking at Padlet’s responses on social media, it’s quite clear that they heard from the world of education. Now, it will be interesting to see how they respond. ​

Secondly, I am supportive of developers and feel that we as users should pitch in and help fund those who make programs we use. Many of us have grown accustomed to software being free. And to me this is quite odd. How many other services or goods do we use daily that we don’t pay for? But, the trend in software has changed from “buy it once and I own it” to “pay for a yearly subscription”. It's clear that the reason for this is that these developers need an ongoing stream of revenue. The problem for the general classroom teacher though is, “I like this XYZ program but do I like it and find it useful enough to pay for it yearly for god knows how long?” 

In education we use tons of software on a daily basis and much of that is often district or site based and the classroom teacher does not take on the burden on paying for this out of their pocket. And as some of the news reports as of late from teachers in states standing up and striking is that many of us already are paying out of pocket for supplies. ​

So… if I can give some advice to Padlet, here it is. One… go back in time and don’t roll this out in the middle of the national dialogue about teachers not having enough funds for the classroom supplies. Two, talk to educators (and by this I mean REGULAR CLASSROOM TEACHERS) before you come up with your price point. The dilemma I see is
“do you charge a lot like $100 a year and get a small number of folks using it”
or
“do you drop it down to $20 a year and get a higher volume of teachers?”
I would lean towards quantity not quality.
For me there are several apps and tools I use which I love (Voxer for example) that I would really LIKE to pay for, but their pro account is just too steep

Lastly… I have an idea for those of you looking for an alternative to try out. I started this a year ago when I got more and frustrated with Padlet and their backgrounds. You see, I wanted to make my own graphic organizers and have kids add their comments and contributions to specific areas of the document. But, you see, Padlet’s backgrounds adjust based on people’s screens… which means that it is impossible to do a lesson like this. I decided after realizing this to switch to GSlides as backgrounds there are fixed.​

​So, I added a few more backgrounds plus added some tips for teachers and created this GSlides Template. For those of you who don’t play with the MASTER in GSlides, it's a neat way to create placeholders for text where the user will be forced to write. Once you get the document, look at the slides and then go to SLIDE LAYOUT and see how I changed all of these to different Brainstorming and Graphic Organizer choices to pick from. Please play with these and if you have a layout or idea you would like to see added to this, please reach out to me and I will try to add more. 

Like so many other educators, recently I have been moved to tears and emotions with the most recent school shooting in Parkland, Florida. 

In this blog, and also the two podcasts I am part of, I share about teaching ideas, resources, and other musings. But it was the conversation I saw today to the arming teachers with guns which inspired me to speak up and share about something different. 

As I saw the president bring up the conversation about arming teachers, I truly became even more frightened. Seeking a solution of an arms race between the “good guys” and the “bad guys” is a recipe for disaster. 

Gun control today is not a “political statement” 

Gun control today is a NECESSITY 

Have you had one of those moments where you saw something that rallied a spark inside of you? For me this was the #ArmMeWith movement. This is the reaction on social media by thousands of educators who are sharing what they REALLY want to be armed with. 
This began with two teachers Olivia Bertels  and Brittany Wheaton

Check out the #ArmMeWith search on Twitter and get a glimpse of what we are all saying we really need

• Books
• Supplies
• Supportive Structures
• Well funded schools
• Mental health services
• Common sense gun laws

So here is what I can offer. 

I can offer my voice. My voice here on this platform saying “now is the time”
I can offer my support to the masses of other educators who feel the same
Lastly, I can offer my templates (yes, how I love templates) where you can make your own #ArmMeWith images

Click here to get a copy of this Google Slides template

Please join the community out there if you feel like now is the time to let the nation know what you need.

A short while ago I wrote about my dilemma regarding what do I want to see every time I open up Chrome. I was researching several different options and had friends in the community share some others as well and in the process I found tons of great ideas of what I should see when I open up Chrome. 
Here’s a link to my original post. 

Well, I’ve made a decision that I am happy with (for at least the last 3 weeks!)
And my choice is…
New Tab by Getty Images
“Getty Images brings unparalleled imagery from around the world straight to your browser. Each new tab opens with a beautiful, full-screen photo from Getty Images, creating a visually stunning experience every time”
Here are just a few screenshot examples:

After looking at all the other possible ideas for new tabs or a homepage I realized that most of them were just too busy for me and in the end, I didn’t need any “launch pad” of links. The reason for this really is that I have my Bookmarks Bar pretty well organized with links and folders that I am comfortable with. So, this Getty Images new tab simply just gives me a random new photo each time I load a new tab. The photos are stunning and give me a pause each time a new tab comes up. There are pros and cons to this pause though. 

First… it can totally make me forget why in the world I wanted a new tab! This can drive me crazy at times. 

But on the other hand… sometimes it feels nice to be taken out of my orbit and think about something else for a moment.

A stunning seaside

A gliding sea turtle

Or a X-Ray of a football player

... all stunning

anyway...

​what's your new tab?

Recently I attended the EdTech Team Roseville Summit. For the past five years they have been coming out to Placer County providing a two-day workshop that has had some of the best speakers and professional development at the regional level that I've seen. This last weekend was again another home run. Empowering keynotes.... informational sessions... great side conversations.... and list keeps going.  

But in this blog post I'm going to talk more about the people who attended, and in particular those who didn’t attend. 

​While at the Summit, I was in between sessions and a group of us were talking about the event. One of the teachers said “it's always the same teachers I see… why can’t we get others here?” And I totally agree, the educators I see attending from my own district are the ones who tend to always to be the ones who go above and beyond. So I feel that frustration, and to be blunt, I had my hardest time in five years convincing educators my own district to attend. I would say “hey… it two miles away” and “hey… it will cost you nothing” and “hey… its catered by Panera”. Yet still the answer would be “No, thanks”.
Now after a bit of reflection, here is my assessment of why I think we, my district and all the others out there too, are in this situation:

​First off, I think it's just there is too much on educator’s plates. 
Admins and teachers alike are every year bombarded with more and more “must do’s”. From new adoptions to new testing to more accountability to more paperwork… it all just keeps piling up. To hear more about this, take a moment to listen to this episode of Jennifer Gonzalez’s “Cult of Pedagogy” podcast on the subject off “too much”
So, when we come around asking to take part in stretching yourself and becoming a more connected and innovator educator, many feel simply “I don't have time” or “I can’t add one more thing to my plate”.
But if I could push back just a little from the #toobusy, I’d say…. “Give it a chance!” The ideas and inspiration that one walks away from PD like this ranges from revolutionary (“this is changing the way I teach!” i.e. Peardeck for my slides and direct instruction) to simple (“hmmm.. I could use that idea for one of my lessons” i.e. Google Arts and Culture)

I feel that in order to really light a fire under a teacher, you need a principal. If we can get more administrators to
A) come to events like this and other specific admin targeted PD, then we can get them to see the relevance and
​B) have them push it in their staff meetings, newsletters and emails, then we can increase participation

I feel that #toobusy is the easy answer to “why aren’t you going”. But this is one which I see so very often and not many even realize it. This is what I call “stuck in orbit”. What I mean by this is that we find ourselves in regular patterns of doing things that, overtime, become easier and more comfortable. These orbits define our professional role and we tend to like being there. There are many different orbits… they are specific to each of us. Here are a few examples:
* I’m a 5th grade teacher who is passionate about science
* I’m the athletic director and I teach world history
* I’m 7th grade ELA teacher and I run the after school drama club
The issue is when opportunities like the PD events I mentioned before come up, most say “no thanks” because it's just too hard / not worth it / waste of time. And I understand that it's hard… just like any planetary orbit, if there is something that changes that orbit, chaos can ensue. But hey… it can also create life right? 

​If you ask me… a little chaos is kind of needed.