Several years ago, while I was an Assistant Principal at Ault Elementary, my awesome partner AP, Julie Clements (@jclements01), and I lead an online book study together. We wanted to have all of our participants create a #BookSnap as evidence of their learning and as a way to process their reading. If you aren’t familiar with #BookSnaps, the original idea was to snap a picture of a page from a book and using the SnapChat app, add annotations, bitmoji’s, and stickers to elaborate, express your feelings, or connect with the quote. Continue reading
Tag: graphics
Brand Your Communication with a Class Logo
I believe that branding can have a HUGE impact on how parents and community members think and feel about what is going on in our schools and classrooms. Branding is why I pay $4 for a cup of coffee with a Starbucks logo on the side over $1 at a gas station. That brand has come to mean quality (and also yummy flavors) to me – and I believe it is worth it. Isn’t that how we want our communities to see what we are doing as educators? As quality. As worthwhile! Continue reading
3 Google Slides Add-ons You Didn’t Know You NEEDED!
You probably know about Chrome Extensions – those little apps that you can add to Google Chrome. You may not know that you can also customize Google Slides (and Docs, Sheets, and Forms for that matter) with similar little “apps” called Add-ons. Continue reading
3 Apps to Visually Market Your School or Classroom
Educators are hearing all the time how we need to market our schools and classrooms – telling our story – the great things happening in our classrooms – so that others don’t fill in the void with negative stories. So many educators have jumped on board with this idea of sharing our stories and pointing the spotlight to all the positive things happening in our schools, but how can we do that most effectively? What do the marketing experts say? They say we should be using visuals to SHOW our story as we tell it. Continue reading
Google Sheets Poster Printing HACK!
Years and years ago (like first year teaching years ago) I used to use Microsoft Excel to create multi-page posters that I could piece together to have great professional-looking typed posters without having to pay for poster printing. You should know, I am also a font snob and I am not in love with the font choices provided in the Microsoft suite (we can’t add fonts onto district computers). Ahhhh but the font choices in Google Apps… FANTASTIC!!! I haven’t had a use for this old poster-making hack again until recently, but thought it was worth a share in case you ever need to print a poster or large multi-page title in a pinch and/or on a budget! Continue reading
Use Your Desktop to Reinforce Positive Behaviors
Every minute we have with our students has value. I am always looking for ways to get the most out of every moment. As an elementary school administrator, I walk through numerous classrooms each and every day. Something that inevitably occurs in every class, even with the best planning and execution, is the teacher’s desktop from his or her computer is occasionally projected big and upfront for all to see. Even if it is only seen for a couple seconds while switching between programs, often all students see this image (or something similar) multiple times per day: Continue reading
5 Quick Ways to Share Positive Feedback
I love creating and sending quick notes of encouragement to teachers and friends. My favorite go-to for creating these was an eCard type app (it was called Red Stamp), but it is no longer available in the app store, and it stopped working (boo). I haven’t found any other ecard app that compares and have been looking for creative ways to pass on positivity and praise. Whether you are experiencing the same sadness over this particular app, or you just want some fresh ideas for sharing feedback, read on for 5 ways to quickly and easily provide positive feedback. Continue reading
Meredith’s Favorite Graphics Go-To’s
Have you ever seen a flyer, template, or quote graphic and thought, “How did they make that?” OR if you’re me… “How did they make that SO CUTE?” Continue reading