For the most recent episode of I am DCTA, I was able to interview Margarita Gomez, who teaches kindergarten in Spanish at Cowell Elementary. As a high school teacher, it was very interesting to hear that the abundant assessments start from the first year of school. I also learned a great deal about the unique challenges that come with teaching in Spanish. Listen to the full episode below to learn more for yourself! Enjoy!

Spring is the time of year when people often take time to do a deep clean of their homes, cars, and classrooms. I may have found a stack of finals from 2013... It is also a good time to do some digital cleaning. Even though our digital files don't take up space, it does mean that they don't get cluttered. Below are some ideas for organizing your tech and getting a fresh start!

​Clean up your Phone

• Delete any apps you no longer use
• Come up with a sorting method of your choice

Note to Self did any AMAZING Infomagical Challenge earlier this year. It recommended ways to overcome information overload and one of the episodes talked about a great way to organize your phone to meet this goal. I would strongly recommend that if you have not done Infomagical, you work your way through the episodes. It a nice reminder that we own our tech and our tech does not have to own us. Below is the episode on organizing your phone.

​What digital spring cleaning ideas do you have? Please share them in the comments below!

Last Tuesday, I am DCTA released a new episode featuring Josh Morris, a teacher at Henry World Middle School. It is a truly touching story that I think everyone should check out. Southwest Denver has a very special place in my heart and I hope that after you hear this episode, you will see how wonderful and truly special students are in this area. You can also subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or wherever you get podcasts. Enjoy!

If you've read my previous post on Keeping Up With #edtech, you know that I listen to the Edsurge Podcast. This week, they had Barnett Berry, CEO of the Center for Teaching Quality, interview and talk about his ideas around teacher development. It's not very often that I find myself still thinking about a podcast episodes days after I've listened to it. I found his interview particularly interesting and his perspective very refreshing. Below are my "bullet point" takeaways from the episode.

• Teachers should be 'developed', not 'fixed'
• Teachers need a wide variety of leadership opportunities
• More time needs to be devoted to teachers sharing best practices with a broad audience
• A new culture that emphasizes teachers sharing with each other and being given time to reflect is essential

The language we use to describe the teaching profession and teacher development plays a huge role in the way teaching is viewed by both the public and prospective teachers. I appreciate the way Berry was very conscious of the way many pieces of legislation come across as methods for 'fixing' teachers. I also really appreciated the way he compared the teaching work load of a teacher in the US compared to other countries. I used to tutor English for teachers in South Korea, and the way they descried the day of a teacher aligns with Berry's characterization - a much larger portion of the day is spent on professional development and teacher leadership. I believe these two changes would have a HUGE impact on the teaching profession.

When Berry was talking about the importance of sharing best practices, I immediately thought of the goals of Project Cam Opener - a community of DPS teachers focused on sharing their teaching practice. Teachers are encourage to record both classroom practices and reflections and share them with others. I'm believe more communities like this will and should be created to help teachers engage in this valuable process. You can hear more about all of these topics in the episode below.

What do you think? What other underlying assumptions about teachers are preventing the elevation and progress of the teaching profession? Share your thoughts in the comments below!