I Will Not Let An Exam Result Decide My Fate by @SuliBreaks #Edchat

I'm very happy that I found this on Twitter yesterday. This was a great spoken word poem that I shared with my students. They were very impressed by Suli Breaks. It lead to a great discussion that is worth having with students. Take a moment and watch the video and share it with your staff and students to start a conversation.

Gripcase Review - It's Awesome for Kids #edchat

One of my biggest fears I have when I set my iPad down in the house is whether or not my son is going  to pick it up and make a run for it. Now, I love using the iPad with Leo, but I worry that he is going to drop it throw it or do any of those other things that 2 year olds do with anything in their hands.

I'm not much of case guy, but I knew I needed something to protect the iPad, but no be too cumbersome for a little kid to handle. That is where Gripcase comes in.

The Gripcase has been the perfect solution to my iPad damage related worries. Leo can easily take the iPad and run from one couch to the next and sit down and play his favorite games without a care int he world. It is not heavy and the special made handles allow him to easily hold on to the iPad with his tiny little hands. The drop in nature of the iPad means if he were to drop it face down, the handles prevent the screen from hitting the surface, make the iPad very safe for the less coordinated. 

I watched Leo run across the kitchen floor and carry it up the stairs without a worry. He feel very comfortable using the iPad with the Gripcase and I feel comfortable letting him carry it around. It was only a matter of time before he took over the iPad mini, but at least I know it is safe and secure in the Gripcase.

Here is a video with more information on Gripcase and you should check out their website as well. 

Fujitsu ScanSnap iX500 Desktop Scanner #Evernote

I was very lucky to get my hands on a Fujitsu ScanSnap Desktop Scanner a few weeks ago and I have been using it at home. I had heard about this scanner from other Evernote users and Ambassadors over the past few months, but had not thought much about it. As tax season was coming around, I really started to get a clutter of paperwork piling up around my home office. I wanted to quickly scan a ton of documents, many of which were double sided, and add them to Evernote. Well, the Fujitsu scanner is what I needed to get the job done quickly.

This scanner has to be one of the fastest scanners I have ever used and it scans both sides of the paper as it passes through the scanner. With a scanning speed of 25 pages per minute, I can add many of my old handwritten notes to Evernote quickly and easily. After the scanning takes paces, you are given the option to send the scanned images to different cloud based sources. For me, I send all of my goodies to Evernote.

Another cool feature is the ability to send a scan directly to your device. With the ScanSnap app, you can scan papers and have them sent directly to your mobile device as long as you are on the same wifi network as the scanner. This is a really neat feature if you are on the go and do not really use any of the cloud based options ScanSnap allows you to scan to. The free app is easy to use and the scanned documents look great.

Scan snap created searchable PDFs, auto-crops, removes bleed-through and removes blank pages. This is great if you have some pages that are double sided and other that are not. It's one of those little things that make organizing information a little bit easier. I've been scanning a few times a week since I received the scanner and I couldn't be happier about the work I have been able to get done at my desk.

As a desktop scanner, I couldn't be happier with the quality of the scans and the ease of sending scanned documents to Evernote. As I prepare for conference and other speaking engagements, ScanSnap is my go to Scanner for signed documents I need to save and organize in Evernote. Fujitsu has made a great scanner for the desktop environment and I recommend it to those in need of a tool to help get rid of the clutter on the their desks.

Here is a video with more information and you can check out the Fujitsu website for more information.

I Am Not The Enemy #edchat

I am not the enemy.

I am the person that gets up every day excited about sharing the wonders of literature. I am the person that shows students the power of the written word and the beauty of the spoken word. I am the person that values each and every student in my class.

I am not the enemy.

I am the person that sits with a student revising an essay until they get it right. I am the person who keeps their door open after school for those students who do not have a place to go. I am the person that provides the attention to those who do not get it at home.

I am not the enemy.

I am the person that provides the tissue after a heartbreaking truth is revealed. I am the person that guides students to their future career. I am the person that is a sounding board when they are not sure how the parents will react. I am the person who provides supplies because there are none at home.

I am not the enemy.

I am the person that forfeits personal time to ensure students have extra time. I am the person who provides a shoulder to cry on when nobody is around. I am the person who smiles when everyone else is frowning. I am the sunshine in a world of darkness for many.

I am not the enemy.

I am the person that will show students the future and tells them they can achieve all of their goals. I am the person that will be the biggest cheerleader and the biggest critic. I am the person who will be there years later and remember where they sat and how they did. I am the person that calls them, "My kids".

I am not the enemy.

I am not perfect, but I strive for perfection. I am constantly learning because I expect it from my students. I provide a safe haven for the bullied. I love the unloved.

I do this every day.

I am not the enemy.

I am a teacher.