Justin Tarte's Blog (77)

What are you really worth...?

There are lots of things that people love: new car smell, walks on the beach, winning the lottery and most importantly, opening a gas station soda only to find out you won a free soda!

In addition to these most cherished things in our lives, I also really love to be inspired and motivated. Over the last couple weeks there have been two pieces in particular that have so eloquently come together in perfect harmony...…

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Added by Justin Tarte on January 20, 2011 at 1:28am — No Comments

Educators making a difference...

I recently asked principals and administrators across North America one simple question: What do you love about your job? Here are the responses I got...and I must say, they are pretty awesome. Enjoy!

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Added by Justin Tarte on December 30, 2010 at 11:54am — No Comments

"The Blind Side"

A few days ago I had the opportunity to watch the movie The Blind Side. As my wife and I sat there watching the movie I couldn't help but notice how "into" the movie we were. This was not the first time I heard

of the movie, however it was the first time I could watch the movie in

its entirety. At my high school we watched a short clip of the film as

part of a Character Education lesson during our…

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Added by Justin Tarte on December 27, 2010 at 2:32pm — No Comments

How do we define learning...?

I will start this post off by saying you will not find any answers here.

At best you might be more confused than when you started. This year

has been the year of change for my German students and myself. We have

been pushing the envelope when it comes to technology integration in a

foreign language class. Overall, I can honestly say things have been

going quite well. Students seem to be actively engaged and interested,

and most importantly they have taken… Continue

Added by Justin Tarte on December 27, 2010 at 2:29pm — 1 Comment

Life of an Educator: Top 5 blog posts of 2010...

I started this blog on June 14th, 2010. For the last 6 months this blog has provided me the opportunity to share and collaborate with some of the best educators in the world. I have been able to take my self-reflection to the next level, which in turn has hopefully made me a better educator. This blog has been influential as I embrace the concept of 24/7 professional development...anytime and anywhere. For the members of my PLN and the readers of my blog, I thank you for your support and…

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Added by Justin Tarte on December 19, 2010 at 9:14am — No Comments

The Dream Fulfiller

"Hey... Don´t ever let somebody tell you, you can´t to something. Not even me... Alright? You got a dream, you gotta protect it. People can't do something themselves, they wanna tell you that you can't do it. You want something? Go get it. Period." (Christopher Gardner)

Every day educators around the world have the…

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Added by Justin Tarte on December 19, 2010 at 9:02am — No Comments

The first step toward a digital portfolio...

My German 3 students are doing a lot of things they have never done in school before. They are taking part in an experiment of sorts...an

experiment aimed at increasing student interest and engagement levels

through the use of technology. Most importantly, I am learning right

along side each and every student of mine. Together, we are stepping

outside of our comfort zones with the hope of growing and learning

through sharing… Continue

Added by Justin Tarte on December 4, 2010 at 6:40pm — No Comments

5 ways to encourage fundamental change...

This post stems from the thoughts of @gcouros' most recent post Is Change the True Barrier? Change has been and will be for the foreseeable future the most

pressing issue in our schools, our communities, and in our society as a

whole. George's question was simple: What is holding us back...is

"change" at the heart of the problem, or is… Continue

Added by Justin Tarte on December 4, 2010 at 6:38pm — No Comments

Recognizing the shining stars...

Today I had the opportunity to speak with one of the members of my high school's custodial staff. This particular team member is assigned to my

classroom. Though we are almost halfway done with the school year, I

have regrettably not spent much time talking to this person. Today was

my chance...

It was so nice to speak with the person that is responsible for making

sure my classroom is ready to go for the next school… Continue

Added by Justin Tarte on December 4, 2010 at 6:35pm — No Comments

The School Family - Guest Blogger Tonya Thompson

Oh, Thanksgiving. Time for all those F’s we love: Food, football

and...family. Okay, some of those things we love more than others.

I have had many discussions over

the years with one of my fellow educators about people; people that we

enjoy and those we don’t. Recently, we… Continue

Added by Justin Tarte on November 21, 2010 at 8:09pm — No Comments

5 Technology Tips for the Not-so-Tech-Savvy Teacher - @JPPrezz Guest Blogger

5 Technology Tips for the Not-so-Tech-Savvy Teacher - @JPPrezz Guest Blogger…

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Added by Justin Tarte on November 21, 2010 at 8:07pm — No Comments

A little help and support go a long way...

Several great and interesting things happened to me this week:

1) - On Wednesday I attended my 2nd #ecosys chat: If you have

never taken part in the #ecosys chat, I strongly urge you to check it

out. The #ecosys chat has a new topic every week similar to other

Twitter chats, however this chat centers around education reform and the

interconnectedness of society and its impact on education. As the… Continue

Added by Justin Tarte on November 21, 2010 at 8:04pm — No Comments

When was the last time...

- you did something you have been procrastinating...

- you asked someone for help...

- you laughed so much that your jaw hurt...

- you made a point to "pay it forward..."

- you rekindled a strained relationship by being open and honest...

- you encouraged a friend, family member, or colleague to do something great...

- you made a list of the great things going on in your… Continue

Added by Justin Tarte on November 17, 2010 at 6:19pm — No Comments

Reflections of a PD representative - try not to take it personally...

I typically have a clear and well-thought out purpose for each blog post, however for this blog post I am going to simply reflect on today's

professional development session. I lead a PD session about 7 weeks

ago for all of the staff members at my high school on social media and

technology integration, and today's session was an extension of the

previous session for any teachers interested. We asked each staff

member to choose… Continue

Added by Justin Tarte on November 17, 2010 at 6:17pm — No Comments

5 ways to spread the power of Twitter as a PD tool...

This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend the EdcampKC technology conference in Kansas City, MO. This was my first

"unconference," which basically means the entire conference was

participant-driven and each session was presented by someone who was

actually attending the conference. There was a big board set up in the

main room, and before the conference officially started any person

interested in presenting was able to… Continue

Added by Justin Tarte on November 9, 2010 at 7:13pm — No Comments

The "real" stakeholders...students have voices too...

I experienced two very important things recently:

1) - If you ask, you shall receive...

Last week I asked 5 students to answer 5 questions related to

education. The questions have nothing to do with my class content, nor

will the students receive anything for completing the 5 questions. I

simply asked 5 of my students to give me their opinion and feedback on

certain education related issues. The… Continue

Added by Justin Tarte on October 29, 2010 at 8:12pm — No Comments

Why Twitter should be a part of your PLN...

If somebody asked me about the last 6 months of my life, I would respond

by saying something like this; the past 6 months have been extremely

challenging, but yet at the same time I can say with little hesitation

that I have grown more as an educator in the last 6 months than in any

other time period in my life.

The world in which we live is changing faster than anyone could ever

imagine, and because of this the educational system must evolve and… Continue

Added by Justin Tarte on October 29, 2010 at 8:10pm — No Comments

What island are you on?

I just finished reading The Learning Leader, by Douglas R. Reeves, as a part of my doctoral studies. I found the book to be

extremely well written, as well as extremely valuable for anyone looking

to gain a more in-depth understanding of school improvement.

As districts and schools look to both district and building leaders, it

is difficult not to notice the "Islands of Excellence," as well as the

islands of… Continue

Added by Justin Tarte on October 22, 2010 at 3:43pm — No Comments

A small sign of success...celebrate the little victories

I entered the 2010/2011 school year with two goals:

Goal 1 - Try as many new and innovative ideas in my German classes as possible...

Goal 2 - As a Professional Development Representative at my high school, I want to share as many resources and ideas with other…

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Added by Justin Tarte on October 19, 2010 at 6:50pm — No Comments

REBEL - Education Reform Blog - revisit...The factory model does not work for schools...

Tom Whitby has encouraged all education bloggers to write a positive blog on how we should reform the

educational setting. I have decided to revisit a previous post of

mine...

If you have ever walked into a factory that produces a finished good from raw materials, it is frankly an amazing process. Dating back to

the early 1900's, Henry Ford revolutionized…

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Added by Justin Tarte on October 17, 2010 at 2:00pm — No Comments