Teacher Tech blog with Alice Keeler

Paperless Is Not a Pedagogy

Alice Keeler

3 Content Makers You Need To Follow

Melody McAllister shares her weekly three things that caught her attention from educators creating content on social media. This week she highlights Hedreich Nichols, Jillian DuBois, and the themerrillsedu.
3 Content Makers You Need To Follow
My Bitmoji that says my finds are on fire!
Here are my three weekly finds that are helpuful and thoughtful for other educators.

Educators are continuing to do amazing things! When I am looking through my socials, I’m always on the lookout for things that would benefit the education community. Here are some things that sparked my attention this week! 

God Bless America

Independence Day has already passed, but educator and speaker Hedreich Nichol’s  blog post titled “God Bless America” is still relevant. Are we weaponizing the flag? Is it becoming a symbol of intolerance? These words from her blog captured my heart and attention:

Seeing the US symbol of liberty and unity flying from the backs of trucks along side Confederate and political flags; seeing it used as a symbol of extremism branded as ‘true patriotism’; and the horror of the January 6th insurrection in which the world watched our flag being used to beat the Blue instead of back them; all of these displays make me cautious, hesitant, afraid. These are people who are not for me, who are sometimes even actively against me. These are people who defaced a creek underpass near my home, tagging it with “Go away nigger, we don’t want you here”. They also spray painted swastikas, Confederate signs and the American flag. While everyone flying a flag isn’t an enemy, many who have declared enmity with diverse populations fly the flag. They’ve hijacked it and that makes me sad.

Her post doesn’t stop there. She goes on to explain how the ideals our country was founded on are exactly how we will restore it as a place where all can feel welcome, through unity and hope which is spelled out in our Constitution. We can only do that when we are truthful about our nation’s history and where we hope to go, acknowledging the true struggles that our students and their families face, whatever they may be. 

BookChat with Author Jillian DuBois

Are you following Jillian DuBois on Twitter? She has a huge community of support and I can understand why! She joined my bookchat this past Wednesday and it was so much fun. Her first children’s book, Liv’s Seashells: What Makes Us Unique Makes Us Extraordinary, is a beautifully written children’s story with illustrations and affirmations that gave me goosebumps. Jillian is not only the author but also the illustrator AND publisher as well. She writes to share joy, and as an educator, she knows exactly how to weave in social emotional learning. The book she sent me turned out to be flawed (dang it Amazon), but my family and I enjoyed reading it together all the same. Like the main character, Liv, and her desire to love on the broken seashells, the book Jillian sent (not knowing some pages were out of order) still weaved in the affirmations that sparked deep conversations. When we look for beauty all around us, we are sure to find it. You can find out more about her book and all of her projects on her website impartedjoy.com 

YouTube video
This BookChat with educator and author, Jillian DuBois, was full of joy!

Flexible Seating at Bargain Prices 

Scrolling through my Instagram, I happened upon the themerrillsedu post about the cutest flexible seating choices I’ve ever seen! Kristin Merrill’s finds were shark and piggy tents for ten bucks at Walmart! You know I’m going to go try and grab two of each! Kristin and her husband are always growing and sharing the latest!

Kristin Merrill shows a shark tent she found for ten dollars on her Instagram.
Click on the picture to see this Instagram post by themerrillsedu!

Keep Posting! Keep Sharing!

I am so grateful for all of the work shared by incredible educators. Is there any other community that is constantly looking out for each other like we do? When we share, we are helping, and I’m so glad to find these gems. 

About the Author

Melody McAllister is a wife, mother of five, educator, and author.

Melody McAllister is a wife, mother of five, educator, and author. She and her family relocated to Alaska from the Dallas area in 2019.  McAllister is 2017 Garland NAACP Educator of the Year and author of the I’m Sorry Story.  She is also the Logistics Manager for EduMatch Publishing and Alice Keeler, LLC.  McAllister has spoken at ISTE and ASTE about equity issues in education, and writes about her journey in her blog, HeGaveMeAMelody.com.  If you would like to schedule an author read with your class, please contact her on Twitter or email her at melody@mjmcalliwrites.com.

Join Melody’s BookChat every Wednesday at 8pm EST at YouTube.com/melodymcallister

© 2024 All Rights Reserved.

💥 FREE OTIS WORKSHOP

Join Alice Keeler, Thursday Mar 21st or register to gain access to the recording.
Create a free OTIS account.

Join Alice Keeler for this session as we learn how to revolutionize your assessment strategies. We will dive into the essentials of crafting high-quality rubrics that go beyond traditional scoring methods to offer rich, meaningful feedback. We’ll learn about the components of an effective rubric and how to mathematically ensure the accuracy of your assessments.

Exit this pop up by pressing escape or clicking anywhere off the pop up.