Skip to main content

The Change A Year Can Bring

     I have been reflecting a lot on how much has gone on for me professionally in the last year.  I am amazed at what a single year can bring.
    The biggest change for me was to embrace and use Twitter.  I had set up an account in August 2009, but I rarely used it.  I had not found the way it fit into my professional life.  I was an occasional lurker who gathered some links and ideas.  Last year, the permission and funding was given for me to attend my first ISTE.  This led me to jump into Twitter and start connecting.  
     A Twitter chat truly changed me as an educator.  I began to have a conversation with a moderator of a chat who works at the American International School in Hong Kong.  He and I started with a simple exchange of tweets.  He is now a cornerstone of my PLN.  Together, we began to look at how we could form connections between our schools.  This grew into an international book club that included a principal and her teachers from Ohio.  Utilizing Google Hangouts, we conducted 3 group discussions of Teach Like A Pirate by Dave Burgess.  Teachers shared ideas and connected.  Dave Burgess was able to join us through Twitter and live in the Hangout.  I am always amazed and humbled at how giving teachers are of their time.  We created #INTLAP to be a back channel for our discussions.
     ISTE was a huge turning point in my year.  I came back fired up about my job.  Let's face it sometimes teachers can get stuck in a rut.  I was introduced to new concepts and ideas.  I came back with an action plan of 3 things I wanted to get going in my classroom and school.  (I will come back to specifics about these in later postings.)  Even better, I got to connect with other educators who are fired up.  Having a support network is such a blessing.  
    Attending a Google education summit was another huge turning point for me.  It really showed me deeper ways to use Google Accounts for Education.  Our teachers have GAFE accounts and use them for some things.  The students in 4 - 8 will be getting them for next year.  I am already planning the things we can use them for in the lab and in their classrooms.  I am excited to open up new ways to use it for my teachers.  My summer project will be to become a Google Certified Educator.  Down the road, I would like to complete the Google Trainer process, but I am not ready for this application period.
    I talked in my last post about helping to found #LAedchat.  That was another big moment in my year.
    I also got a group of the school tech coordinators and tech directors set up for bi-monthly face to face meetings.  We have a Google Plus Community that allows us to share ideas and ask for help.  This was something that had been asked for in the past, but it had never gotten off the ground.  I decided to just step up and make it happen.  The payoff has been huge for all of us.  It allows us to stop trying to reinvent the wheel.  There is so much power in being connected.
    The group #Catholicedchat has also been a great place for me to combine my education life with my Faith.  They have been a support to me in the work I do with my students.  I also got my first time as being a Twitter chat moderator under my belt by co-moderating a chat for them.
   I think the biggest takeaway from this year has been my willingness to put myself out there.  Working on my Google Teacher Academy application has helped me to order my thoughts about this year.  It is still amazing to me how reaching out and connecting has completely changed my as an educator.  I love the song For Good from Wicked.  I really believe that the things that have been a part of my year have changed me "for good".  They will be a part of who I am as an educator always.  I am hoping that by this time next year, there will be a whole new set of things that have changed me "for good".  Change and growth are scary, but they have been so worth it.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thank you for challenging me George Couros

     I admitted before that sometimes I tend to take too long to think about things.  Well Mr. Couros, I spent a lot of time thinking about what you said in your session, "Leading Innovative Change"at ISTE13.  I already agreed with you about the smartest person in the room being the room.  Focusing on relationships wasn't something you had to convince me to do.  I experience too much "mind your own business learning" around me so I was still with you.  We are on the same page with learning being the focus over technology.    I was with you through that presentation.  Then, you pushed me out of my comfort zone.  You asked us to raise our hands if we thought we could teach you something.  I must admit I did not raise my hand.  You managed to hit on one of my insecurities.  I have no problem teaching those around me because they are not very tech savvy.  When I come to large conventions though, I don't feel li...
4 comments
Read more

Change

Change in education can be a tricky thing. When we look around, we see that in a lot of ways education still uses many traditional methods in the way we currently educate students. Educational technology has the potential to be a disruptive force, but in too many cases it has only been used to enhance education or provide a digital notebook. When we talk about change in education, a frequent point of discussion is resistance to change. Schools and districts around the country are working to determine the best methods to work with the teachers who resist change and don’t want to try new things. Helping the resistors move forward and change has been the subject of many discussions and implementation plans. Recently in the #GoogleEI, Google for Education Innovator, chat, Jamie Casap, the Chief Education Evangelist for Google @jcasap, made a point that resonated with me. Mr. Casap brought up that people are not change resistors; they are pain resistors. When we come to someone with...
Post a Comment
Read more
Looking Back       As your school year comes to an end, it is easy to give in to the exhaustion from all you have done this year and the exhilaration of looking forward to summer.  Once you catch your breath, don't forget to take the time to reflect.         If you still have your students for a few more days, make a quick, anonymous survey to get feedback.  Find out what their favorite activities and lessons were this year as well as their least favorite.  Ask them for suggestions to improve your class for next year.         What do you think were the best lessons and activities that you used this year?  What lessons or activities need to be reconsidered for next year?  What lessons did you learn from your students this year?  Each group of students teaches something, so what can be applied from this group?        When it is time to plan for next year, use these reflectio...
Post a Comment
Read more