Sunday, December 25, 2011
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
2012 Where Are We Going?
We are in the final week of school before our winter break. Students are taking finals, finishing class projects, and counting down the days until break. It seems like a great time to reflect on the school year but also to look ahead. The past 3 or 4 weeks have been crazy busy, as seen by my lack of blog posts. I don't really blog for readership. Blogging is all about being able to reflect on the work I do and share the successes of our public school teachers. Yes, those same teachers who are vilified in the press and the associated discussion boards.
Our teachers do great work and face extreme pressures to bring a high quality education to their students. As I walk the halls of my buildings and have conversations with staff members, I can feel the strain, see the strain. This is where my dilemma begins as I ask myself this question: "Am I part of the strain?"
In my position, I provide instructional technology support to teachers in 5 elementary schools. As someone who lives on the web, I come across many resources that fit into the curriculum. I am a believer in the power of the Internet and see the connections to student learning. But sometimes, I feel that I am just maintaining the technology integration skills for my teachers instead of expanding them. I want my teachers to grow in their comfort with technology and see more ways to integrate it into their teaching. But at the same time, I see what my teachers have to do on an ordinary day, and I do not want to push something upon them, becoming part of the strain.
How can I help my teachers grow professionally while respecting their time and the responsibilities placed upon them? That is a question I need to answer in 2012.
Our teachers do great work and face extreme pressures to bring a high quality education to their students. As I walk the halls of my buildings and have conversations with staff members, I can feel the strain, see the strain. This is where my dilemma begins as I ask myself this question: "Am I part of the strain?"
In my position, I provide instructional technology support to teachers in 5 elementary schools. As someone who lives on the web, I come across many resources that fit into the curriculum. I am a believer in the power of the Internet and see the connections to student learning. But sometimes, I feel that I am just maintaining the technology integration skills for my teachers instead of expanding them. I want my teachers to grow in their comfort with technology and see more ways to integrate it into their teaching. But at the same time, I see what my teachers have to do on an ordinary day, and I do not want to push something upon them, becoming part of the strain.
How can I help my teachers grow professionally while respecting their time and the responsibilities placed upon them? That is a question I need to answer in 2012.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
Technology and Self-Reflection
Every day, I work with teachers who use technology for a variety of purposes. Today was different. Mr. Sinden is a 5th grade teacher...and a really good one. We were discussing his latest inquiry-based lessons that he did with his students. During this time, he showed me his reflection journal. Using Microsoft OneNote, he keeps a journal to reflect on his lessons and units. I thought this was a great use of technology for a simple, but powerful task. In his journal, he would write down things to remember for next year, things that went well, etc. With OneNote, he can setup seperate workbooks for each subject and subdivide those workbooks into sections for the units he teachers. How many times do you write some thoughts down but then don't remember where they are? Getting them into a program like OneNote makes the reflection task easier and more efficient.
One of the features he really liked was the search feature in OneNote. The search will look for your key words in any notebook that you create. So if you cannot remember where you wrote down a particular note, you can search for the key word and it will find any instance where that word(s) appear. OneNote can also be accessible from multiple computers. Link your OneNote to a Microsoft Live account, and you can now access your OneNote from any computer through your Live account.
Don't have OneNote on your computer? No worries...you can use an online version of OneNote for free through Microsoft Live!
Want to learn more about OneNote? Two colleagues in my department recently conducted a webinar on the subject. Check out the recording here: OneNote Webinar.
Reflection is a great tool that is often overlooked or shoved to the side but its impact on our teaching practice can be great. No matter which tool you use: OneNote, Evernote, pencil and paper, etc., take time to reflect.
This is technology that actually works!
One of the features he really liked was the search feature in OneNote. The search will look for your key words in any notebook that you create. So if you cannot remember where you wrote down a particular note, you can search for the key word and it will find any instance where that word(s) appear. OneNote can also be accessible from multiple computers. Link your OneNote to a Microsoft Live account, and you can now access your OneNote from any computer through your Live account.
Don't have OneNote on your computer? No worries...you can use an online version of OneNote for free through Microsoft Live!
Want to learn more about OneNote? Two colleagues in my department recently conducted a webinar on the subject. Check out the recording here: OneNote Webinar.
Reflection is a great tool that is often overlooked or shoved to the side but its impact on our teaching practice can be great. No matter which tool you use: OneNote, Evernote, pencil and paper, etc., take time to reflect.
This is technology that actually works!
Sunday, November 13, 2011
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