While many outside of the education field do not see it, teachers are continually expanding their education. Whether it is through professional development provided by the school district, self learning on a tool or strategy specific to their content area, or taking courses during their free time through a university or other facility. That's what I have done, a course during my free time. I have signed up to take a course called LEC Online & Blended Learning Certification.
Over the past 5 years I have used Moodle as an LMS. I was thrown into this with little to no training, learning mainly on my own via trial & error. While I can honestly say I've come a long way since then, after our face to face meeting to begin this new course, I know I've got a long way to go. To be in education today, we must embrace technology and respect its role in our classrooms and a student's educational process.I have used Moodle as a means to get information to my students & have them turn in work, thus saving paper. I've considered this the start of a hybrid class, but boy, are there some HUGE components I am missing.
Providing links or documents to information for students to access is only part of an online course. My ultimate goal while taking this course is to find ways to engage students when they are not sitting in front of me. The absence of my physical self has to be my focus. Right now I can easily track down a student and have a conversation with them. This will not always be the case. How can I best "instruct" to students while they are at home? The media center? Or anywhere other than a typical classroom environment? AND how can I create meaningful & engaging interaction between myself and my students? Building a community among my students is also a priority. Students are encouraged to rely on each other in my classroom, work together, ask each other questions, etc. This should not be any different in an online class. And it needs to be continuous throughout the course.
Now these goals are mine for my personal classroom. But I also want to be able to share, inspire and encourage my colleagues to enhance their current Moodle courses (or whatever LMS they choose to use) to incorporate these items. I am fortunate to work with some amazing people that embrace technology whole heartedly, and there are some that are tolerating its integration into the classroom. And of course, there are those that are content with their current status. Now, I am not so naive to think that all teachers in my district will ever embrace technology in the way that I do. I have to be realistic about my own expectations. Any growth is better than none at all, and my job is to encourage and support growth to the degree that a teacher is comfortable with it, and will see the benefit of it for their students.
I hope as I learn new technologies, I'll be able to share them with staff (and show them I am right there learning with them) in such an enthusiastic and infectious way that soon they'll start calling me the Pied Piper, I'll be leading staff off into the land of technology!
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Thursday, February 20, 2014
What? No Snow?
Have you ever gotten geared up for "the storm" that was scheduled to come, only to wake up to nothing? Dry streets, clear skies (as far as you can tell in the dark) and your phone NOT ringing with a call from the school telling you it's a snow day? Yeah, that was my morning today.
Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE coming to school everyday. I love my classes, I love my students, I love my job. But when that all powerful "what if" takes over your mind, and you go to sleep the night before, visions of all the things you could do tomorrow filling your head, only to wake up and find it's schedule as usual, honestly, you sort of think "Dang, would have loved a snow day".
I can only imagine what the students are thinking today. A group of 7th graders came into the media center 1st hour, loud as could be and full of energy. I'm thinking they were all wishing to be home building snow forts, snowmobiling, playing hockey today. Wonder what my 10th, 11th & 12th grade students are going to be like 2nd hour? Better fill my coffee cup before I go to class.......Hope you all are enjoying your Thursday!
Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE coming to school everyday. I love my classes, I love my students, I love my job. But when that all powerful "what if" takes over your mind, and you go to sleep the night before, visions of all the things you could do tomorrow filling your head, only to wake up and find it's schedule as usual, honestly, you sort of think "Dang, would have loved a snow day".
I can only imagine what the students are thinking today. A group of 7th graders came into the media center 1st hour, loud as could be and full of energy. I'm thinking they were all wishing to be home building snow forts, snowmobiling, playing hockey today. Wonder what my 10th, 11th & 12th grade students are going to be like 2nd hour? Better fill my coffee cup before I go to class.......Hope you all are enjoying your Thursday!
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Finding Balance
I recently participated in a #mnlead Twitter chat, and the topic was Balance. How many people think about this on any regular basis? By not addressing it, or even acknowledging that we need balance in our everyday life, our life between work and home turns upside down.
How many of you bring work home with you? If you're a teacher, my guess is at some point you have answered yes. Here's the more accurate question, how much work do you bring home? And how often? And how much time does it take away from your family or personal interests? One hour's worth of grading vs. 4 hours are two entirely different things. When do you start this work and when do you stop? At some point in an evening there needs to be some down time, time to connect with yourself, your family, your spirit, your soul, or maybe the TV to catch up on current events. For me I need time to not concentrate on anything important, a brain dead activity like watching TV or playing solitaire on my iPad. This allows me to relax, unwind, and gear up for the next day.
If we do not take time every day to find a balance between work and everything else, we become engulfed in our jobs, and ultimately we suffer. Many people in this chat shared that because their children were young, it dictated their time at home to center around family and not work. That's Great!! Recognizing that your children need you, and being there for them, is the best choice you can make. Looking at life through the eyes of a child can bring everything into perspective. Others said they set aside time during their day to walk or work-out in some manner for their own health and to clear their minds. Most stated they had to schedule it and make it part of a routine or it wouldn't happen. One person even said they went for a walk around campus after lunch just to step away from their desk and refocus for the afternoon. Myself, I get my workout in before school. I know my job and routine and if I don't do it then, it most likely doesn't get done, something will always seem to come up. If it happens I have time for a physical activity after school, then it's just a bonus!
While it's easy to set aside a textbook or stack of papers, and go to the store or shopping, out to eat or a movie, how easy is it to walk away from work when we are connected so closely through technology? How many of you check your school email on your phone? Do you get Social Media updates regarding school, classes or students that you check regularly? Are people texting you with school "emergencies"? With technology advancements, and integrating them into our courses, have we made it virtually impossible to disconnect from work? This became a hot topic because we were all over the place.
Some continuously check their phones because of notices they receive, some are trying to stay on top of emails (ever feel like you are on email overload?) most are checking devices throughout the evening & weekends, barely able to put it down for a family meal. STOP THE MADNESS!
What message are we sending our students & families if we don't care enough to have interests outside of our jobs to bring something personal back to the classroom? Don't we encourage our students to have other interests and hobbies besides what they learn in our class? I know I do, I want the kids to have time away from my course so they come back refreshed. I want my students to be kids as well, spend time with their families. I'm not going to give them some big project over a long break, I want them to have down time just like I do and I need that at times. Everyone needs balance, not just teachers. How are you going to encourage balance for your students?
How many of you bring work home with you? If you're a teacher, my guess is at some point you have answered yes. Here's the more accurate question, how much work do you bring home? And how often? And how much time does it take away from your family or personal interests? One hour's worth of grading vs. 4 hours are two entirely different things. When do you start this work and when do you stop? At some point in an evening there needs to be some down time, time to connect with yourself, your family, your spirit, your soul, or maybe the TV to catch up on current events. For me I need time to not concentrate on anything important, a brain dead activity like watching TV or playing solitaire on my iPad. This allows me to relax, unwind, and gear up for the next day.
If we do not take time every day to find a balance between work and everything else, we become engulfed in our jobs, and ultimately we suffer. Many people in this chat shared that because their children were young, it dictated their time at home to center around family and not work. That's Great!! Recognizing that your children need you, and being there for them, is the best choice you can make. Looking at life through the eyes of a child can bring everything into perspective. Others said they set aside time during their day to walk or work-out in some manner for their own health and to clear their minds. Most stated they had to schedule it and make it part of a routine or it wouldn't happen. One person even said they went for a walk around campus after lunch just to step away from their desk and refocus for the afternoon. Myself, I get my workout in before school. I know my job and routine and if I don't do it then, it most likely doesn't get done, something will always seem to come up. If it happens I have time for a physical activity after school, then it's just a bonus!
While it's easy to set aside a textbook or stack of papers, and go to the store or shopping, out to eat or a movie, how easy is it to walk away from work when we are connected so closely through technology? How many of you check your school email on your phone? Do you get Social Media updates regarding school, classes or students that you check regularly? Are people texting you with school "emergencies"? With technology advancements, and integrating them into our courses, have we made it virtually impossible to disconnect from work? This became a hot topic because we were all over the place.
Some continuously check their phones because of notices they receive, some are trying to stay on top of emails (ever feel like you are on email overload?) most are checking devices throughout the evening & weekends, barely able to put it down for a family meal. STOP THE MADNESS!
What message are we sending our students & families if we don't care enough to have interests outside of our jobs to bring something personal back to the classroom? Don't we encourage our students to have other interests and hobbies besides what they learn in our class? I know I do, I want the kids to have time away from my course so they come back refreshed. I want my students to be kids as well, spend time with their families. I'm not going to give them some big project over a long break, I want them to have down time just like I do and I need that at times. Everyone needs balance, not just teachers. How are you going to encourage balance for your students?
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