As I'm starting the next course level in the tech integration series, I am channeling my inner nerd again. I love learning. Anything. I recently took a second job at an auto parts store (huge step outside of my box for that - I don't think it's possible to know LESS than I know about auto parts...), and I love the feeling of challenge and accomplishment that I leave with when I clock out. Of course, there are also the days when I drive home after work and promise myself that the next day WILL be better - because it can't really get much worse! These are my feelings also when it comes to technology integration in the classroom. I love learning about anything that may be of use for my daytime kiddos or myself. I love trying new digital tools. It's a wonderful moment when something works to deepen learning or serves to further shift the learning in my room from teacher-centered to student-centered. Then there are the days when I drive home after work and promise myself that the next day WILL be better - because it can't really get much worse! Thankfully, those are few and far between, and I've learned to be flexible and adapt pretty easily to the minor glitches that are inevitable when working with technology and kids.
Now that I'm approaching the end of our pilot 1:1 year, I feel that I can offer some insight to my classmates whose corporations have yet to take that step. There is a lot that my administration, fellow teachers, and I have learned about what to do and what NOT to do (which somehow seems to be the most valuable kind of lesson). My experience among my classmates in that area though isn't unique, but my background in high ability education and my work with honors and AP classes has given me a lot of practice with differentiating for high ability students using technology.
I took the first course in this series almost a year ago. The course began with just a couple of weeks left in the 2012-2013 school year, so while I feel that I use a lot of the information that the course provided, the course was really almost hypothetical for me. I hadn't had the benefit of the 1:1 environment in which to try to implement ideas at the time, nor did I have the practical experience with it. I still consider myself to be very much a newbie. I welcome all chances for exploration and opportunities to learn from my classmates. Regardless of subject concentration or grade levels taught, we are all in this "technology integration" journey together, and while the subjects and ages may differ, kids fundamentally remain the same, and so do our jobs - to create students who aren't merely receptacles for the knowledge that we deem appropriate to fill them, and to instill in each of them a feeling of motivation and relevance. No one can implement everything in one year, but here's to doing more, and better, than the year before!
