A Tech Integration Specialist Dream

For seven marking periods I have been hard at work at this school, trying to teach excellently but also trying to bring technology to the doorsteps of my colleagues.  For seven marking periods, I have researched and experimented and tweeted and networked and tried to learn as much as I could about technology integration, especially with iPads.  For seven marking periods, I have emailed and harassed my colleagues trying to coerce them into joining me in the battle.  

Today promises me to be the biggest payoff day I've seen in those seven marking periods.

• 7:15-7:45 - Our second grade teacher led a workshop entitled "There's an App for That!" which was geared toward getting our primary grade teachers started on iPad usage.  I stepped in to see a Kindergarten aide, a resource room teacher, a student teacher, 3rd and 4th grade teachers, and a principal all learning about cool apps.
• As soon as I'm done here -- I need to go get a HS social studies teacher hooked up to gmail to get ready for this afternoon.
• 9-10 -- My middle school students will be working on creating their own socially aware videos.
• 10-11 -- I'll be sitting in on a demo with our guidance counselor to learn about an app to guide high school students in college and career path choices.
• 12:45-1:45 -- I'm going to roll an iPad cart into 1st grade to team teach with our 1st grade teacher and introduce the students to iPad usage at our school.  I was going to do the same thing with Kindergarten after that, but we had to postpone the session for another day.
• 3-4 -- We will have five teachers leading technology workshops around the school.  Teachers will be engaged in either Edmodo, Google Docs, Show Me, podcasting, or just learning how to get started on technology integration.

These are exciting times, and I'm surprised I actually slept last night.  Great things are happening here! 

What tech dreams are coming true for you? 

A Seismic Shift

For years I've wanted to shift my focus from "regular classroom teacher" to something akin to "technology integration specialist" but haven't really had chance to do so.  Let's face it.  That's not a job title that is readily available these days.  Sure, plenty of schools want to integrate technology to some extent, but creating a job title to help the process isn't easy in this economy.

I'm in my second year at a school that has slowly helped send me in that direction.  In Year 1, I was given a couple of hours a week to help me research and plan ways to best lead our school's iPad initiative.  That went so well, that this year I've been given an hour a day as Tech Lead to further research and help other teachers better integrate technology into their classes.  This extra hour of research time has been wonderful to keep my stress level down and to keep work at work while still helping the school move forward.  I've also been fighting a rare neurological disorder since June, so it gave me the opportunity to rest when the pain/numbness/tingling/fatigue are too much.  However, late this first semester a perfect storm of my health, staffing issues, and new initiatives came together to create a seismic shift in my career. 

Starting next semester, I will be out of the regular classroom.  Instead, I'll be teaching computers and technology for grades K-8 (with the exception of 5th grade). This will include creating curriculum which is both integrated with the regular classroom and aligned to the Common Core.  I'll also be assisting in behind the scenes technology projects from the software and integration side of the coin.  (Actually, I don't know what I'll be doing there, but I want to sound knowledgeable.) This move is listed as temporary.  There is a chance I'll be back in the regular classroom come August.  There is a chance they'll keep me in this role.  We'll see.

May I just say that I am excited, sad, nervous, thrilled, overwhelmed, scared, honored, and happy all rolled up into one?  When I realize that I'm being handed a job that I've wanted for a number of years, I get giddy. When I look at the kids and realize I won't be their teacher anymore, I get sad.  When I think of the job ahead of me, I get nervous -- until I think of the Kindergartners, then I get scared.  Overall, I'm honored that my principal thinks I'm up to the task and is willing to do what it takes to keep me moving forward with the school when my body just wants to take a month off.

From this point on, this blog will reflect this new role.  I'll be talking mostly about my "computer teacher" exploits, but I'll probably mention some things I'm finding in my research and will hope to coerce my colleagues into implementing in class. 

You can start by helping me figure out what my curriculum will look like.  Click on this post to find questions that will help me map the future of my computer curriculum.  Thanks for the help and please keep reading!