Let The Madness Begin....

WELCOME BACK!!!

I presented to Augusta in the beautiful Augusta Theatre.

My mom (I wonder sometimes if she is the only one who reads my blog) asked me why I hadn't posted anything lately. I laughed out loud at that...anyone who teaches knows this is a crazy time of year. I did have the amazing opportunity to kick-off the year with Augusta, Buhler, and Flinthills districts. It is so much fun being around educators and school personnel this time of year. We are like kids in a candy store!!! We are nervous, anxious, excited, and salivating to get back into action! Thank you to all the districts that asked me to be a part of their year. I always take away more energy than I leave...so thanks! (the Buhler district is pictured to the left).

Teachers are so busy getting rooms ready, getting copies sent off, preparing lesson plans, thinking of engaging first day activities, and doing paperwork, that we often forget to eat! But the past few years, it seems even busier - is that possible? I keep thinking, "I have been doing this for almost 20 years - how can I not be ready for students?" But I figured out the difference today. Ok, to be honest, my colleague figured it out but I am taking credit for it! The technology adds so much to our plate. Yes, it saves us some work, and totally engages students, but it is still another thing at the beginning of the year to work with. We worked on setting up our Moodle accounts, getting passwords, authentication codes, scheduling laptops, adding printers to computers so we can print, getting KanEd log-ins, learning student emails, adding software to use clickers, learning how to use a SmartBoard....do you get the idea? No longer do teachers just need to "get their room ready." We are now trying to stay ahead with technology too. It is challenging and we need tons of support. I am lucky. My district has two Technology Integration Specialists (see their blogs on the right) who encourage, push, and prod teachers to embrace technology. And anyone who works with technology knows there are always "issues" to deal with. I had a student teacher come observe me the past few days and he commented, "Wow...I have a lot to learn. We didn't have all this technology when I went to school here." That was 4 years ago!!!Buhler teachers listening to the United Way presentation - we are Pace Setters this year!

But the question remains in my mind. ...Where is the balance? One parent thought his son couldn't use his iPod graphing calculator app (he can) because we recommended purchasing a graphing calculator. It is a strange position to be in for high school teachers. Yes, we want students to use all the technology available to them. Yes, the iPod app costs like $1 compared to a $100 calculator. BUT, what happens if we let them use the iPod and the student doesn't know how to use the graphing calculator? The iPods are not allowed on high stakes assessments like the ACT, SAT, AP Calculus exams, or even the state assessments. We want the student to be successful. So, until the exams catch up with the technology available, we will continue letting students use iPods but also expect them to know how to use the calculator.

Technology is amazing. I now have a Moodle account, a Twitter account, a Plurk account, a blog, and a Facebook account. All this technology and I still prefer to talk to someone face to face. I even prefer actually phone calls to texts (gasp!). I keep wondering how anyone can keep up with all the different types of updates (and still TEACH). So,until I can master all of them at once, I think I will just use my Facebook updates to stay in contact with my friends.....and my blog!