EdTech TOSA

Posts for Tag: cue

titles

No one cares about your title. They care about the results you generate. 

Life is not about being liked. It’s about being effective. 

My role as a TOSA will be ending in May, after a four year run. I was effective. I generated results. More importantly, the students and teachers produced amazing results. 

There’s still a lot of work to be done. instructional technology integration is never a job to be marked as complete. And, I’ll still be able to effect change in some capacity. Only, I’m not yet sure what that will look like in the 2019-2020 school year. 

Maybe it’s teaching at a middle school. Maybe it’s in administration. Regardless of the role, my title means little. However, the title of this website (and the URL) will be changing. 

Having a domain registered as edtechtosa.com is a bit problematic when one is no longer a TOSA. So, I’ve given a lot of consideration to branding and what that might look like going forward. 

At Spring CUE this past weekend, I paid special attention to the ways educators presented their story and, by default, how they branded themselves across platforms (Twitter, websites, marketing/stickers). 

And, that has got me feelin' some kind of way...

I have ideas.


CUE 2019

First time presenting at Spring CUE! 

First time attending Spring CUE. 

Lots of firsts for me at this conference. 

I started this entry while attending a CUE Rockstar session hosted by Jon Corippo, the CUE Godfather. I attended his session to learn more about presenting, and I was not disappointed. It helped me understand what I could do differently, and what I could do better. 

To be honest, I was terrified to present at Spring CUE. While I received a lot of compliments for my one-hour session on TOSA, I felt like I had not given the attendees what they wanted. Self-doubt can be crippling. I suppose the upside is that I know I can do better, and that teaching and learning are fluid. 

I have met many of the attendees at Spring CUE in a digital space (Twitter & Instagram), but never IRL. So, the pressure to perform was even greater. I did present at Fall CUE 2018 for the very first time. That was a huge step for me, as the thought of presenting to a (big) room full of teachers tends to make me anxious. 

To be honest, I never thought I would present at a CUE event. Trust that I want to give back. It was my CUE cohorts, and my friends at CapCUE who challenged me to move outside my comfort zone. Thank you, friends. #loveyou #meanit  

Some quick notes about lessons learned:  

  • Presenting to ~82 people in a big room can be terrifying. 
  • Kids skill level outreaches our delivery.   
  • Provide the solution, not suggestions. 
  • am·bi·vert /ˈambəˌvərt/ - a person whose personality has a balance of extrovert and introvert features 

*selfie from the Friday 10am session: Know Your Condiments! Level up your TOSA dishes.

bit.ly/KnowYourCondiments




board meeting

Today, I attended my first CapCUE Board meeting as a Director. I’m excited to be a part of an organization that has inspired me for several years. I’m excited to give back! 

Apparently, I was so excited that I didn’t take any pictures. From 8:30-2:30pm the Board covered a lot of ground. And, I’ve got a lot to digest. But, it’s all good stuff! 

fall CUE

S T O K E D 

When it came to submitting proposals, I’ve sat on the fence for the last three years. 

Oddly enough, I can’t explain why it took so long for me to commit. Ideas and strategies were plentiful. Fear was a non-issue. Travel funds were sufficient. 

Pretty sure it was two events that provided the momentum: 

  • the EdCamp Sacramento at Westlake Charter 
  • the 2018 LEAD3 Symposium in San Francisco 

And, more importantly, it was the people at these events—my CapCUE peeps and amazing people from ACSA at TICAL. Thank you, friends. #bettertogether