EdTech TOSA

Posts for Tag: edtech

Q&A

The 2016-2017 school year is underway. I am 3 weeks into it, with students and staff. 

And, I've received a lot of questions about using technology in the classroom. Students, teachers, office staff, and sometimes parents. I like it when I'm asked questions about #edtech of #GAFE. Honest! 

It is a bit overwhelming sometimes, because I visit five different elementary sites. Not sure how many students I see on a weekly basis...haven't tallied that number yet. 

But, I am starting to think that I need to create more time for Q&A in my sessions. I need to do a better job of addressing those questions. Maybe create a FAQ? 

TECH

This is fantastic. This simple graphic incorporates the whole idea behind Educational Technology. 


#learninggoals for 2016-2017

➽  also see the SAMR swimming pool 

summer workshop

Advanced Google & the Web  

Menlo Park, CA

Learned quite a bit this past week. I even documented my learning with Sites, as clunky as it is. 

Still waiting for the new and improved Sites to be released! 

palindrome week

6-16-16

The local news mentioned that this week is Palindrome Week. And, that made me think that next year's Palindrome Week won't happen until July of 2017 and that is roughly the date I set for myself to start blogging again.   

See, I really need to start blogging again. If nothing else, it may help me makes sense of my learning. This past week has made me realize that I need to communicate my goals, my accomplishments, and my failures. This past year I preached to the students about #failforward, and I intend to practice what I preach.  

EOY

"I've learned a lot this year." 

Read that sentence again. What does the voice in your head sound like? What is the tone? What words did your internal voice emphasize? 

I've heard this phrase many times in years past. Sometimes that phrase was uttered by students, and sometimes by colleagues. I've heard myself say it on several occasions these last few days of school. Only, I truly did learn a lot this year.  

See, I was fortunate to work some inspiring people. I was lucky in that I was allowed into five different elementary schools and over 60 classrooms. I enjoyed working with 100s of students, in grade levels Kindergarten through Grade 5. And, I learned a lot this year. Every student and every teacher helped me learn something this year. I never felt like the smartest person in the room...

Honestly, I wasn't sure what this year would look like when I took the role of TOSA/Instructional Technology. This role was new in the district for the 2015-2016 school year, and it dovetailed with the roll-out of Google Apps for Education. Administration was extremely supportive, and my fellow TOSAs at the middle schools helped me wrap my brain around this new role and how we could best serve our students and staff. 

One of those TOSAs helped me understand that we are #bettertogether. She convinced me to start using Twitter as a #PLN, and I soon found a host of teachers working with Instructional Technology. The winter CUE workshop at Remind.com, coupled with #TOSAchat on Twitter, I learned a lot this year. 

[#TOSAchat badge via: @jyoung1219]

The 2015-2016 school year is over. I'm fortunate to be returning in early August for the 2016-2017 school year. Next year, I'll continue to work with many of the same teachers and students. I will continue to refine my approach to Instructional Technology. And, more importantly, I will continue to learn along the way with an rad group of people. 

I'm still learning.