"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.