So. This is new. (Kind of.)

Confession time: I'm sort of a blog-starting addict.

I've done it probably at least half a dozen times.  Started a blog, gotten it going, kept it up for at least a few months (sometimes longer), and then...I get bored.  I stop posting.  I find all kinds of reasons why I don't have time to write.

I'd say this time will be different, but I'm just getting started, so realistically--I'm not sure just yet.

I guess we'll start from the beginning and move forward from there.

My name is Marlee.  I'm 28 years old and I live in a tiny little town that most folks haven't ever heard of unless they've lived here at some point in their lives.  I didn't grow up here, but I've called this place home since 2010, and I'm pretty sure that after 5 years of living in a place, you become officially part of the place.

I graduated with a degree in Elementary Education from Western Carolina University in 2008, and since then I've been teaching.  I spent a couple of years in my home county, and after a less-than-great experience at a school there--a long story better left untold--I was given the opportunity to start over here in the tiny hamlet where I now have lived for 5 years.

In terms of teaching experience, I taught 3rd grade for 5 years, spent a year in 4th grade, and then was presented an opportunity in the form of an unexpected phone call from my principal over the summer of 2013.

"How would you feel about coming on as our Instructional Technology Facilitator?"

I've always enjoyed using technology with my students, but this wasn't a path I had considered.  Our previous ITF had left unexpectedly when an opening appeared at a school that was closer to home for her, and my principal was left to fill a fairly important position, hoping to pull someone who already knew the building/equipment/staff well.

The first hurdle to making the decision was knowing that it meant I'd either have to get a Graduate degree or at minimum a Graduate Certificate in Instructional Technology.  This meant time and money going into another degree.  The good news was that I had a year from the date of my starting the position to enroll in a program, so I didn't have to figure all of that out right away.

Once I came around to the idea of being in school again, it seemed like a great opportunity.  I'd been in the classroom for 6 years, and as many folks who've worked in education know, 5 years in is usually when people fall victim to burnout and leave the profession.  I wasn't burned out, but I could see the possibility of it approaching on the horizon.  Taking a position that shifted me out of the classroom into the computer lab, and also that presented the opportunity for me to work with the staff in my school in a new capacity seemed like an exciting and welcome change.

So I dove in, and a year and a half later, here I am still.  This job is a challenge, but I enjoy it immensely.  At this point, I couldn't imagine having not made the choice to take it on.

I began my Masters degree program with East Carolina University over last summer, and at this point, I'm about to finish up my fifth and sixth courses in the program.  If all goes according to plan, I should have the entire program complete by the end of 2016.

This is becoming quite a novel, so let me get to why I started yet another blog.

Basically, through my reading and learning in my Graduate degree coursework, the idea of professionally centered blogs have come up a number of times.  I find this idea intriguing, and I'd like to try my hand at creating a blog where I can talk about and explore things related to my degree and my job in general.  I hope to open up a dialogue about new tools I discover, things I try out in the lab with my kids, and experiences I have along the way.

If you're an educator, or you're interested in learning about the ever-expanding field of Instructional Technology, hang around.  Maybe together we can learn a thing or two.