Reflections on an Unprecedented School Year

 I'm tired, y'all.

We (educators) always joke about how there's "regular person tired," and then there's "teacher tired" and the two are basically opposite ends of a spectrum. But those of us in education now--especially those of us who have anything to do with providing technology support or other instructional support--we now know that "teacher tired" wasn't the furthest extreme on that spectrum. It was more like the middle. We've figured out that beyond that is "remote teacher tired" and then even further is "teaching in the midst of a pandemic tired" and God help us if the spectrum goes further, because there are days when I just don't know how much more I have to give this career of mine.

I love my job. I love being an educator, and I love even more being someone who supports educators and helps usher them into a place of confidence with technology integration. I love that I can open a teacher's eyes to incredible tools that take their already amazing instruction to new heights of engagement. 

But that's not what my job looks like right now.

Right now, my job is primarily overseeing all of the devices we've received and checked out to our students. I am handling connectivity issues, creating accounts for new students, assembling carts for iPads and Chromebooks so our face-to-face teachers can store devices in their classrooms, submitting work orders for the inevitable student device repairs, taking calls from stressed-out parents who are just trying to do their best to support their children's learning during this time unlike anything we've ever experienced before...and then there's the stuff that is normally part of my job. Stuff like managing our school's website, collecting annual paperwork regarding photo permission, acceptable use policies, making sure teachers all have access to the resources we provide, managing my technology budget, somehow finding time to provide targeted professional development to my teachers, helping to figure out what Battle of the Books and LEGO League look like in the midst of a pandemic, and--oh, right--occasionally teaching a class or two.

Are you tired with me, yet? 

I am SO blessed to have an incredible assistant on board with me this year who is taking care of teaching my classes and planning awesome content for the kiddos. She also keeps me honest and helps me delegate things to her so that my plate isn't quite so full all of the time. 

But the truth of the matter is, in this unprecedented school year--in this unprecedented era (for folks of my generation, at least)--I am tired. I'm tired all the time. I'm doing what I can to try and get good sleep because LORD KNOWS this is a year where being healthy is so much more important than ever before. But I'm exhausted. Between balancing an ever-growing list of expectations (from folks who aren't the ones on the front lines with us), dealing with apathy/skepticism from folks who think the pandemic is overblown, and just trying to be a functional human person--I'm just so tired.

I'm definitely a realist, but I'm a realist who wants to be an optimist, so I have to believe this too shall pass. I have to believe that now is not what will always be, even if it's all I can see when I try to peek down the road and see what's coming. I have to believe that despite humanity showing us the worst of us over the last 8 months or so, the best of us are still out there. We're still striving to move forward in the hope that better days lie ahead--and together, we'll get there. 

In the meantime, I'm counting on the good in us and plenty of coffee to get me through.

Year 12: Let's Set Some Goals

Summer comes and goes faster and faster each year, you know? It's astonishing.

But here I am, about to embark upon my 12th year of teaching and my 7th year as an Instructional Technology Facilitator. This year, as I previously mentioned, I'll be navigating an A/B schedule. I'm thrilled to continue to have some flexibility in my daily schedule, and I'm also excited to be getting back into working with the students in the lab.

Tomorrow is our first official work day, and I'm excited to see my coworkers and get prepped for another awesome year. It's going to be busy and chaotic but I know that it's going to be great, too.

This school year, I have a few goals I'm hoping to accomplish or make progress on.

1. Maximize productivity during my flex time. When I'm not teaching, I really want to be pushing into classrooms or working on PD or doing things that are super constructive and helpful. This year I'll have to budget that time a little more cautiously since there will be less of it, but I want to make sure that I'm getting the most I possibly can out of my flexible schedule times.

2. Innovate more with regards to my lessons in the lab. I have a set of resources and activities that evolves slightly from year to year, but I'd love to get some more innovation into my time with students in the lab. I want to take advantage of the resources we have and plan lessons that push me to think more creatively.

3. Expand my professional online presence using Twitter and also things like this blog. I want to connect more and find online communities I can plug into for inspiration, and I hope to be able to provide some insight and inspiration for others who might connect with me, too. (By the way, you can find me on Twitter @EdTechJunkie509! Please give me a follow if you don't already!)

I think those are some pretty decent goals going into the 2019-2020 school year, and I'm honestly hoping to be more present and communicative about my progress with them. What goals are you setting for this coming school year? What do you hope to achieve?

Setting goals and being reflective is so critical to our professional development, and if you haven't already tried this exercise of naming a few goals you have for the school year to come, I encourage you to do so!

I'm off to enjoy my last weeknight evening before work days commence tomorrow--good luck, and I'm sure we'll talk more soon!

-Marlee
 

Learning to "Be Internet Awesome!" with Google

Happy Hump Day, y'all!

I wanted to take a moment to talk about an awesome new Internet Safety curriculum guide recently released by Google in conjunction with a number of organizations, including iKeepSafe, ConnectSafely, and the Family Online Safety Institute.

The title of this curriculum resource is Be Internet Awesome, and their mission (as stated on their website) is:

To make the most of the Internet, kids need to be prepared to make smart decisions. Be Internet Awesome teaches kids the fundamentals of digital citizenship and safety so they can explore the online world with confidence.

I just started using this program this week with my older students in the lab (3rd-5th graders), and we're all really enjoying it.  It provides me with content that I can work into my Google Classroom with my students, like the assignment pictured below (click to enlarge) that I developed by using part of an activity page included in the free Curriculum Guide.

My assignment used the information about Tyler to stimulate some discussion about our digital footprints. 

My students really enjoyed guessing what we could assume about Tyler based on his online activity, and I think getting hear a true description of Tyler (found in the curriculum guide alongside this activity) helped to drive home the point of my lesson: our digital footprint tells a story about us to others.  We can help shape that story by sharing things responsibly so that others won't make assumptions about us that are untrue or hurtful.  We also talked about how colleges and employers look at your digital footprint to get a picture of who you are, too.  I love being able to drive home what I'm teaching with real world connections!

In addition to this excellent curriculum guide packed with activities, a really neat game was developed to go along with the lessons.  It's called Interland, and it allows students to play interesting and challenging games that correspond with the various units of the Be Internet Awesome program.

Interland's color-coded worlds correspond directly to the curriculum guide's sections.

My kids can't get enough of this game.  It looks like a real video game and challenges them, all while reinforcing the content we're covering in our lessons.  It's been a real hit this week (we've been exploring Mindful Mountain), and I'm pumped to explore the other worlds alongside of my students.

Being Internet Awesome, as described in the curriculum guide, is broken down into 5 components:

1. Be Internet Smart: Share with Care

2. Be Internet Alert: Don't Fall for Fake

3. Be Internet Strong: Secure Your Secrets

4. Be Internet Kind: It's Cool to Be Kind

5. Be Internet Brave: When in Doubt, Talk It Out

I love how this program breaks down being a good digital citizen into such relatable pieces.  I'm always excited to implement new and exciting materials, and this program is helping to reinvent the same old "Internet Safety Unit" that I've been using for the past few years.  Check it out and see what you might be able to implement!  What are you most intrigued or excited by?  Comment below--I'm excited to hear about what you think.

I'll share more about our adventures using this great new curriculum resource in my computer lab over the next few weeks.  Until then, keep on keeping on! 

Highly Effective Teachers Using Technology

My school isn't one of those "7 Habits" schools.  There are schools in our county where that is the one true gospel, but ours isn't one of them.  I do enjoy reading various things connected to those concepts, though, so when I came across this short blog post  from teachthought about 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teachers Who Use Technology, I was intrigued.  Sylvia Duckworth's work has crossed my path a few times, and I always love the way she uses graphics to organize concepts in ways that make sense, and even more so, make you want to read about them.  Check out the way she summarizes this information:

There's so much to love and take in from this, but I especially love the emphasis on an attitude that embraces change and rolls with the punches.  When I was working on my masters degree in Instructional Technology, one of the recurring noted hurdles to any kind of change with regard to tools, technology, or curriculum was teacher resistance to change.  The more flexible we all become, the better we'll be able to muddle through all of the regularly scheduled chaos of a typical day of school.

Just a thought. Check out, let me know what you think in the comments below.  What traits do you see in yourself?  Which habits do you want to work on strengthening?

I'm considering printing this graphic out and posting it in the lab at school. And maybe in the work room.  And maybe giving copies to my teachers. (Too much? Maybe.)

Have a great day, guys. See you soon!