I regret that I was out of the blogging loop for the last couple of months. Finishing up the school year, having a son graduating from high school, and a daughter planning a wedding, I’ve just had a lot on my plate! Now it’s nice to have some time to relax and reflect.
My first year as a technology integration specialist was wonderful! I was a little apprehensive about starting in a new school after teaching in my previous school for 14 years, but I was very warmly received. My teachers were very welcoming to me, and they were receptive to what I had to offer in the realm of technology. I was impressed that they were so open to trying something new. One of my greatest impacts this year was with blogging. In December I started with a couple of fifth grade classes, and by February, over 220 of the students in my school had their own blogs. Students loved it and would ask me in the halls in the morning, “Are we coming to blog today?” Teachers loved it as a way for students to reflect on their learning. It was definitely a win-win scenario!
My other area of positive impact this year was project-based learning. Podcasting, Photo Story, and research using Open Mind were some of the most engaging learning activities. The last month of school, I had a second grade students who each researched an animal and wrote digital stories about their animals based on the book, Diary of a Worm. They navigated through our school’s social bookmarking site, Diigo, to locate information to research, wrote and edited text, located copyright permissible images, created a PowerPoint, converted it to JPEGS, created a Photo Story with it, and narrated it. These second graders learned and used technology skills that many teachers don’t possess. I was very impressed with what they accomplished. It was so much fun to work with them, because every new thing that I showed them received a “WOW” reaction. They were so motivated and enthusiastic! I don’t think Disney World would measure much higher on their “WOW” meters. They were sponges soaking it all in and loving every minute of it. I can’t wait to see what these kids will accomplish next year as third graders!
In thinking about next year, I want to continue with the blogging and projects. Some other goals I have are to get my teachers more involved with using Diigo and to focus more on using Web 2.0 tools for assessment. Another emphasis will be to raise awareness with my teachers about copyright issues related to the Internet, fair use, and Creative Commons. I also want to be a catalyst for greater collaboration among teachers.
I had a fabulous year! This job change was the right thing at the right time in my life. I have made new friends and learned so much. I’m already excited about next year…the journey continues!
