Professional Development

One of the most frequently visited branches of my PLN (Personal Learning Network) is iLearnTechnology. Recently featured was a post about Mike Summers, who commented that we spend so much time revisiting the same questions about education, learning, and teaching. We all know the answers, but seem unwilling (or unable) to affect the changes necessary. I was so intrigued by the way that Mr. Summers wrote about how frustrating it is to spend time going around and around, how he felt after he read and re-read so many edublogs about the possibilities of educational technology. I will agree with some comments made on his blog and others. Relevant professional development is the key to successful integration of technology into educational settings. If teachers see the inherent value of the technology integration, along with being given the time to explore, see the outcomes, explore the difficulties, and collaborate with others, it will work.


I tell my colleagues that we have to meet our students where they are at and go from there to give them the best educational experience. Administrators have to meet their teachers where they are at and create professional development opportunities that allow teachers at all integration levels to grow their knowledge and experiences. It will and can work.

Blogging...the beginning

I've spent so much time over the past few years reading other people's blogs without ever really feeling the need to create my own. I'm from the school of "why reinvent the wheel"? As a alumni of a local college, I was asked to write for their school blog. From the perspective of a teacher. Kind of "a day in the life of a teacher" blog. I don't know why anyone would find that interesting. Challenging, yes. Interesting, not always! I struggled with what content to include in my blog. Since I'm a technology coordinator, I decided to use my knowledge of what is going on in educational technology as springboards for my posts. Mixed in with a smattering of Alumni news related to the education alum.

I'm from Ohio. Great place to live if you enjoy seeing all four seasons. I've never lived anywhere else and I've been blessed to work in the same school for the past 10 years really developing an educational technology program that I'm proud of. I work with some really great innovative colleagues who are technology integrators! We collaborate on projects, experiment together with different technologies and generally make it happen for our students, who are well-equipped to handle almost any technological situation that arises!

So, after months/years of reading what others in my field are writing about/experiencing, I've decided to jump in! I don't know if anyone will find what I'm writing relevant or necessary, but I guess I've decided that I really don't care. I'm writing for me. To keep my thoughts and experiences chronicled in a format that others might someday find useful.