Drinking From a Water Hose

When summer time is upon us, I relish the opportunity to participate in professional development of my own choosing. In fact, I consider myself a lifelong learner.  My husband laughs at me when I ask a question that he can't answer, because my response is to "google" it.  My family had a set of encyclopedias when I was growing up.  I loved to browse the volumes looking at the pictures, reading the captions, and pausing to read any entry that caught my interest.  While this was not a bad way to occupy my time, my mother would often tell me to go outside and play.

I started this summer signing up for any free online PD that I came across, provided it would be useful for my Reading RTI classes.  Even a couple of paid conferences ended up on my calendar because I could not pass up the excellent learning opportunities.  The aforementioned calendar began to fill up quickly and I found myself having to check it frequently to make sure I didn't miss a thing!  When I began logging each and every conference, webinar, and workshop, I realized that more than half of my summer days contained at least one one-hour training.  I am scheduled to participate in an online workshop on my three and a half hour drive to my grandson's First Birthday party!  When is the amount of PD too much?

I don't think my mother had a problem with me reading the encyclopedias at our house.  That was why they bought them!  She knew that I needed more than information and knowledge for me to learn and grow.  I needed sunshine, friends, exercise, and fun.  This seems to be a balance that I struggle to maintain.  

Am I getting sunshine this summer?  Yes!  I am actually starting my weekdays with at least a two-mile walk.  So sunshine and exercise, check and check! Am I spending time with friends and family?  I eat at least two meals a day with my husband at the kitchen table.  I see church friends every Sunday and Wednesday.  I talk with my PLN on Voxer weekly.  My daughter-in-law and my grandsons came down for a few days to visit.  So family and friends, check and check.  Am I having fun?  Would you call recreational reading, shopping online, and sketchnoting fun?  So fun, check!  If all of these elements are present, why does it feel out of balance?

Looking back at my list of summer PD experiences, I am realizing I don't remember them all.  I took notes, interacted with the presenters and attendees, and saved my certificates, so I know that valuable information was shared.  So much was shared, in fact, that my memory is a little overwhelmed.  What I am beginning to understand is that I need to go back and pick just one take-away from each experience.  One thing that I can try, apply, or modify.  Armed with that list, I don't have to remember everything I 'learned' over the summer.  I can take the best of what I heard, saw, and experienced to make next school year more impactful for my students.

Kinda like drinking from a water hose when I was a kid. You only drink what you need and the rest is extra! 

Sharing the Learning!

Love Isn't Love Until You Give It Away...

Would the same apply to Learning?  Learning isn't Learning until you give it away?

I recently had the opportunity to attend the TCEA Conference (Texas Computer Education Association) in San Antonio for the first time.  Let me state....I am NOT a computer/technology teacher.  When my principal asked me if I was interested in attending, my first question was, "why me?"  "Is the computer teacher not able to go?"  My principal explained that they want different people each year to have an opportunity to go.  She continued by saying, "I know that you will bring back what you learn and share with others."  I was honored that she saw this in me, so of course my answer was, "YES!!"

Five of us had an opportunity to get to know each other better over the course of four days as we drove to San Antonio and shared rooms in a hotel on the Riverwalk.  Three teachers and two technology directors each with a different perspective of learning and technology.  I felt like a parched and thirsty person trying to drink from a swift moving river.  I drank in as much as I could and let the rest wash over me as I enjoyed the atmosphere.

I also took advantage of the opportunity to meet up with some of my #4OCFpln whom I have never met in person!  A few of us met up one morning for breakfast and fellowship.  Later that evening, a larger group of us met up for dinner on the Riverwalk.  We did not feel like strangers at all!  It was just a continuation of the conversations we have everyday on Voxer!

I was thankful for the opportunity to attend such a rich learning experience and couldn't wait to share my learning with others!  A coworker and I put together a Wakelet of presentations and notes that we collected from the sessions which we had attended, and set a date to share what we had experienced.  We offered a voluntary, after school PD session that teachers could sign up for if they were interested.  Technology Tidbits from TCEA was the title and a tasting was what we offered.  We briefly touched on some of the tools we had learned about and asked for feedback on what they would like to learn more about.  We had seventeen people that chose to stay for an hour after school to hear what we were excited to share.

The night before, I spent time reviewing the tools I would be speaking about.  I know from experience that one way to cement student learning is to have them teach what they have learned to others!  Being able to share my learning with others would not only benefit them, but me, as well.  It also brought back a little bit of the excitement I felt when attending those sessions in TCEA.

I feel that I get more out of new learning when I share my learning with others.  So, to me.....

Learning isn't learning until you give it away.

Reflecting on Relationships

How many of us can resist the urge to look in a mirror when one is present? We look to adjust our hair, makeup, clothes, etc. And then we look again.  We want to be at our best physical appearance before others.  Why then do we find it hard to look into the mirrors of our mind and reflect on ourselves professionally, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually?  This is a struggle for me, not because I do not like to write, but because putting my mental reflections into words leaves me feeling exposed.  Wait.  I need to reframe that.  I am making myself more open.  Being open is essential to building Relationships.

My #OneWord2018 was Relationships.

I was inspired to choose Relationships as my #OneWord when revisiting the book Innovator's Mindset by George Couros.  One of my favorite quotes from the book is:

   "If we want meaningful change, we have to make a connection to the 
          heart before we can make a connection to the mind."

I wanted to be part of a spark that started meaningful change in my students, my colleagues, my school, my PLN.  So I focused on Relationships.

Have I seen meaningful change this year?  Not in the way I had imagined.  As I reached out to others this year to make that connection to the heart, I found that I was the one that walked away changed.

Working to be able to call students by name has helped me to connect with students throughout our campus.  In my classes, I make time for students to share what is going on in their lives and I Listen.  I take time to have personal conversations when some students seem to be struggling in class.  What I learn about them helps me to be a better teacher working to meet their individual needs.

My interactions with colleagues, whether in the hallway, during lunch, or in a meeting are more intentional.  I make the time to connect on a personal level, asking about family, friends, and life in general.  These connections have helped me to see other teachers' motivations or "Why".  I have responded by sharing handwritten notes of appreciation and resources through email.

When planning a training on Personalized PD, I invited another teacher to present with me.  Being able to collaborate on the presentation made it more well rounded and beneficial for all.  I plan on seeking out others and helping them to share their voice, as well.

One of the biggest areas of change was in the relationships I found through #2menandabook Voxer book studies.  I joined their 4 O'clock Faculty Voxer book study in January of this year.  Having the opportunity to hear so many voices and perspectives on the book and be able to share my own was an amazing experience.  More amazing still is that the group we formed in January is still going strong!

At the end of the book study so many of us did not want the discussion to end!  We agreed to stay connected and formed the #4OCFpln.  We have the opportunity to share, challenge, question, encourage, and push each others' thinking on a daily basis.  Topics of discussion range anywhere from personal sagas to pedagogy.  It is not uncommon for any one of us to send out the bat signal for help on questions we need answered.  We have become a family!

Because of my #4OCFpln , I have: presented PD outside of my district for the first time this year, revived my blog, read more professional books, held a book tasting which lead to a Teach Like a Pirate book study on my campus, and guest moderated on a few Twitter chats.  I will also be connecting with a few of my Texas #4OCFpln while attending TCEA for the first time in 2019.  I look forward to meeting even more of my #4OCFpln family in ISTE next summer as we present as a panel on the power of connections using Voxer!

Connections are powerful whether we make them on Voxer, Twitter, or in our daily lives.  Even though I am choosing a new word for 2019, I plan to continue working on my relationships and hope to continue seeing a positive change in myself and others in the future!