Saturday 31 August 2013

Come Teach and Learn With Me

 I have always been interested in technology. Even as a child, my favourite toys were those that were programmable or involved some sort button pressing function. My family supported this enthusiasm with gifts such as remote control cars, electronic diaries, and full use of the household Commodore 64, which slowly made it's way into my bedroom, when it's use became limited to Choplifter, Aztec Challenge and word processing. My connections were limited back then, we didn't have an internet connection until I was nearly finished high school, but just having access to the tools that allowed me to create made me feel connected.

My favourite memories of school of course included those extra curricular activities, sports teams, school performances, and interest clubs, but I will never forget the lengths my grade 3 teacher, Mr. Brooks, went to, to get each and every 8 and 9 year old in his class, typing and publishing the stories we wrote on the classroom ICON computer.

Watching the words I created appear on screen, and then be printed on paper made me feel like an author. When my book was bound and placed in the classroom library, I was an author, and it was here that the desire to connect with others and share my ideas commenced. He encouraged expression, he nurtured creativity, he created a writer.

I want to inspire the same creativity and passion in my students. I want them to have access to the things they love, and to learn about themselves -who they are, and who they want to be. I want to make meaningful connections with my students, so that they learn to make meaningful connections with others.

I presented at, and attended a workshop this summer, put on by my Board called Teaching and Learning in a Digital World. Here, a room full of educators became inspired to connect with our students, and each other, and learn together using technology. Our keynote speaker, George Couros, spoke poignantly and passionately about his teaching experiences, and how technology has completely changed the way our students learn and retain knowledge. Through his presentation, he made it abundantly clear how easy, how advantageous, and how necessary it is to be "connected."

I consider myself to be pretty tech savvy. I use Mac's, have way too many devices, blog independently and in the classroom, use twitter, instagram, facebook, pinterest etc., but seeing how much more I could be doing was exciting, and was actually getting me geared up for the start of a new school year, something seriously lacking in previous years. I immediately changed my twitter account to be one I would link to professionally, and instantly became connected with teachers, principals, and superintendents within my board, and province who were anxious to share ideas, and connect. I felt as though I had been let into a secret club, not the kind where you have to dress and act a certain way, but the kind that promotes collaboration, creates optimism, supports unconditionally, and generates professionals who are passionate about what they are doing and are constantly striving to improve themselves.

I hope to connect to educators around the world, to share ideas, to learn how to better my practise, and to create an online portfolio of what I have accomplished.

Technology has piqued my interest in teaching. (tweet this) Imagine what it will do for my students!

I look forward to the journey ahead!


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