A Time to Reflect

Week four of the #YourEduStory blog challenge brings a powerful reflection question from @MsVictoriaOlson:

"What is the best thing you do in your classroom/school/district/job?"

This is a great question for all educators to think about - whether you are a classroom teacher, a site admin or at the district office - the things you do each day make a difference in the lives of many children.  I have written about this a little in the past, feeling that my direct impact on students is not what it used to be when I was in the classroom.  In some ways I have less impact but in many other ways I have a much larger impact on many more students.

As for the best thing I do - I would have to say advocating for teachers within the technology department in my district.  As an EdTech Coordinator it is my job to keep what is best for teachers (and students) at the forefront of the decisions made in regard to our technology use and purchases.  This can get somewhat blurry at times because I may know what is ideal, but I also know the realities of budget and time constraints.  

Sure, I'd love to train every teacher in our district and help them use Google Docs in their classroom every week.  But can that be done?  That involves pulling teachers out of their classroom for training, setting a time to follow up, being in their room to help implement things if they want and making myself available for more help as they keep going.  And that doesn't even get in to the question of devices in their room - do they have any, can they get some, will they work when turned on, do the kids know how to use them, are the teachers comfortable letting the students use them, etc.

So I do what I can and work within the confines of what is currently available.  I work with a great educator - @adinasullivan - who is doing the same thing.  She is always working to find new and better ways to help the teachers in our district learn and use technology in their classroom.  We also have three TOSAs (teacher on special assignment) who are getting out in the classroom and showing teachers best practices and helping where they can each day.  So together we are working to shape the vision of technology in our district.

But with the grind of day to day work - meetings, more meetings and a meeting about the last meeting - sometimes that vision gets lost in the fray.  So I am thankful for this week's prompt to help me get back centered and focused on what I can do to help the teachers and students in my district.

When 20 Days = 1 year

Over the summer I had set 4 goals for myself for the 2013-2014 school year (they are listed below).  Well, my school year did not last as long as I had anticipated - I only taught 20 days instead of the regular 180.  As many of you know I have moved to a district edtech TOSA position where I will be working with a team of people to help train teachers to use technology in their classrooms - and we are getting ready for CCSS.  So anyway, since my official school year is over...I thought I would reflect back the 2013-2014 year in review (all 20 days of it)...

Here were the four goals I set for myself at the beginning of the school year - and my success level for each during my 20 days:

1. Be in class

This was a big one since I had missed 18% of the school days last year!  Well I am happy to report that I had perfect attendance this year :)  Sure, it was only 20 days - but I was asked to go to two meetings and a training during that time and I said no to all three so I could be there for the students (before I left them).

2. Blogging
Oops!  The goal was to blog twice a week - that just did not happen.  My last blog was on Aug 25th!  That means that during my 20 days of teaching I only blogged one time.  I would count that as a total failure - or as the students say "Epic Fail".  I keep thinking that  my new position will give me new topics to blog about...so we'll see if I can get to blogging more often.

3. Flipping the classroom
This was both successful and not - if that is possible.  I created all the videos and I posted them online for students to view.  But since I knew I was only going to be in the classroom for a few weeks I decided not to do a full flipped classroom model.  I taught the "old fashioned" way but gave students access to my at  home lectures if they wanted.  Some students loved the ability to re-watch lessons - others never clicked on the link.  Overall I think it would have been awesome...but I didn't have the best situation to try it out.

4. Going paperless (or using less paper)
I'm going to count this as a success.  I did not make a copy until my second to last day on the job this year...and that was a common assessment that I had to give on paper :(  My syllabus, safety contract, 5 labs, two study guides, 4 activities and 2 tests were all paperless!  I do have a confession to make though - I was using printed out sheets of paper from last year...like the lab sheets from last year were used again this year.  So during my 20 days in the classroom (including 3 prep days) I only used 172 sheets of paper!  I had to print out 150 sheets for the common assessment (I had some left over from last year for the other 30 students - large class sizes!) and I printed out my roster (12 pages) and my seating charts - twice because I move the students once (5 pages).

Decision Made!

As some of you already know (from this blog post) - I had some decisions to be made as the school year started.  I have a wonderful schedule at my current school...I would almost call it my dream schedule!  I am teaching 4 periods of chemistry and 1 period of video production.  I have a passion for both and I like the science team, the school, the administration and just about everything having to do with this school year.  But...(and isn't there always a but) a week before school started I applied for a technology TOSA (teacher on special assignment) position that recently opened in the district and I also applied for an assistant principal opening within my district (at a school where I taught for 8 years).  

A day before teachers were to report back to school (we come back 3 days before the students), I had my interview for the TOSA position.  I felt I did well in the interview and I was excited at the opportunity to work with other teachers with the integration of technology in their classrooms.  Later that same day the executive director our technology department gave me a call offering me the position!  I was excited - but knew that I would be interviewing for the AP spot in a few days...so I accepted the TOSA job with the understanding that if I was offered the AP position I would have to take the administrative role instead.  He was very understanding and wished me well in my interview and let me know that he would hold the position for me.

Two days (and a lot of prep work) later, I went in for the AP interview.  Again, I felt I did well and was hopeful to get a call back for a second interview.  The call came later that day - and I was schedule for a follow up interview on Monday - after our first day of school with students.  I met with the superintendent and the assistant superintendents of human resources and instructional services (doesn't get much higher than these people in our district!).  Once again, I felt it went well...I answered their questions as best I could and let them know why I felt I was the best person for the job.  They let me know that I would know in the next day or so - and I was anxiously awaiting the call for the next 24 hours!  The next day I had a message on my phone from the assistant superintendent of HR!  We exchanged phone messages and we ended up speaking the next day.  When I spoke with him he let me know that they were selecting someone else.  I wasn't devastated - I knew this was a possibility - I was, however, a little disappointed.   The good news was that I had students that were going to walk through my classroom door in about 30 minutes...so there was no time to think about it - I had to move forward quickly!




I realized while I was teaching my first class of the day that I was no longer in decision limbo. The decision had been made - I am going to be a district technology TOSA this year!  No more wondering what if...I now had some clarity in my school year.  Now I can focus on things like My Big Campus, Google Docs, Cloud computing and so much more.  I am very excited about my new position and having a different role in the district.  I know it will allow me to learn so much more as an educator and it will afford me the opportunity to work with many other teachers in our district.  So I am jumping in with both feet!  I am going to need a new name for my blog and a new Twitter handle (any suggestions for either?).  I do have to wait about 3 weeks before I can fully invest the time to be a tech TOSA - until the district hires someone for my current position.  Anyone want a great chemistry job?

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions!

I have been teaching for 16 years - the last 9 have been in the same district (8 years at a MS and last year at a HS).  I have been trying to move from the classroom to the administrative level for the past few years.  The move to the HS was to help with my administrative aspirations - my plan was to teach at the HS for at least 3 years and then start looking for admin positions again.  This would give me more experience at the secondary level and help round out my resume.

I must say that I am really happy with where I am right now.  I am teaching at a school I love in a district I think is one of the best in the county.  My schedule this year is just what I wanted (4 sections of chemistry) and I am teaching an elective class that I am passionate about (TV news and video production).  I am also the school's Advanced Placement coordinator and I look forward to all that this duty entails.  This upcoming year I have some great new technology in my classroom - an Epson BrightLink 475Wi interactive projector along with an iPad and Apple TV!  All summer I have been prepping for these classes and I am excited about the upcoming year - I even blogged about it here!

A few tweets, emails and phone calls later, everything changed.  Over the course of a week two other positions in our district opened and I was torn whether to apply for them or stick with my dream schedule and 3 year plan.  The first position that came up was a teacher on special assignment (TOSA) for secondary educational technology services - a mouthful I know!  I spoke with the executive director of technology for our district about the position and he laid out the job details and they sound awesome!  Everything from training teachers to use GAFE (Google apps for education) with their students to helping open a new high

school and working through the ups and downs that would come with new infrastructure.  I called the person who previously held the position and he encouraged me to apply (he had moved to an elementary administrative position).  He talked me through what he had done, what he was working on and what he did day to day.  I was excited and nervous at the same time!  I thought this position sounded great...but I was really excited about my current position too.  I only had 7 days to decide if I was going to apply - and 5 of those days I was going to be in a small town in Montana fishing with a poor internet signal and virtually no cell service!

The lower level was our room!

My brother-in-law and I were sharing a room in Twin Bridges, MT - and if you've ever been there you'll understand when I tell you that the cell service was basically non-existent for Verizon customers (can you hear me now - nope!).  Also, this is not the kind of place where the front desk person gives you a wi-fi code with your room key (in fact he said - it's probably unlocked...but here's a key just in case).  So with no wi-fi and my cell phone not picking up 4G, 3G or any service whatsoever - I pulled out my iPad to use my Kindle app to read my book.  Just for fun I thought I'd check the wi-fi to see if I was able to get on someone's network - not crossing my fingers since there wasn't even a stoplight in the town.  Well to my surprise I found an unsecured network named TBPL.  I looked around and couldn't figure it out?  Where was this faint (1 bar) signal coming from?!  Then I saw it - across main street I saw what TBPL was - Twin Bridges Public Library.  So I had a wi-fi signal at last!

I tell you all of this because what I saw when I was able to check my email almost made me fall over!  The assistant principal at the middle school where I taught for 8 years had changed schools - leaving an administrative vacancy - a position I have wanted for a long time - and another decision I would have to make.  To fully understand my shock you need some background.  She had been an AP there for 16 years - and during the 8 years I was there she was awesome (she was probably awesome before I got there too).  She gave me tips on how to become an AP, helped me when I was a substitute AP in the office and she talked to me about being an administrator on several occasions - encouraging me to make the move.  I had always hoped to work with her someday - and now I was hoping to fill her position!

So when I got back home - to a strong cell service and wi-fi - I started to make some calls and figure things out.  I spoke with the principal and the other AP at the school (there are two APs at the school) and I texted with the AP that had changed schools.  I knew this was a position I had to go for...so I found the listing on edjoin (where/how we apply for jobs in our district) and I applied.  I love the school and would love to be part of the administrative team - so I had to change my "3 year plan".  I have great rapport with the teachers, support staff and the other administrators...and I hope that I do well at the interview!

As you can see I have some decisions to make!  Obviously I will have to interview for both of these positions and nothing is a sure thing - I am just hoping for the best.  I would love to become an administrator at my old school.  I have been working toward that goal for quite some time now.  If that does not work out I think the TOSA position would be awesome - working with secondary teachers to use and implement technology in their classrooms would be really fun and rewarding.  But if neither work out - I know that I have a terrific job waiting for me - like I said, I am excited for my current class schedule and the school I am at right now.


I guess I can't lose in this situation - I have three terrific opportunities and I look forward to what is next :)  I'll keep you posted on what happens!