Why I Do What I Do

Week 7 of the #youredustory challenge - "People don't buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it" Simon Sinek - Why do you do what you do?

As a technology coordinator I do what I do now for the teachers and the students.  I work to keep things working in our district so when a teacher has an awesome idea for a project - the technology won't be in the way...instead it will help make their work easier.

I do what I do so that when a student wants to use a device to get their work done and needs technology to do it, they can.  I would love to see a device in everyone's hand, and I do what I do to try to make that happen.

It isn't very glorious day to day - but when you see what you have done "behind the scenes" working without people knowing it in the classroom each day - it makes it all worth it!

I've always said that the technology department can never win - we the tech works, people don't think about it...but if it doesn't work it is your fault.  So I do what I do each to so teachers, students and admin don't have to think about it!

Instructional Technology

http://ets.berkeley.edu/

Technology in the classroom - all teachers have complained about it at one point or another.  It never feel as though we have what we want in our classroom in the area of technology.  You end up comparing your classroom to someone else's or something you read on Twitter, hear on Voxer or see at an edcamp.  Maybe your projector sits on a cart in the middle of your room with wires laying on the floor or you have to work out a plan 3 weeks in advance if you want to borrow the cart of computers from the teacher down the hall.  Or maybe what would make you happy is a simple document camera in your room!

These are some of the things I have been thinking about the last few weeks.  But I am looking at it with a different lens - not what I would want as a teacher, instead, what is best for the students in the classroom.  I want to move from putting technology in the hands of adults and putting it in the hands of our students.  We are very lucky in our district - a few years ago our community passed a bond that will fund many things - one of which is an upgrade to the instructional technology in our classrooms.  We are very fortunate now, but like many other districts we have some areas where we can improve.

So here I am again, comparing our classrooms to others - looking at short throw vs mounted in the ceiling projectors, interactive boards vs interactive projectors, doc cams, voice lift systems, panels on the wall to turn everything on/off and so much more.  As a teacher I use say to anyone who would listen, "Why can't they just mount my projector?  I'd do it myself if they would let me!"  Now that I am in the tech dept I understand why I was never able to just do it myself.  So many reasons - if you want to know...send me an email.

Anyway, now I am looking at the potential of using LCD screen (like the TV in your house) instead of an interactive short throw projector.  And possibly using a tablet instead of a doc cam in the classroom.  At #edcampLA last weekend I saw a great set up at Winward School in Los Angeles.  They had a 70" display at what must have been the front of the room (you couldn't tell other than the large display) and a 40" display with a whiteboard on the other three walls.  I imagined being a student in this room and I was excited!  It wouldn't matter where I sat in the class I would always be able to see the screen.  I thought about being the teacher and having students display their projects on the screens for others to see - there could be 4 mini-classes in my room all working and showing different things.  I thought I was in classroom A/V utopia!  It is difficult when you start comparing yourself to private schools that have a $35,000/year price tag!

http://explodingsink.com

Back to reality...  A few years ago I applied for a grant to buy an iPad to use in my classroom, both as a tablet and as a doc cam.  I had found some nice DIY stands that would sit on to my science demo table where I could slide the iPad in and use the camera as a doc cam.  I also asked for an Apple TV so I would be able to use AirPlay to put my images up on the screen.  I did not receive the grant - but I am looking at that option again for other teachers in our classrooms.  Why not have a tablet (it doesn't have to an iPad) as a doc cam so that you can also use it to be more mobile in the room and give you some of the interactive features of much more expensive boards or displays?  I have heard pros (mobility, apps) and cons (lighting, low megapixel camera) to this idea - but I feel the ability to use it for more than just a camera that points at the table all day long makes it a great instructional tool for teachers.

I'm not going to drone on and on about these things - but just start to think about these items in your own classroom.  If you could start over and redo your classroom AV, what is your utopia?  What do you want/need to allow students to be successful in your room?  I have talked to many others and there are many ideas.  We obviously can't put in everything everybody wants - we need to standardize  items so we can give teachers the training they need to use the equipment and so a tech can go in the room and repair the equipment if needed.  But put together a list and share it with your tech leader...it may just lead to some much needed changes in your classroom for your students!

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?