Well, I'm not sure I possess the 10 skills modern teachers need, but the Summer Tech Challenge is moving me in the right direction!
I feel that #1. Build Your PLN (Personal Learning Network and #2 Establish Real Relationships have always been a strength of mine. I seek out co-workers I trust and believe in to help me through the school year. There have always been teachers, administrators, para educators and support staff that I have sought out for help. However, doing this electronically is new for me. I tend to gravitate toward people I can actually speak to, not just via the web.
My favorite bit of advice from the article was in #3 Understand Where Technology Fits in Education.
"If you can’t figure out how a digital tool helps you in under 15 seconds, you don’t need it. Simple as that."
Some things seem obviously helpful, others not so much. Just go with it!
Lastly, I agree with #9 Don't Be Afraid of Failing. However, I do feel that I owe it to my students to have things figured out BEFORE I present them with something new. We don't have class time to waste. We've got a lot to learn in a school year, so I feel I need to be prepared for their questions and any complications that may come up in the course of our digital adventures.
Great insight Kelly! Well said! I totally agree with your last comment about being prepared before you present it to the students, otherwise it is just total mayhem! It wastes a lot of learning time, and it makes me cranky and flustered if I feel like I don't know what I'm doing. Learning along with the students is what is a part of being a lifelong learner, but if it's chaotic and unorganized, not a lot gets accomplished! I feel lucky to have the support of all of you to help me through this-makes the process a lot less intimidating if we are experiencing it together!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jen! I'm so glad we can collaborate on these kinds of things!
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the Summer Tech Challenge!
ReplyDeleteI have to say that having people to reach out to in person is great. But I have an entire PLN (Personal Learning Network) that I know only virtually and I value their opinion and ask for their help all of the time! And they always come through. I'm excited to watch you build your own virtual PLN and see where it takes you.
Great first post!
Great insight! I am glad to see you are also taking the plunge! Maybe us MS teachers can create a PLN in which we can work together knowing each other and opening it up to others so we can also learn from them! I agree with you that opening up electronically is scary for me too. This way we can have the best of both worlds!
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you about wasting our valuable on task time with our students. We have a lot of things to teach, and no time to waste, but if we can figure out ways to cover our information in a different and interesting way for the students, we will be saving ourselves time. We can share with each other, and learn from others who have already tried out ideas to streamline our attempts and make them more effective! We have learned that in our Science PLCs!
Sharing and collaboration has been the key to our success in 5th grade Science. I truly enjoy your insight and ideas, Sharie. All of these challenges give us other places to look for inspiration and experimentation and that will only make us better educators!
Delete