Am I normal?

If last week was any indication, the answer is a resounding no! My favorite time this past school week was when I had an opportunity to meet with other district techies to discuss the possibilities of the Livescribe pen in schools. I love brainstorming and being around people that are thinking ahead rather than backwards or worse those that complain about the present. It refreshed my spirit to think that technology is still moving forward while I spend my days reviewing the functions of Study Island or resetting accounts.

Then the end of the week marked the Powering Up with Technology conference in my district. Another opportunity to be around people that "get it." Not just the experts, but even the newbies inspire me because they see the value of technology in education and they are willing to give up their time and money to pursue knowledge.

I gave up a night of potential fun Friday so I could be at my best for this conference. I don't expect the people that went out that night to "get it." One of them even was even rude about after the fact. That is okay because I had a great time Saturday and that is a hundred times better than a night that most of them are not going to remember in the morning.

So if you are normal too, embrace it! Normal is boring and won't change the current state of education. I will continue to enjoy my differences and try to surround myself with people that see the big picture whenever possible. MSET and ISTE are too far away! :-(

Yes I Make It Personal! Why don't you?

Well, it is only October and I took my first mental health day. Up until this week I was really enjoying the year. On second thought, I should clarify that statement by saying I have enjoyed being in my classroom and that hasn't changed. In fact I hated missing time with my students today, but I couldn't bear to walk into the building for another day. There needed to be time for me to get some space, perspective, and let my wounds heal.

There have been plenty of events this year that should have drove me to this point. One is not having planning time for almost three weeks in an effort to introduce a new program to 1,100 students. Then air conditioning in the computer lab went out about three weeks ago without any relief in sight. For those who work in a lab, you understand the amount of heat can generate from 30+ computers running for 7 hours. Since I became the Tech Liaison for the building, there is not a time I leave the lab without at least three staff members asking for help. Then there are the little things like the district messing up on student accounts which made it where many students could not log into a computer for weeks. All of that was annoying, but no way drove me to this point.

It was my principal saying that I take things too personal. See the new program is online study program that I wasn't an advocate for, but have spent countless hours making the roll out as smooth as possible. As predicted, the teachers aren't using it with their students and administration isn't holding them accountable. Instead they have built excuses for teachers who do know how to teach and act like prima donnas. Of course I expressed my frustration and got accused of making it personal. To me it is not making it personal, it is having high expectations for my school and getting disappointed. This disappointment is a repeating pattern which is a shame on too many levels.

I can even live with "taking it too personal." What I am having a hard time understanding is how others in the field of education aren't taking it personally enough. We are dealing with young adults and when they fail, we should take responsibility. Instead of worrying about grading policies and figuring out ways to fail a student, worry about how to make that student succeed.

The Maryland Leadership Council is Official!

I am happy to announce that Maryland has a leadership council within the Discovery Educator Network! This is great news because now there will be local events for educators to connect and learn.

There is also a blog to keep you updated of all events and technology tips to help you along the way. Just log into discoveryeducation.com, go to the DEN, blogs is at the top, and Maryland is in the list. We have lots of great bloggers on the team including Aaron Smith aka The Art Guy. If you use Twitter, follow the MD_DEN and you will get blog updates.

While our big kick-off is not just yet, we our having our first event. Staples is having their Teacher Appreciation day in Maryland stores on Saturday, August 15th from 9 a.m.-noon. Staples is giving bags of goodies and discounts on products just for teachers. A few of members of the LC will be at stores greeting teachers, giving out freebies, and raffling off a prize. The Tech Tiger will be at the Bowie Staples and would love to see members of my PLN in person. Here is more information on the event.

A List to Keep My Sanity

Since the end of July I have gotten excited for the new school and put in the hours to make sure my students have a new experience when they come to the computer lab. In the past week or so that excitement has faded and I quickly realized why: I was dealing with the adults of the school building. In an effort to not have this drag me down I decided that I needed create a list to remind me of all the traps that can drag the energy out of an educator.

1. AVOID THE DRAMA! If it has no effect on myself or my students the information can go in one ear and out the other. If this requires me to spend more time in my classroom, I don't mind.

2. CONTROL VOLUNTEERING! I have a really bad habit of raising my hand to quickly, especially when no one else is raising theirs. I am not going to avoid all activities that could benefit the school, but it is okay to let others pick up the slack.

3. JUST SAY NO! This goes along well with number two. I actually practiced this one today and it wasn't so bad. The world didn't fall apart and I wasn't filled guilt. It is one of those sayings that I always say that I am going to do, but never do. I think this is the year.

4. FOCUS MY ENERGY ON WORTHWHILE CAUSES! You can only bang your head against the same wall before you realize that wall is not going anywhere. There are some projects I am really interested that I can make work and that is where my energy is going to. Those that really want help with technology know where they can find me.

5. SEE THE BIG PICTURE! It is so easy for me to dwell on little moments of the day and not appreciate the whole view.

6. CONTINUE TO GROW! At this point I am not sure if I can find opportunities at the school that will help me grow as an educator (sad, but true). I need to continue to find opportunities at conferences and within my PLN to make this goal possible.

7. FIND BALANCE! Just like so many talented and dedicated educators I will admit I work too many hours. I had be bugging teachers that went to school early to set-up their classroom, but I bet spent more time on my laptop organizing activities, searching for grants, and reading articles. I will work on finding activities that have nothing to do with teaching and force myself to close the laptop more often.

I would love to hear your tips on how to maintain sanity during the school year.