I was reflecting how life has changed in just the past 13 years. If my memory serves me well, I think I was still "instant messaging" (IM-ing) with my son who was in college and thinking that was a very cool communication process. Quite an upgrade from the "collect phone call" system in the college dorm that I occasionally used with my family back in the 1970's. This afternoon my K-2 staff will "Facetime" live on an Ipad with first grade teachers in Ellisville, MO about a leveled reading program we will soon use. The funny thing is, that through practice process connecting the Ipad and Smartboard, the other teachers learned some new applications that they didn't know was available! Isn't this an awesome application to a professional learning network. The give and take of conversation and discovery makes adult learners model what directly apply to their primary classrooms.
We are preparing to use Ipads in our K-1 classrooms and learning about the Apple volume purchase process and naming Ipads. What a kick - we've already made some major mistakes that need some tech help from Apple. This week we hosted a Kindergarten information night in which a couple teachers shared that they were excited about using Ipads with their students. I had an email today from a parent asking if they could buy a couple more for us. The learning excitement is infectious whether you are a student, teacher or a parent.
Tomorrow, I am heading out to a two-day Ipad conference in which I''ll have the chance to learn how another school uses Ipads as a 1-1 learning tool with all their students. This is sop in some places, but before SJLS ventures too far, I am engaging myself in the learning curve.
My take-away... I'm learning something new every day! More than I've been accountable to in my new role without a true tech coordinator. For the time being, I've got to pioneer these new initiatives and work around our system to make things work. I've got a great staff that is being open to these new ideas. I continue to tell them how thankful I am that they tolerate me :). I'm also so proud of the team of teachers I left behind at SJLS, Ellisville. They are helping shape a school a thousand miles away! Who would have thought that the key to effective instruction lies with teachers being willing to be students and learn!
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