As a central office administrator, I am feeling extremely pressured into figuring out how to move our district towards 1 to 1 technology. Accordingly, in order for that to be successful, we have to make sure our teachers are technology savy - have the initiative to dive in and try new things. With the vast array of resources available, this course has introduced me to many, many tools/resources and provided me some much needed knowledge on which could be the most useful for us. Yesterday I was adding an app to my Symbaloo page, and one of the principals dropped by, saw the screen, and asked about it. I explained what Symbaloo does, and that principal was anxious to get back to the office to set up a Symbaloo page. That's how this course is going to be applicable to my situation. If I expect teachers and administrators to be effective users of technology, then I must be a role model for them. This course has introduced me to more than enough quality resources, and having to use them - not just read about them - has given me the knowledge (and very, very basic skills) necessary to collaborate with our teachers and principals on using them. While some of the information targeting the classroom specifically might not be as valuable to me, I have tried to think outside the box and about how they might be used in my position.
There have been some excellent resources in this course! I am very excited about using them in the classroom and also sharing them with other teachers and administrators. My favorite apps and sites have come from people in the "trenches" using them and knowing how they can be successfully used with kids and adults!
ReplyDeleteIn your position it might be important to get the information to the classroom through your principals. You might just be that person to get the momentum for that 1:1 by lighting a fire in the classrooms. For me, if it goes no further than a certain level, one that does not impact student learning, then it has not gone far enough.
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