Thing #23

Overall I would describe this process as challenging, enjoyable and a labor of love. Becoming a Technology Integration Specialist was a marathon and not a sprint. It was tough but learning and getting to know all the wonderful new TIS candidates and the cohort leaders was remarkable. I felt so fortunate to have the opportunity to gain so much knowledge. In some ways I feel like this will inform my entire career as a teacher. I do not think I will get bored with trending technology and its use in the classroom. As long as I am employed I plan to continually train my peers in all that I know and learn. For instance, two things that I already have planned for the upcoming school year is having a club at school where we will learn to write code and currently I am working on writing a grant to get the teachers of the school a tablet of some sort to stay safe, connect and communicate. One of the most important things for teachers to learn when embracing technology is to "explore and play". They shouldn't be afraid of technology. At time the thought of trying something new with 25 students scares teachers and they get uptight about the experience, therefore they do not ever try to use new tech in their classroom. We need to make sure they understand that they can play and make it less serious. If it doesn't work out the first day or if it is chaos, things will be better tomorrow. They should also pass those feelings on to their students so that they will embrace technology in the classroom as well. I feel with the projects that we did as a group, my understanding of the standards become much deeper than what it would be without the training. Each project was specifically designed to enhance our understanding of not only the standard but more specifically how to use it in a classroom setting. This brought challenges all along the way. It was like not knowing how to swim and then jumping into a lake with both feet and no flotation device.