Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Starting Out

I was told that we would get a slow start to the year.  While I fully believed that statement, I had no idea how slow the start would be.

Like most teachers, I'm used to the first few days of school being exhausting.  You're on your feet more than you're used to.  You're talking more than you're used to.  You're thinking more than you're used to.  Then you go home and collapse.  This year... not so much.

The first three days consisted of impromptu meetings with my RTI and blended learning teams and projects that came out of those meetings.  I never thought I would become adept at stringing power cords in charging carts, but after three Chromebook carts and one iPad cart, I feel like I could do that in my sleep -- over and over again.  I helped out with first grade math screenings, and I got to know my team members.

I have to laugh, because people will ask me how I like my new job.  "So far, I haven't done anything.  I like it a lot!" I laugh then add that things will start to pick up soon.

Wait... Let me back up a bit for those of you who don't know who I am or what I'm doing.

I am a 22 year teaching veteran.  For those first 22 years, I taught in three different private schools in three different states.  I have taught 4th, 5th, and 6th grades and spent a good chunk of time as a computer teacher and tech lead in a PreK-12 setting.  My main foci were on iPads, OneDrive, and Renaissance Learning.

For Year #23, I am in my first year at Yealey Elementary School in Boone County School District (Kentucky).  I am the blended learning teacher. My main thrust will be helping third through fifth grade teachers and students learn to use Chromebooks in their classrooms.  I will certainly help in other capacities, like iPads in 1st grade or collaborating with our art teacher, but the Chromebooks are what got me here. I certainly hope to post often and show you what we are learning here at Yealey and how we can incorporate these machines into a PBL setting.

It's going to be a long process, changing the trajectory of a school, but I'm excited to see what's going to happen around here.  But for now, I should take a stroll down the hall to try to figure out more teacher names.

  

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