The Return...

The return from my weekend of doing absolutely nothing work-related was wonderful. I walked through the doors of the school with a skip in my step (not to mention the huge grin on my face when I realized that my period baskets were still empty and my grades were all up to date!).

What did I do?
- went to a concert at Velour.
- watched a movie in my pajamas.
- made deliciously scrumptious pumpkin dump cake and banana bread.
- hung out with my adorable little sister.
- made some new friends and played games all night long.
- took long, hot showers.
- straightened my hair (which I haven't done since teacher training before school started. Wow).

All of the above reminded me that I am human. And I need time for myself.

So, I went to our staff meeting this morning with a revitalized spirit and did what? Got myself nominated to give a presentation to the faculty next week about Edmodo. Sweet. I guess that's what happens when you teach 10+ teacher about the website . . . they willingly volunteer your name for the job. I'm excited though - I really believe in the website and with these new iPads, it is a huge asset to the school if we all get onboard.

All of these new technological discussions at the school are helping me make two new discoveries:

- First, technology is a tool. Not a crutch. I can't just throw technology into a lesson and hope that it accomplishes my objectives. Plus, there are so many hiccups, I've got to have a back-up plan anyway. It has to have some thought put into it.

- Second, sometimes it's necessary to use class time to gear students up for the technology you want to use. One teacher who is exploring iTunes U in creating courses for his classes (so cool, by the way!) said he dedicated three days to helping students set up accounts and teach them how to use iTunes U. Wow. Three Days. It's hard to swallow, but even using 10 minutes of our shortened Monday periods to help students sync their email accounts to their iPads will (hopefully) pay off in the end when students are actually able to send their work home (that's what we did today).

Oh, and I just got an email saying that all 7th graders will be having hearing tests done tomorrow during their English classes... So there go my plans for an extra drafting day. Good thing that Wednesday Final Deadline for student Genre Projects is secretly a rough draft deadline. Shh. Don't tell them! We'll see what gets turned in.

Don't you just love flexibility? I know I do!