Conference Reflections

Insomnia gives you time to reflect. I just got back from HSTI 2011. It was great. I learned alot, but perhaps learned more from people's reactions to the conference than at the actual conference itself. I presented at the pre-conference for the first time ever. I thought it was a success. I discovered that many just want to come, get their toys, and leave. I hope that my group was glad they stayed for the instruction as much as the toys. Although, I want to enrich my instruction with some toys that they can go back and use.

I didn't have alot of time for breakout sessions during the conference itself as I was presenting four breakout sessions of my own. I had standing room only and was thanked many times as people exited the room. Many stayed for the last session of the day both days, so I was thankful I could make it worth their stay. The breakout sessions I did attend had valuable information. I learn both from the information and from how the presenter presents to determine if I need to change my presentation style. I'm constantly learning and evolving as a presenter to make it informative and interesting.

I stayed an extra day this year for the coming out of Schools Without Walls and their presentation on ipad apps. Boy, did we hit the ground running. Even with my professed technological expertise, I felt challenged and out of my element, but quickly learned to work within the group and depend on others if necessary. It was fun and interesting and the day flew by.

The most interesting part of what I have learned is the reflections and how people's reactions are different. I thought HSTI2011 pre-conference, conference, and post-conference were all great. However, there have been some people that felt it necessary to post their unhappiness with the conferences. The most awesome part of that has been the reaction of the hosts of the conference. You know they had to be let down. They had worked their tails off for months planning and preparing and hoping to make it the best ever. But even with some negative responses, they still followed through in a positive manner. They addressed the questions raised and problems mentioned and used the criticism in a constructive way to help move things forward.

I'm blessed. Truly blessed to be surrounded by technology people who always raise the bar to new levels on how to present, how to graciously accept and handle criticism, and how to constantly be searching for the best for Arkansas students.

TIE

Just got back from the Fall 2010 TIE Cadre Training. Words can hardly express what this training and all of the combined trainings from the cadre have meant to my life as an educator. I'm so busy that it's hard to find time to explore new ideas and new things. The bottom line is TIE gives me the tools, resources, and time I need to stay in touch with the latest and greatest trends in education and in technology. It's made me step out of my box and soul-search and explore how I can really impact education in a dramatic way. I've always wanted to have an impact. I mean--doesn't everyone. You don't choose education. It chooses you! Then, you hope you make the ride what it's meant to be for students. Since becoming a technology coordinator full time, I've wondered many times if I made the right decision. Being out of the classroom and that constant interaction with students, you wonder if you are still making the impact that you should. I've considered administration and even interviewed for a principal's position this summer and honestly had convinced myself that finally as an administrator I could impact more lives as an administrator than as a teacher or as a technology coordinator. I was reminded during this past TIE training of what my passion is. My passion is teaching. I love that light bulb effect you get when you've shared something that transforms someone's life whether it's a student or another teacher. So, I'm ready to explore that passion again whether it's in the classroom with students or it's on the road sharing my knowledge with other educators. I love sharing knowledge and I think my passion for sharing shows when I present. I want to be able to share that with people. That means I'm getting to work on figuring out ways to do that. I already present at a variety of conferences, but I think it's time to get out of my comfort zone and see if I can make my passion pay off for other educators. Look for more blogging, more wiki updates, and a few more surprises ahead. Thanks TIE for paving the way.

AAIM Conference - Presenters Point of View

If you are new to presenting and wondering where you should go to present. I highly recommend the AAIM (Arkansas Association of Instructional Media). Here you will find the greatest group of people. They are the most attentive people I have ever presented for. This makes my third year to present and they are just great.

What makes them so great. First, they are attentive and respectful. Even if your presentation is mostly lecture for an hour, they hang on each word. They also give you feedback. They give you feedback that day. They will stop you and thank you for taking time out of your schedule to share with them. They also will come up after a workshop and thank you first, then ask for more information. Maybe the best thing I like is when I get home from the presentation, you get their feedback sheets. Feedback is huge for a presenter. You need to know was it too much information, was it enough information, and what can you do as a presenter to make it better the next time around. A presentation constantly evolves and changes. Feedback from participants, therefore, is invaluable. Their feedback sheets are the typical, rate this 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, but they will take the time to jot down notes and additional feedback that help you as a presenter make it a learning experience for you as well.

I look forward to AAIM every year. I present at a variety of conferences and places. However, AAIM members and attendees give me the feedback and warm fuzzies I need to keep pursuing the presenters role. I encourage each of you to do two things. One, attend AAIM and find out what it's all about, and two, join! Join this wonderful group of Arkansas professionals.

I'm taking a year off from presenting at HSTI but will be back next summer for that conference and I'm already marking the date for AAIM next year. I'll be back, hopefully better than ever because of the feedback and encouragement I received from the participants.

The Blind Side

I watched The Blind Side tonight and I realized quickly as it began that it was going to be a story that reminded me of why I went into teaching. When I first went to college, I was firmly convinced I was going to be a CPA. I loved accounting and had forgotten the childhood dream of being a teacher. Most children say they are going to be a teacher, or a fireman, or a policeman, or the President when they are little, but then as they age, new dreams and goals take shape and form.

That was me. I wanted to be a teacher from the time I was small, but then as others began to influence me, they convinced me teaching wasn't really what I wanted to do. So, off to college I went, firmly entrenched in my desire to major in accounting. However, as I stayed awake nights trying to figure out how to get the spreadsheets to balance and to find some odd error that was causing my balance sheet to be out of balance, I realized............I don't really like doing this. So, I quit college, got married and went to work at the drug store back home. Then I moved on to a job issuing food stamps. Then, I was reading the paper one day and saw an ad for a business teacher at the local high school. My mind raced. My thoughts swirled. Reality surfaced. I realized I could do the job, but was not qualified for the job.

So, bless my husband's heart. It was August and I had him pull up roots and off we went to chase my childhood dream of teaching. I didn't dare tell him the first month or so that I was miserable. School can be depressing. Married housing was not the taj mahal. We were working to make ends meet so I could go to school. There was no time to enjoy school. It was work, school, sleep, work, school, sleep. Then, it happened. That teachable moment. That lightning bolt from the sky. Much like in The Blind Side when she said turn the car around and they went back and picked Michael up and changed his life forever. Dr. Turner did that for me. I turned in a word processing test and she stopped me and said "How are you doing? How do you like Arkansas Tech?" Simple questions, simple words, but they meant to me that someone had noticed me and cared how I was faring at school outside of my immediate family. I had a 'connection'.

Dr. Turner was truly a mentor to me and helped me complete my degree as well as give me the perfect advice I needed to land that first teaching job. As I have gone through my teaching career, I've often remembered the simple questions she asked that made such a difference in my life. "How are you doing? How do you like school?" Isn't it amazing what a difference we can make each day in a child's life. I'm also reminded in The Blind Side where the teachers are talking in the faculty lounge and realize that Michael was learning and if they read the questions to him he knew the answers. One teacher made that difference for Michael and soon other teachers followed in her footsteps. Does every child need a 504 plan or to be in special education in order to get the attention they need to succeed in the classroom? All it really takes is a teacher that cares. Will we catch all students and connect with each of them? Maybe not, but I hazard a guess that Michael's story struck a cord in alot of teachers. Are we being a lightning bolt for students?

Teachers don't teach for the money or the awards or summer and winter break. Teachers teach because they love kids and love being able to make a difference in the life of kids. Many times we never realize what a difference we have made. Hopefully the differences we have made have been positive ones. Most importantly, I hope the biggest difference we can say that we made is that we showed students that we cared for them as individuals and wanted to help them succeed not only in the classroom but in life.

To Twit or Not to Twit

Approximately a year ago I presented at the 2009 AAIM conference and told my participants that I didn't know what everyone was all a twitter about. I promised them if I could find a purpose for twitter, I would be back this year at the 2010 AAIM conference and do a workshop specifically on twitter. I'm working on that presentation now because I have found a wonderful purpose to twitter and it has amazingly expanded my professional learning network.

Here is what I wrote on my wiki in the beginning stages last year as I tracked my progress as a newbie on twitter.

What is twitter. Click here to learn more.

Is there any real value in twitter. ABSOLUTELY! Since starting my twitter account, I've received tons of tweets that have led me to new technology discoveries. The key is in who you choose to follow. Of course, some people like to follow celebrities. That's ok. However, mix in a few good educational people and the value of twitter beyond a fun distraction becomes evident. How do you find them? This is what I did. I knew of specific people that had twitter accounts that I valued their opinions and ideas. I checked out who they were following. I checked out each person's profile and clicked to follow them. I gave it a week or so. If nothing that they posted seemed to interest me, I removed them. If what they posted interested me, I checked out in turn who they were following. It's a gradual process, but so far it has worked for me. I would hazard a guess it is similar to going to a workshop every day for me. I gather at least one good profitable, idea each day.

Try it yourself. Once you create your account, make sure you follow me. I'm uniqsuseq on twitter.

Start a blog, don't start a blog. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

Inspiration. Perspiration. Determination?

Finally, I've decided to just get started. I'm a person that doesn't recommend things randomly and if I do recommend them, I want them to have a true purpose that can help others. In other words, I don't like to waste people's time. Although, I am a talker. So, here goes. Hope you find it worthwhile. A product recommendation with a purpose!

My first topic will be to tell about a product that I think can be of great benefit to school districts. It's the HP130 DesignJet printer. This printer is now on sale for over half off and is less than $1,000 and the possibilities for a district are endless. In fact $1,000 will get you the roll feed attachment, 2 rolls of regular paper and 2 rolls of glossy paper. We purchased one last year and used it with a cross-curricular integration activity. Originally, the athletic department made about $1,000 on these posters. A company sold the ads, created the posters, and gave a portion of the profits back to the school district.

Here's what our school did. The Sports Marketing class sold ads for the sports poster. They learned about salesmanship, marketing, and created some good PR for our district. They divided up in sales teams. As they ventured out they used a blank mock-up design of the poster to show local businesses what they were purchasing and where their ad would be located on the poster. They used cell phones to keep in contact with each other so that they could tell which ad spots had been sold. They also provided each business with a letter and free tickets to games in recognition of their support of the district. As they sold an ad, they provided the business with a receipt and also picked up any ad copy the business wanted to use for their ad spot. When they returned to school, they worked on creating the ads for the poster. The middle section of the poster was created by the Desktop Publishing class. The entire class worked on their design for the middle section of pictures and the sports schedule. The design we liked best was used for all of the printed posters.

There are a variety of applications for a full color poster printer. In our case we used it for hands-on classroom activities that also secured our school over $5,000. It was definitely a win-win. Students learned valuable skills for their future, our school made more money on something they were already doing, and local businesses got to see 100% of their monies funneled back into student use. Future plans include using it in more hands-on activities that will also raise money that will go back into the classroom curriculum. Hands-on activities provide students with realistic glimpses into the future world of work.