Close your eyes, and reminisce with me. It's August. Today is the first day of 9th grade. Breathe in, breathe out. What do you smell? Ah yes, freshly sharpened pencils.
Oh, you don't smell pencils? Well, maybe I'm alone in my love for a freshly sharpened Ticonderoga #2 pencils, but somehow I know a few of you know exactly what I mean. A new box of Ticonderoga #2 pencils signals the start of a brand new school year. Even though my role has changed from student to teacher/Digital Instructional Coach, I start every new school year energized and ready to take on every challenge that comes my way. The first day of school comes, and I take off running. Might I propose that working through each school year is like running a marathon… or a 5K for some of us? As I begin running the race, I do well, for a while, facing each challenge as it comes my way. Challenges can be extremely beneficial, especially when they propel us forward. Challenges bring out the best in me for the first few miles, as I jog through August and September. Usually though, I hit a wall around October or November. Instead of being energized, driven to excellence, I feel exhausted and cannot see the path ahead. This. Was. Me. …by mid-October. I was exhausted. Keeping up with the normal day-to-day activities of teaching/coaching and engaging with my PLN, Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) Experts, all while working on my masters, just about did me in. I needed to find someone, or a group of people, that I could jog alongside. This year, my relief came in the form of an edtech conference. I have a great friend that once said that education conferences are a great opportunity to be re-energized by a group of like-minded individuals. Last month, I attended and presented at the annual NYSCATE (New York State Computers and Technology in Education) conference. Two distinct moments reminded me that I am not alone on an island and that I can find support in my MIE Expert PLN. First, I met up with a fellow MIE Expert to collaborate on two session presentations, one being The Power of Digital Inking in the 1:1 Classroom. She holds me steady when I feel tired and worn down. She reinvigorated my marathon pace. Our presentations and conversations reminded me of my focus, that as an educator, I will always strive to provide the best experiences for my students. We agree that what takes our students' digital device experiences to the next level is precise digital inking. In terms of using digital devices for education, we believe precise digital inking is pivotal to providing students the best digital device experience. Precise digital inking, such as with the #Surface Pen, allows the students to write on their Surface 3 device as if they were writing on paper. Can you draw a precise diagram of a heart, solve a multi-step Geometry problem, or map out Westward expansion on your device? If so, my bet is that you are using a digital device with precise inking. If not, I'd encourage you to a digital device to your repertoire that supports precise digital inking. My second distinct moment in which I felt revived came in the form of crashing a meeting. It was like the moment you round the bend to realize that you are running next to people just like you. There was a group of New York MIE Experts meeting up to talk about how best they could support and encourage the MIEs in their regions. While I didn't belong, since I live in Indiana and every other attendee lives in New York, I was accepted purely on the basis that I was also running the marathon under the group name, MIE Expert. I must remember that when I can reach out and connect with anyone who is also part of the MIE Expert PLN. They are my people. They get me. They get my love for #digitalink, my love for #OneNote, and my love for #MicrosoftEDU. I will not finish my marathon until May, but until then, I cannot forget to run with them. NYSCATE 2017 Presentations: The Power of Digital Inking in the 1:1 Classroom Flip Your Class without Internet Access
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AuthorDigital Instructional Coach/Math Teacher, #MIEExpert, Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) Trainer, Surface Master Trainer, Microsoft Certified Educator, Trainer, #OneNote & #MicrosoftEDU FAN! Statements are my own. Archives
December 2020
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