Original Post: December 08
and I get in trouble when I give my PLN the authority to make me start questioning the level and effectiveness of my own staff. (My error -- not my PLN's.)
and I do my teachers a dis-service when I hold them up the the benchmarks set by my PLN rather than work with them individually on their own benchmarks.
and I am unfair to my teachers when I return jazzed from a "techie" conference where I have rubbed shoulders with the "movers and shakers" and I return back to the "emmm, do I have to, emmm okays" at my campus and compare the two.
Besides the fact that admin is not yet on board, we have NO technology budget, and my job could be cut at any time.........my teachers/staff (though they are slow to adopt) are moving forward to using new options in their classrooms. Not using tech, but using new options. One teacher just (after months of fighting) just allowed a round desk to be moved into her classroom -- and that was a big deal. She also was my most enthusiastic teacher who embraced the flipcamera as an option for assessing verbal reading skills. She is making leaps and bounds......if I compare her to her and her journey right now.
Our High School teachers are making powerpoints and putting them up on the website for students to view. Yes, they are bulleted powerpoints.......and maybe next semester we might remove the bullets and look at other options.....but for right now, they had added a bit more than just look at the teacher while I lecture......and if I compare them to where they have been.....to where they are now.....they are striding forward.
Our sports department has moved all their registration forms to Google Docs. Our preschool director is thinking of making her own website.
Our pastors are putting their sermons on ustream and itunes. And our secretaries have just mastered mail merge.
For some of my teachers -- right mouse clicking to put a new folder on their desktop has been a major accomplishment. And on the other side of the spectrum, if all goes well, the Christmas orchestra/choir concert will be on ustream tonight. (if all goes well.)
If I looked to my PLN to judge my teachers........I am fairly certain that what we are doing would be seen as "nothing much" and "we could be doing more." And I know that we could be doing more -- but also LOOK AT WHAT WE ARE DOING.
My PLN is just that, it is MY PLN and from now on I will use them to be the benchmark for myself and myself only. Unfortunately, I had made the mistake of letting them be the PLN for my staff as well.
The teachers leave on the 17th for 3 weeks of Christmas break. During that time, I hope to rewire Jen who works to help the teachers where they are now.......instead of being critical of where I thought they should be.
As always, agree or disagree......I appreciate your thoughts.
Jen
and I get in trouble when I give my PLN the authority to make me start questioning the level and effectiveness of my own staff. (My error -- not my PLN's.)
and I do my teachers a dis-service when I hold them up the the benchmarks set by my PLN rather than work with them individually on their own benchmarks.
and I am unfair to my teachers when I return jazzed from a "techie" conference where I have rubbed shoulders with the "movers and shakers" and I return back to the "emmm, do I have to, emmm okays" at my campus and compare the two.
Besides the fact that admin is not yet on board, we have NO technology budget, and my job could be cut at any time.........my teachers/staff (though they are slow to adopt) are moving forward to using new options in their classrooms. Not using tech, but using new options. One teacher just (after months of fighting) just allowed a round desk to be moved into her classroom -- and that was a big deal. She also was my most enthusiastic teacher who embraced the flipcamera as an option for assessing verbal reading skills. She is making leaps and bounds......if I compare her to her and her journey right now.
Our High School teachers are making powerpoints and putting them up on the website for students to view. Yes, they are bulleted powerpoints.......and maybe next semester we might remove the bullets and look at other options.....but for right now, they had added a bit more than just look at the teacher while I lecture......and if I compare them to where they have been.....to where they are now.....they are striding forward.
Our sports department has moved all their registration forms to Google Docs. Our preschool director is thinking of making her own website.
Our pastors are putting their sermons on ustream and itunes. And our secretaries have just mastered mail merge.
For some of my teachers -- right mouse clicking to put a new folder on their desktop has been a major accomplishment. And on the other side of the spectrum, if all goes well, the Christmas orchestra/choir concert will be on ustream tonight. (if all goes well.)
If I looked to my PLN to judge my teachers........I am fairly certain that what we are doing would be seen as "nothing much" and "we could be doing more." And I know that we could be doing more -- but also LOOK AT WHAT WE ARE DOING.
My PLN is just that, it is MY PLN and from now on I will use them to be the benchmark for myself and myself only. Unfortunately, I had made the mistake of letting them be the PLN for my staff as well.
The teachers leave on the 17th for 3 weeks of Christmas break. During that time, I hope to rewire Jen who works to help the teachers where they are now.......instead of being critical of where I thought they should be.
As always, agree or disagree......I appreciate your thoughts.
Jen