TTL Back to the grind

Finally, I am on summer vacation, and as many of you in the education setting knows, that means we have a few days on and off to refresh and then... back to the grind.  Planning, learning, designing, etc. I have decided that even though I don't have a lot of planning and things to do this summer, I am going to spend a great bit of my time researching things for the library and for my staff.  I tried in 2013-14 school year to do Tech Tuesdays.  I had very few visitors and felt let's do it again in 14-15.  Then, we decided to migrate to PowerSchool and I got to be the migrator/data manager.  That took so much of my time on a daily and weekly basis that there was no way I would be able to spend time evaluating and researching tech tools for my staff.  On top of that, I was asked to coach a swim team and that took my evenings. That whole scenario made my blog almost non-existent.   I have decided to spend a lot of the summer working on things for blog posts so I can get back to the grind and again do my blog on a weekly basis.

Starting June 26th, I will be posting a blog a week regarding something libraryish or technology.   I hope some of my readers will return and check things out again. I am going to work ahead so I have a nice collection of posts to refer to.   I will also be maintaining my school library blog with weekly updates about new releases and things going on in the learning commons.   I invite you all to visit there as well. You can visit through this link: HHS Library

I also established a blog for my teachers with tips and things that are relevant to our school.  While some of it isn't going to help everyone, maybe someone can benefit from it.  You can visit it here: TTL Tech Help

Again, I thank all of you for your patience as I work on rebuilding my PLN and my blog.  I miss my twitter friends and my Google + things and I hope the school year to come opens up more doors for me so I can enjoy them all a little bit.

My time management is lacking

I have noticed of late that my time management skills are really bad.  I have fallen behind on my goal of posting twice a week to my blog.  I have been so occupied with my job and with all of the expectations this year, that I am failing as a blogger.   It isn't my intent, really, but, I am finding that my focus has changed a little.  I am only really "teaching" one class and we aren't using a lot of new tools so finding things to talk about has shifted a little. I think as the year comes to an end, I am becoming more of an LMS, helping with research, interviewing candidates for positions and working with administration for our tech upgrade over the summer.  My role as coach is on the back burner.  I have decided to dedicate two days a week this summer to blogging.  I am sure we will have a few rainy days where I am stuck at home, in my PJs, looking for some PD.

I also decided that next year, I am going to offer my staff a much stronger PD focus.  They need to have videos, trainings and tutorials, so I am going to spend time this summer making simple videos to help them better use the technology we offer.   I can't take all the credit, I have seen a few tech coaches in my cohort to become a certified tech trainer using the outside of school, google hangout approach to PD.  I am so interested in this.  I want to try it.  My Cohort partner Amy pointed out tonight in a short twitter chat we had: #itonlytakes1 .  WOW!  It really does.  If I can get ONE person to try it, see success and then share, more will come.  It reminds me of the movie Field of Dreams.  I have always LOVED that movie.  Everytime I see it, I have a warm and happy feeling inside.  "If you build it, they will come".  It's the same with tech and coaching.  It has to be built, one has to do it and see success and then... IT WILL COME!

Confessions of a bad blogger

It's been several weeks since I have actually posted something here on my blog.  I am not sure if anyone has noticed, but, I needed to justify my reasons.   Grant writing.  My school library is in a major need of a renovation to make it clean, fresh and safe.  The only way that is ever going to happen is if we receive funding from outside sources so, that is what has hogged all of my time.  Some grant apps need videos, some need documents, some need images.  It is taking a lot longer than I ever imagined to create applications.  Many of them don't ask for the same thing some of them ask for the obscure.  It has been a challenge to say the least, but, we are hopeful that something will come out of it.

The process has been a long one.  We started a few months back with the Follett Challenge.  We have no chance in winning, districts with thousands of kids will get the votes, not a district with only 245 kids who can access.  But, it got the bug into us and we decided if we could do that one, let's start looking for more.  We have found some leads that could pan out, some are just mere dreams, but, regardless, we are hopeful something will come our way.

In the meantime, I am getting ready to start a Technology Specialist Certification training and I am sure I will leave the program with some amazing tools and tips for the trade.  I should be back into full swing again soon.

Snowed in and out of ideas

Usually, I set a goal to write two times a week about something tech related.  I have been snowed in so much lately that I can't try tools and see how they work with my students.  I am stuck at home with the computer and Netflix and not much of a chance to experiment before I share.

We are out again, our 12th day since Christmas break ended.  Probably going to miss the rest of the week. It has been absurd to say the least, and it has made me so behind that I can't keep up with my blog and my school work.  I am hoping I can spend a little time today while I am drifted in to reflect on a few things I have come across of late.

I have been spending most of my free time at school working with our video for the Follett Challenge.  I had to learn how to use Camtasia, I figured I may as well.  The school bought it for me, so I might as well try to use it.   I really like the software and I think it so easy to work with.  I have spent a really long time assembling a video.  I think what we have is going to be awesome and hopefully, fingers crossed, we can win some money.   Our library is such an antiquated mess. My shelving dates back to the 60s, it is all high and double sided.  I would like to win enough to replace what I have and add exterior wall shelving around the entire library and try to do away with as much shelving in the middle.  I would like to make reading spaces and work zones.  I would like to start weeding out more of our nonfiction, some of it is so old and unused. I would like to revamp the coffee shop as well.  A gal can dream, right?

So, that is what has taken me away from my blog- working on grants and contests.  Hopefully, I can start spending more time doing some research and get back to blogging.

Suffering from Bloggersblock

I am not sure if it really exists, but lately, I have had an absolute huge case of bloggers block.  I have been picking my brain trying to think of things to discuss twice a week and I am finding it a challenge.  Maybe it's because we missed a week of school and I have spent the last week playing catch-up, maybe, I am burned out of technology and need a short sabbatical.  Maybe, I am just plain out of ideas!  I spent the last day looking through my pocket and edshelf.  I have spent some time at a local tech council meeting and I have a few ideas turning in my brain.  So, my plea for all of you who stop by, please be patient.  I am working on a few potential ideas and I promise to get back to you soon.  My resolution this year was to maintain my twice a week post.  I plan to keep doing that because I feel it is a very important part of remaining a connected educator.

Thanks for stopping.  I am going to spend some time this weekend reflecting and I hope to have a decent post for you Tuesday.

My new years resolutions

I think it was an edutopia article that talked about becoming connected and things every teacher could do to be tech savvy. I felt that article really hit close to home. I work in a small district where few people have embraced our 1:1 program. I think part of the reason is because the coaching side of things isn't present. I decided as I reflected on the last two years of being 1:1, there are a few personal resolutions I need to make to make 1:1 possibly be a success.

1) Data collection/staff technology survey I came across a matrix a school corporation developed based on SAMR (another resolution I need to master) and the tech coaches required all teachers take the survey to find out exactly where they stand on technology. The results were astounding. It helped plan how tech coaches approached teachers. It also led to a lot of discussion with administration about professional development needs, evaluation and funding.

2) Roam the school offering my services. I think part of the improvement in 1:1 can happen if I make myself available to the teachers. Maybe if I stop in rooms and ask them for a needs assessment I can prove to them that I am there to help and that a 1:1 program isn't a bad thing.

3) Keep experimenting with tech tools. I need to spend a little time trying tools to see what can be done with them. Not all tools are good and some teachers may not realize that. They may try something new if there is proof that it's easy and will work for them.

4) Keep blogging. I set a goal last year to blog twice a week. I have managed that well, I think. I am going to keep at it and share my experiences.

I hope my drive and ambition will continue and I can keep my resolutions going.

My Tech Life

I often get asked at school how I manage to do so many tech things with my time.  I tweet, Facebook, Pin, text, blog and manage to read a few books PLUS, be a full time mom.  My answer is simple:  Prioritize.  I spend only a little bit of time each day doing the tech stuff.  I have to have time for me. (Afterall, I have to be able to play Ruzzle and Candy Crush a little bit!)

A colleague once said she spends 10 minutes a day on twitter and that is all.  She schedules posts and tweets and also prewrites her blog.  That got me thinking.  I need to focus my time the same way.

On a daily basis, I spend a little time on twitter, unless there is an chat I am interested in attending, I merely look and scan for about ten minutes.  If I strike a conversation, I stay on longer.  If I come across a link on twitter that I want for later, for my blog or to use in class, I retweet it and add it to my pocket.  It will be there when I need it.

I also do the same on Pinterest.  I admit, it can be addicting, so I only spend a few minutes each day looking while I watch TV at night.  Sometimes, I skip Pinterest. (Makes me look like less of an addict that way.)

As for my blog, I work ahead.  Blogger is WONDERFUL because I can schedule and organize ahead.  I use my google calendar, plan and decide what I am doing and then preschedule my blogs. If I have a day when I have nothing planned, I type my posts.   If I find I am running behind on my posts, I use the archives and repost articles from the past.

Checking out tech stuff???  Well, I do that a lot while the kids are at the pool.  You see, both of my kids swim competitively and when I am not subbing in as an assistant coach, I check out tech stuff.   I sometimes take the laptop, sometimes stay at home, depends on the day. I refer to my Pocket or Diigo account and look over what I have saved and investigate, sample, check out.  Then I take some notes and keep track. If I think it will help my teachers, I add it to my Tech Tuesday one note file and voila, I am done.  I get ahead a lot this way.

I also started listening to audio books.  That has helped me stay in the game with books and manage the tech. I don't overdo the technology, but, sometimes, with grading, being a mom and needing a rest, I don't have time to sit and focus on a book.  Audio books allow me to be Suzy Homemaker and still listen to a great read.

Yes, I am a little crazy. Yes, I am a geek.  Yes, I manage my time well because I don't let the tech take over my life.  I put limits on what I do.  This is how I do it.... plus, I think I have ADHD :)

My blogging rationale

Well readers, it has been almost a year since I started die hard blogging.   I am not a daily blogger.  I have tried to post something twice a week but sometimes, I get too busy.  Sometimes, I need to take a few weeks of a mental break to experiment with sites.  I think that is the key to my success doing this;  The key to my continual dedication to this.
I don't have a large following, but I do have several people who stop in and see what I am sharing.   I think the reason I keep doing this is because people do care what I talk about. People are learning new things and utilizing the things I share in their lives.  That makes me feel good.
It's hard to keep up with it sometimes.  My key to success is organization.  I spend a lot of time investigating and planning my posts.  I have decided that I am going to share some of my strategies because if I can be a blogger, anyone can be a blogger.  Here is the secret of my success:

1. Calendar:  I keep a small calendar in my purse where I organize all of my posts.  I spent a day over the summer deciding three months (that's two a week for three months) worth of posts and I found that when I had them in front of me, I actually got them done and thinking about them a little in advance made me actually try the tool a little but.   I kept at that idea with the next three months and keep at it.  I think I am going to expand it to using google calendar/ tasks where I can get rid of my second step as well as the calendar in my purse. 
2. Small notebook: When I attend a conference, do a PD or even when I am working on something and something strikes my fancy, I take some notes.  I write the name of the tool, jot down some things I can see myself do with it and other things I may need to refer to.   I always carry this with me in my purse.  It has loads of little tidbits of information.
3. People to test stuff:  I come in to class sometimes with all of these brilliant ideas and I sometimes ask my students to help my test a tool.  I always make sure it is relevent to what we are doing.  I ask them for a quick feel of the tool.  Did you like this one?  Why? What else can you see us do with it? I get a lot of positive feedback from my students.  Sometimes I get negative.  I take that experience and share it with my readers.
4. A curation site:  I curate a lot of web 2.0 tools.  I use pocket and scoop.it the most because they both have a little button to add to chrome that I can click while I am on a site.  I also have pocket added on my phone so as I pin or read or tweet, I add the sites of interest to pocket and voila, I don't forget it. 
5. A little bit of time and quiet:  I often spend time writing my posts on the weekend while kids are at friend's houses or while I am alone in the library,  Occasionally, I have a day where I get to school early or have to stay late and I can actually blog then.  Sometimes the library has a dry spell and I can blog.  It doesn't take me hours to create a post; my organizing tools have helped me be more effecient.
6. A willingness to attend conferences, edcamps, etc: I attend and participate in a lot of things related to tech.  I think on average, I attend one webinar a week.  (Most are 30 minutes but that amount of time can provide a plethora of information).  I also do as many virtual conferences, archives, blog readings as I can.  I am a swim mom.  My kids are at the pool for one and a half hour a night.  The pool is wireless.  I do things while they practice.  I realize many don't have a situation such as mine, but, even finding 30 minutes a week to do archives of webinars will teach you something.  I also try to go to local conferences and edcamps.  A lot of schools in Indiana are starting to do 1:1 programs and they are always having one day programs to share with others what they are doing.  I have gotten a lot of good ideas from those too. 

I am not sure if blogging is for you.  I have found that it gives me an outlet to share things I know and do with others. It is a way I can feel accomplished.  Remember, if I can do it, anyone can.