How's the New Job?

For those not familiar, I have taken a new job as the Instructional Technology Specialist at the Shiawassee Regional Education Service District (RESD).  Having been here since April, I have accumulated a number of different thoughts, feelings, implications, etc. that I thought I would use as a kickstart to getting my blog back up and running.  After all, an Instructional Technology Specialist should maintain a blog, right!?
So, as I sit today and mourn the loss of the summer to which I have become very fond of over the past 12 years, I feel the need to share a few of my thoughts.
**Note:  Please pardon the rambling.

1. Teachers work hard!!

As a teacher, you don't think about it; you just do it.  You wake up before the sun, go non-stop for 7+ hours.  You cram lunch/bathroom/phone/social time into a 30 minute span of time when most people are eating breakfast.  You take work home to finish just before crashing to sleep, never knowing what it might be like to consider 9:00 p.m. "Primetime TV" or ever see the end of the big game without a DVR.  And let's not even mention working while you're sick because it's worse to take a day off than to struggle to stand in front of your troops and lead them through a new lesson while trying to block out feeling like you've been hit by a truck.

Not that I'm slacking in the new position, but I have thoroughly enjoyed still having some gas left in the tank for my own kids when I get home at night.  It's been an eye opener to me how much energy I actually put into my job as a teacher, especially considering how many days I ended with thoughts about how much better I could have done that day.

2. ISD's are foreign to most people.

Being that I speak to people from many different states (and countries) from both my family (Ohio) and my wife's circles from all over, a lot of my replies to the title question have been dedicated to explaining what an Intermediate School District is.  I never realized how "Michigan Specific" my job actually is or what a tough concept an ISD is even to someone in education in another state.

3. The Education World is foreign to most people.

It used to be easy... "I'm a teacher."  Pre-conceived notions aside... Done.

The common follow up question to "How's the new job?" is easily "What do you actually do?"  In my head I know my answer is, "I collaborate with teachers across 8 different local districts to more successfully integrate technology tools and applications into their curriculum."  I have quickly learned that this response leads to a cross-eyed, confused look from anyone other than a teacher or school administrator.  My new line has defaulted to "I teach teachers ways to use technology," even though I know this is a gross misrepresentation.  The vast majority of people outside of the world of Education really don't have any idea what goes on, and this has started to scare me.

4. Old habits die hard.

I still find it odd sometimes to be outside of a building at lunch time or to use the restroom at 1:45 without calling someone to cover for me.  I still scarf my lunch as fast as I can, often at my desk.  I still find myself working at a frantic pace through the morning hours, but now I find myself wanting for something to do by the end of the day.  I still get a little bit uncomfortable when the office is quiet without the chaotic classroom buzz right on that fine line between active learning and all hell breaking loose.  I still want to jump out of my seat, immediately, and run to someone who needs help with something.

This isn't all bad; I plan to do my most good in 1:1 settings, running to those who need help, and be more of a "Tech Coach" than a trainer in front of a room of 50 teachers.  I hope I never lose those "old habits" I worked very hard to develop as a teacher.

Photo by Laurie Sullivan, "Discovery Education Orion" December 1, 2014 via Flickr, CC BY

#20Time is Rolling

This year's 20% Time Projects are starting to roll in my first hour class.  Students have done some brainstorming and research and made presentations to the class about their project details such as their goal/accomplishment they wish to achieve and their plan to use class time on FLEX days to make that happen.  We are in the process of getting our blog pages set up, and once they are all set and ready to go, I will share those out to an
yone interested.
For my own students reading this, I've been in contact with Mr. Provenzano (the teacher whose student blogs you checked out earlier in the year) and we'll share our students blog links with each other so that you can follow along with their progress as well as having other students following along with what you're doing.  This should be a great year of big things happening in first hour.
For my own 20% Time project, I'll be working alongside my students on a project of my own.  I had already planned on pursuing a Google Teacher Certification this year.  A fantastic opportunity has come up from our ESD to offer support for the first portion of this journey with help in taking Google's courses and passing the exams to become a Google Educator.  Once this step is complete, my time will be focused on implementation and experimenting with more of Google's Apps and preparing an application for one of the yet to be announced Google Teacher Academy sessions next year.
Stay tuned here for reflections on my students' work as well as progress updates on my own 20% Time Project.