Month: March 2013

Reflections of IEASC

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IEASC Badge

 

Six months ago I began a journey into a certificate program, Innovative Educators Advanced Studies Certificate. I first became aware of it late last summer via Twitter. The description sounded interesting and right up my alley. It was incorporating technology into the classroom. What a ride it has been, and now it’s over. And I’m feeling a little sad about it.

When others heard that I was taking classes, they immediately assumed I needed to move over on the salary schedule. I still find that such an odd response. I know many people do that, but we should also take courses in things that we are interested in. I could go on about that, but will save that for another post.

So here was the deal, 6 months to do 9 classes. Looking back at it, it sounds like a lot, but fortunately for me I liked the topics, enrolled, and didn’t really think too much about it. I’m really glad I didn’t! I think if I had really thought about it, the amount of work would have scared me off. In retrospect, it wasn’t as bad as it sounds. Yes it was work, but well worth it. I met some fabulous educators who inspired me, who made me work hard, who made me think more, and who made me a better teacher. Our cohort was small, 9 students and 2 lead learners.

Last Wednesday, we had our last synchronous session together. We each presented our ePortfolios we had been keeping for the course. It was amazing and inspiring to see everyone’s hard work and dedication. Then came our final good-bye’s. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I can say that it left me feeling a little sad. I realized, okay maybe it just hit me, that I would no longer be working with these people on a regular basis. I mean it has been 6 months of collaborative projects, discussion boards, and synchronous sessions, now nothing. Many of them are on Twitter, and I follow them. I’m pretty sure I will see a few at CUE events, like CUE RockStar, and that will be good to connect. But in the end, I was a little lost.

Since our last meeting, I’m getting into a new routine. One that does not include homework, well at least for a while. Now I’m thinking of going back and getting another Master’s Degree. This time it would be in Instructional Technologies, or something along those lines. Overall, it was an awesome experience, and I am now looking forward to many new adventures!

Forwarding on Gmail

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If you’re anything like me, you have at least 10 email accounts. Keeping up with all of them can be a struggle. Fortunately, I can forward all my Gmail accounts to my main account — which happens to be a Gmail account too. It’s easy, here’s how:

CUE 13

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Annual CUE

What a difference a year makes! This was my second year attending the Annual CUE Conference. CUE, which stands for Computer Using Educators, hosts an amazing conference each year in Palm Springs, CA. Imagine being surrounded by hundreds, and thousands (4,000 this year) of like minded educators. The amount of knowledge flowing around the conference is mind boggling.

So you’re probably thinking, “What does all that have to do with a year ago?” Well, last year when I went, I knew few people and met even less. To be honest, I knew only the people I went with, and met exactly ZERO people. This year…It was a completely different story. I knew tons of people, and met with just as many more. Last year I had around 20 Twitter followers; this year I have over 230 — and growing. Last year all that I had planned were sessions and 1 dinner. This year, session to attend, sessions to help, 2 dinners, 1 Coffee CUE event and 1 ‘tweet up’ for #caedchat were planned. Needless to say, I was a very busy educator this year.

I was able to meet up with some fellow Google Teacher Academy, Mountain View attendees, meet several Google Certified Teachers for the first time, and other really innovative educators. I was also able to meet some of my ‘Heros’ in the teaching world, it was sort of like meeting a celebrity for me! Connections are key to growing and developing as an educator. Without those connections, I wouldn’t be half the teacher I am today. I am inspired by these people that I only speak to online. While speaking to one of my ‘Heros’, Lisa Highfill, I told her that she makes me a better teacher. Her ideas are great. They make me want to be in her classroom. Most importantly, she inspires me to do more, be better, and step up my game. Please check her out, she does some great things in her classroom. Another one of my ‘Heros’ is Linda Yollis. That woman ROCKS!

All the presenters I saw were fantastic! There were so many that I wanted to see, there just weren’t enough of me to go to all the sessions I wanted to. That’s where having friends helps. When going with a group, just split up and share your notes. This year, like last, we created a Google Folder which was shared by all of us. So whatever session we went to, we took notes and put it in the shared folder. Now we have notes and links for all of us to check out.

Finally, no conference would be complete without the vendors. There were so many great products and give aways. I was able to leave with books related to Common Core for a friend and myself. When talking about vendors, I can’t leave out OtterBox! Lisa Flint, who was the representative there, hooked me up. OtterBox has a good reputation for quality products. Knowing this, I stopped by to chat with them. While chatting with Lisa, I mentioned that our school has Generation 1 iPads, and that we really don’t have protective cases. She generously offered to give us OtterBox cases for all our iPads! Her generosity doesn’t stop there, she also gave me an iPad case for my personal iPad 3 and my iPhone. Seriously, when I say that OtterBox is the best, I’m not playing around.

All in all it was a great conference. Will things change even more in the coming year for me? I’m hoping so. I have started presenting, about technology, locally, and am hoping to expand that to Fall CUE and Annual CUE 2014, and many points in between!