Welcome to the last day of November. The day matches my mood-gray, somber and uncertain. It is a tired day-having gone out with a gusto. It is the changing of the seasons..as we are about to head into winter I feel the need to reflect. I keep coming back to "what is the one goal you are going to accomplish today?" and I cannot seem to whittle it down from 10. Hence my problem. Lately the demands on my time have been all consuming-to the point where I feel as though I am not able to give 120% and be effective at any 1 task. If you divide 120 by 10 you get 12-12 %. That about sums it up.
My glasses broke yesterday-and I did not get to Lenscrafters because the day was so crazy-can they be fixed and on my face before I leave the house tomorrow? Because I won't be back until Sunday...
2 Christa McAuliffe presentations-co presentations, actually-but who volunteered to do the slide shows? Yes, me.
Trip to Florida- had to be rebooked because I FORGOT I would be presenting at the conference-so now the trip is barely 2 days long.
Holidays- yep, I cooked 2 Thanksgiving dinners 5 days apart.
Family- daughter lives in Texas and is getting married in April-at least 2 more trips to Houston pending...
Do you have any plans to come West? To Encinitas....ummmmm, nothing in stone, yet...
What about the 1 day Neo2 training in NOLA? Anyone want to go?
Oh, and the Biggest Loser Team challenge- I am the team member that is gaining weight. "Why are you so cranky?" My husband wants to know. Lack of chocolate, sweets and carbs will do that.
Those are a few of the thoughts rolling around in my head this morning, and we haven't even started the day.
No wonder I had the re-occurring dream where I am in a car climbing a hill that goes straight up and never seems to end. Why doesn't the car flip over on its back as we try to climb? How will the car ever make it? It always does.
I think I will try to focus on 3 only things today-I already know 3 will double to 6 before I leave the house. 20 % is not good enough.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Remembering my own Advice
Baby steps. My favorite blog: Zen Habits-if I make a habit of reading it it keeps m grounded and focused on what really matters. Yesterday was Friday the 13th. That would explain a lot,except I didn't realize it was the unlucky day until 4pm while I was working the arc trainer at the gym, watching Oprah get ready to hand out 250 k to some lucky karaoke singer.
I didn't realize it when I was going over the finer details of the 10 thousand dollar tech grant I wrote and won for our tiny duck tape district-money that will surely make a difference for 3 out of 14 of their teachers.
I didn't realize it was the unlucky day while chatting with a colleague who finally, for real, freed me from the shackle and chains aka "the website".
I didn't realize it when, in my exhilaration over no longer feeling the website was my responsibly (which he shared with my boss(es) I stepped into a classroom of 3rd graders with laptops out and they spontaneously cheered when I walked through the door.
Nope. It was a pretty lucky day for me. Friday the 13th or not-it started out poorly, but luck had nothing to do with it. I did what I had to do to turn it around and make it a pretty lucky day.
So do what I did- read the blog, and make your life more productive and meaningful.
I didn't realize it when I was going over the finer details of the 10 thousand dollar tech grant I wrote and won for our tiny duck tape district-money that will surely make a difference for 3 out of 14 of their teachers.
I didn't realize it was the unlucky day while chatting with a colleague who finally, for real, freed me from the shackle and chains aka "the website".
I didn't realize it when, in my exhilaration over no longer feeling the website was my responsibly (which he shared with my boss(es) I stepped into a classroom of 3rd graders with laptops out and they spontaneously cheered when I walked through the door.
Nope. It was a pretty lucky day for me. Friday the 13th or not-it started out poorly, but luck had nothing to do with it. I did what I had to do to turn it around and make it a pretty lucky day.
So do what I did- read the blog, and make your life more productive and meaningful.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
The Need to Be Inspired
No, I still have not had the time nor the energy to start a second blog. Today was an uninspiring day, filled with people totally absorbed in what they were doing. At the end of the day, everyone left, and no one said good bye. There are days like these, every now and then, when I find myself stuck again. There are days like today when my job seems immense and I feel tired-and I do not want the challenge. I don't know where to begin. Who gets priority? Who do I go to first? I wish there were 3 of me. Instead of everyone getting their fair share, everybody gets a little tiny scrap-and then I disappear. Things take too long to happen, problems are systemic, and we are still fixing the system. Except the end user doesn't see that-they just see their point on the spectrum. I can see the big picture, and it sometimes feels too big. It would be so much easier to throw equipment and toys at teaches and say "go teach-knock yourselves out!" Except it is ultimately not about the tech and the toys-it is about the teaching, and how the technology affects and influences the learning, when used the right way. And that seems very far away.
I am stuck between the rock and the hard place-not really on a team, except when it's convenient. I shouldn't complain, except on days like this when I have so many projects and things waiting for the magic touch..but no one to create with, the day just passes me by. I don't like that feeling. If I were to stop-which I am doing right now-and truly reflect on the small successes and importance of the tiny things, I would recognize that I did help a few people with things that mattered to them today. I did manage to get to the gym, to go running this morning, and to accomplish some seemingly small tasks. In the scheme of things, today was not up there on a list of days to remember.
I will have to take the day off tomorrow and reflect on the plan. There is a plan, and it is a good one. I will try no to let an ordinary day get the best of me-and try to remember what is extraordinary about it. And I will try to be patient-goal oriented and focused. Maybe it's time to move out of the copy room to a quiet zen-like space, or some other less public and distracting space. I will work on that .
I am stuck between the rock and the hard place-not really on a team, except when it's convenient. I shouldn't complain, except on days like this when I have so many projects and things waiting for the magic touch..but no one to create with, the day just passes me by. I don't like that feeling. If I were to stop-which I am doing right now-and truly reflect on the small successes and importance of the tiny things, I would recognize that I did help a few people with things that mattered to them today. I did manage to get to the gym, to go running this morning, and to accomplish some seemingly small tasks. In the scheme of things, today was not up there on a list of days to remember.
I will have to take the day off tomorrow and reflect on the plan. There is a plan, and it is a good one. I will try no to let an ordinary day get the best of me-and try to remember what is extraordinary about it. And I will try to be patient-goal oriented and focused. Maybe it's time to move out of the copy room to a quiet zen-like space, or some other less public and distracting space. I will work on that .
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Time to Split
I have decided to start a second blog dedicated to education and technology. The time has come. I have a lot to say-as usual, but no place to say it. And I do not have people to talk to on a daily basis that "get it." My PLN also known as my Personal Learning Network-the new buzz phrase in education-consists of educators in the UK, Kentucky, Nebraska, California, New York, Thailand, Australia, the Netherlands, Virginia, Texas, Minnesota, Missouri, Florida, Georgia and the list goes on. I think there are a lot of teachers out there that have a lot to say and no one to listen and share with-seems I have found a few of them. there are thousands more like me.
That alone is an interesting commentary on education-and my philosophy. I have been asked questions like, "Why do you use Twitter?" and, "Why should teachers and administrators blog?"
Well, it is a form of journaling-but with an audience an an intended purpose. We all have the potential and ability to be an author. Writing and publishing is no longer reserved for the relatively few who have access to publishers and editors. If you have access to a computer with Internet-wait-let me take that back-if you have access to a 199 dollar ipod touch-you can be a published author. Well, you need free wi-fi, too.
If you have something to say-say it. Tweet it, blog it, post it, comment on it-put it in Worlde, create a Glog, share it, upload it-but do not sit and watch the connected world pass you by.
I am now un-stuck. My door is open and the possibilities created by creating my PLN are endless. You are what you write. And writing is a craft that must be practiced. With the birth of the Internet, however, writing and sharing and communicating have become so much more dynamic. It is no longer acceptable to be a passive consumer of knowledge and information. We must now also participate in some fashion-and be able to create and share or forward information to others.
In school this used to be called class participation. You must participate in your own learning. Read, comment, ask questions, and respond to others. Debate, share, dialogue and discuss. Write.
That alone is an interesting commentary on education-and my philosophy. I have been asked questions like, "Why do you use Twitter?" and, "Why should teachers and administrators blog?"
Well, it is a form of journaling-but with an audience an an intended purpose. We all have the potential and ability to be an author. Writing and publishing is no longer reserved for the relatively few who have access to publishers and editors. If you have access to a computer with Internet-wait-let me take that back-if you have access to a 199 dollar ipod touch-you can be a published author. Well, you need free wi-fi, too.
If you have something to say-say it. Tweet it, blog it, post it, comment on it-put it in Worlde, create a Glog, share it, upload it-but do not sit and watch the connected world pass you by.
I am now un-stuck. My door is open and the possibilities created by creating my PLN are endless. You are what you write. And writing is a craft that must be practiced. With the birth of the Internet, however, writing and sharing and communicating have become so much more dynamic. It is no longer acceptable to be a passive consumer of knowledge and information. We must now also participate in some fashion-and be able to create and share or forward information to others.
In school this used to be called class participation. You must participate in your own learning. Read, comment, ask questions, and respond to others. Debate, share, dialogue and discuss. Write.
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