2 Years of Blogging

But it is my third December blogging-although the frequency has certainly diminished, now that I can express myself in 140 characters or less, but the blog still reigns supreme. So here's what' new!



I use iGoogle to keep the blogs I follow organized-I have a page of Technology blogs I follow and a page of general news type blogs as well. It is one of the first things i do in the morning-whereas I used to read the newspaper, now I check Tweetdeck, iGoogle, THEN my email from my Blackberry. It's all about efficiency. Of course it is also about selecting which news to read-customizing the content that is delivered to my desktop electronically.



This year my daughter inspired me to organize my photos. Of course she uses Snapfish, I just organized mine into folders on my hard drive. I also am proud to say for the first time ever I created a photo Christmas card-something I have been wanting to do, well, since my kids were little-now I have grandkids. Sometimes it takes me a while to actually get around to doing stuff.



We have colored lights on our tree. All those years of matchy-matchy lights and decorations. The colored lights are quite nice, and we finally figured out how to put the tree in the stand so it doesn't topple over.



I have been working with a personal trainer for a year. Yesterday during my session we reviewed the year. I have gained weight. BUT-I am Advil free and able to deadlift a whole bunch of weight and my back and shoulders and neck feel great. It's hard not to step on the scales and get that sinking feeling. And the bowl of Lindt truffles next to the computer doesn't help.

I will finish with a quote from one of my tweeps:

"Your Lifeforce is tangible albeit fleeting in the face of time. However, our immortality lies in the progression of sharing, not harboring."

And so I share with you whoever you are. Happy season of light and darkness, of winter and solstice. Cheers!

Happy Monday

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.

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.

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 .

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.

Time to get back to writing more than 140 characters

Twitter has taken over my writing time-but with a limited audience (@brophycat) and only 140 characters at a time-there is no real opportunity to spew forth lengthy commentary on life. And it has been a couple months, so now it's time to put it down on paper so I can start fresh. Maybe it' s the change of seasons? Or the lack of summer? But as inspired as I feel, I also feel drained...like I need a break. But there will be no break on paper, anyways, until November.

So here's what's happening, and here are the questions that have been hangin' out for a couple months:

Every day I commute to work and it is a lovely ride over the bridge, over the bay, heading North. As I listen to the traffic update, they give the same report every day: "There is a slight delay heading south over the bridge"...ummm no delay have I ever seen-not at 8am. Do you think it's a pre-recorded update? It's supposed to be a live update. Yesterday as I went through the tollbooth to get on the highway heading North-traffic was backed up to the booth and crawling.due to offramp construction. What do you think the live traffic update said? That' s right...'No travel delays this morning, looking good."

I want to have some control over my life at work..well I have control, but not the kind of technical control I would really like. I may need to stage a coup. But I do not want to be a tattletale. I have spent a year developing and nurturing relationships and some clear personalities have emerged. One negative, and stuck, the other positive and visionary, but hampered by the possibilities of his own dreams. I am at their mercy..for now...but as time goes on, I find myself taking over more and more of what they are supposed to be doing, yet my job description and pay remain the same-and will always remain the same.

Why is David Letterman being seen as an okay guy when he was a jackass...just because he's funny? I bet his wife doesn't think he's so funny...

Why does it seem like the days are shorter and I am busier..am I really busier or is it just taking me longer to do the things I need and want to do? Time to check out David Allen's GTD. What is that all about?
http://www.davidco.com/index.php

I went to Houston to visit my daughter ad it was lovely and warm and summery, that was nice, but what is with all the power lines? And what is the best local fish? We were at the coast and nobody knew...what do you order for fish in Houston? I think you don't..I think you order beef or barbecue-with a Shiner.

So Twitter has proven to be fun, economical, efficient, and engaging. I have met more Tech teachers and professionals that can motivate, inspire and share than I can handle-almost. I have finally returned to learning at least one new thing every day. Maybe it's all the new stuff-and the potential of technology in education that is making me crazy. I said to a friend on Facebook the other day- I wish I had a crystal ball. But I don't. All I can do is inspire teachers to be the best teachers they can be whether or not they have the most up to date technology and equipment. Technology makes it nicer and easier, but it really is about 21st century teaching...

So that' s what' s up with Twitter-it has ramped things up. I now have friends in England, Thailand, Australia, NY, Kentucky, Colorado, San Diego, Connecticut and Idaho. And a hundred other places. Like @geobart in Denmark. It has also taken time away form writing more than 140 characters at a time.

I feel better now that I have fessed up and put it down on virtual paper. Time to head to work now-through the bottle necked toll booth and across the bridge where there is no delay. Maybe I will take an alternate route.

August Adventures

I am sitting in a hotel room two thirds of the way through a Microsoft Teacher Education 3 day workshop. So far I give the experience a B. It is kinda cool hanging out on the 6th floor of the Microsoft training facility-all green and orange and red-I promise to take a picture of the server room before I leave- So far the best part of the workshop has been connecting with the head of education marketing (well, he's probably not the head of marketing-but he is in the marketing department.)

It is a small group of teachers form Maine, Massachusetts and NH-and every one of us is committed to helping other teachers discover ways to engage students and using technology to do it.

Some observations. It is really quiet-carpeted hallways, dimly lit, lined with classrooms filled with laptops. The sign is obscure-tiny letters, no real signage once you enter the building, except for standing signs directing us to the West Elevators.

Laptops have been rented and images loaded-tech support has been contracted-a young man sits at his laptop, bored to tears, waiting for something to break. The Internet connection has been slow and there have been some server issues (but it looks so nice behind the glass wall!)

There has been interesting conversation-differences of opinion-different ways of doing business. The Microsoft teacher trainers have been engaging, interested and sincere in their desire to make things better for teachers. But they have a long way to go. Microsoft is no longer the Prom Queen. They are not the Yankees. They are not Goliath any more-and it is increasingly obvious they face stiff competition from all sides. But competition is good for everyone, and we are hoping it will be good for education.

We can only hope. Tomorrow we spend the morning creating an action plan-for the future. How will we use what we learned to impact education for kids? My thoughts were reinforced once again-that it is not about the technology-it is about the teaching. Great technology is not going to make great teaching. But great teaching will be impacted exponentially by the use of great technology. But in order to be great-it must be easy to access, easy to use, and able to be seamlessly integrated into those great lessons.