You Don't Know What You Don't Know

On Wednesday, November 14, 2007, I was asked to do a 45 minute presentation at each of our elementary buildings. One building is (K-1) and the other 2 buildings are (2-5). As I sat at 11:00 p.m. Tuesday night preparing for the presentation, I really struggled. What do you show a group of elementary teachers in 45 minutes? I decided not to “teach” them a specific item, but instead to use the 45 minutes to give them a smorgasbord. My hope was that something would spark and idea. That they would be able take one of the items I showed them and connect it to their curriculum.

The first session at our K-1 building lasted an hour and 15 minutes. The teachers had lots of questions and were extremely interested in what I showed them.

The 2-5 building presentations also went over and they were extremely interested in what I had to share with them.

In all of the presentations it boiled down to the fact that we continue to expose our teachers to new technology, but we never provide time for them to actually put their hands on them. Or if we do provide them with the time, there is now follow through. As a result, I have made it my mission to make sure that when the district plans their summer workshops and next year’s in-service programs that the district provides these opportunities for teachers.

I have received lots of feedback from our elementary teachers. Many of them were glad they had the opportunity to see what is out there, and to know that my help was available for them if needed.

I believe the biggest impression was made at the K-1 building. I have 3 meetings tomorrow to discuss the integration of technology into projects, and this morning one of the Kindergarten teachers stopped me to let me know that she found a Thanksgiving cartoon on unitedstreaming that was perfect for her kindergarten students. While a unitedstreaming video may not be all that fantastic, 1 week ago, she didn’t even know that it existed. One step at a time…they want to use technology, they just need to know what is available and then how to use it.

When I get frustrated and have bad days…It is days like this that help me on my journey through education with technology.