A Day in the Life

I was tagged by Todd Williamson for the “Seven Things” meme. I have been stewing about it for several days now. Hopefully, by the time I finish this post, there will still be people I know who haven’t been tagged for it! So here are seven things about me. I will let you decide if they are things you need to know, or not!

1. I am a true geek (or is it a nerd?). I graduated from college with 32 credits in Computer Science and have been writing code ever since (over 30 years). The first programs I wrote were punched into paper tape at a terminal. Then I carried the tape over to the HP reader and prayed that the program was created properly. Otherwise, it was back to the terminal to re-type.  Sometimes I am absolutely amazed when I think about how far technology has evolved since I began! My favorite thing to do is to find new software programs and figure out they work, how they work and who I can share what I found with.

2. I am passionate about using technology to improve the educational experience, at ALL levels. Since I started teaching 4 years ago, I have tried to expand my sphere of influence in education. I began as a Technology and Computer Literacy teacher working with about 150 students each year. I am now working as a Technology Facilitator in a much larger district. I don’t teach students each day; I teach teachers how to use technology in their classrooms. Sometimes I get to be in the classrooms, but not often enough. I have also presented at statewide conferences and done professional development for other school districts. Hopefully each teacher I work with takes what they have learned back to their schools and classrooms and more students will get to benefit from what the teachers have learned.

3. Teaching is my second career, but I don’t think it will be my last. I love teaching, but feel as though the decision to become a teacher so late in life was incredibly selfish. It has created a financial hardship for my family due to decreased compensation and increased student loans. My son will be entering high school next year, and I feel increased financial pressure when I think about the cost of sending him (and his little sister) to the type of college they deserve to go to.

4. I hate clutter. Anyone who has been to my house will be surprised to hear this. Unfortunately, I share my home with my husband and 2 children and they don’t feel the same way.

5. I have trouble saying “no,” especially when it relates to my kids’ activities. I volunteer a lot. I am a leader for my daughter’s Girl Scout troop and a merit badge counselor for my son’s Boy Scout troop. I have had lots of other outside activities; Building Leadership Team at my kids’ elementary school; religious school teacher, religious school board member.

6.  1. I have been to all 48 states in the Continental United States. When I was growing up my family used to travel in a camper that my father built. I guess I got the travel bug from my dad. After I graduated college I had a series of jobs where I traveled a lot. At first I was a traveling auditor, then I went to work for Deloitte and Touche as a security and software consultant. As a result, I had the opportunity to travel all over the country again, but as an adult (on an expense account) it was a whole lot more fun! I have been to places like Flowery Branch, Georgia, Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee, Huntsville, Alabama, and Jackson, Mississippi. I can honestly say that every place I have been has something worthwhile to offer a visitor. One of the things I miss the most about my “past work life” is the fact that I don’t travel anymore!

7. I am a social networking addict. I feel terribly disconnected when I don’t have access to my Personal (or Professional) Learning Network. I am on Twitter, Plurk, and Facebook.

Whew! Glad I am done. Now I am tagging:

Rob Freedman

Elaine Plybon

Eric Danley

Joe Parajecki

Chan Bliss

John Pederson

Steve Dembo

Jackie B

I was hired as a technology facilitator. That means I should be spending my time helping teachers integrate technology into their curriculum. Sometimes that requires training teachers how to set up their default printer, sometimes it requires revising the school website so it is easier to navigate for parents, teachers and students. I know eventually I will get to do more of the “fun stuff;” showing teachers how to find appropriate sources of information for a lesson or a unit, bringing a cart of laptops into a classroom and co-teaching a lesson on a new Web 2.0 tool, even helping a teacher create a classroom set of blogs for their students. But, as we enter the third full week of school, I find myself preoccupied with something that I really wasn’t hired to do. Yes, administering the NWEA test is part of my job description, but it is supposed to be a very small part. Unfortunately, for the last 3 weeks, it has been an overwhelming part. Don’t get me wrong, I am not unhappy with my job. I think I have the best job in the world. But if I find testing taking me away from what I am “supposed” to be doing, I can only imagine how disruptive this testing is for the classroom teachers.

It’s been a long time since I have blogged anything longer than 140 characters at a time. My old blog died on the vine a few months after I signed up for Twitter about 2 years ago. Microblogging was more satisfying for me. It allowed me to toss snarky, sarcastic comments into the air easily. I would get more replies from my tweets or plurks than I would get comments on my blog. Not that getting comments on my blog was the motivation for my blogging in the first place. My initial motivation was to use the blog for reflection. But I found I really liked the feedback and discussion that was taking place in the microblogosphere (is that even a word?)

So why start a new blog now? I recently started yet another school year; this time as a Technology Facilitator in a Middle School in a fairly affluent school district in the north suburbs of Chicago. It seems like a good time to start another conversation about education, technology, and how we can educate EVERY child in a manner that will make them productive members of our democratic society. But please, this is a conversation. That means I need you to be a part of it.