Skip to main content

We Had A Great Run!

In this new year, it is time to close the door on an inspiring journey with Amplify and begin a new chapter on our Personalized Learning journey.  And in the process... I have decided to redefine my blog to open the door of conversation to, not only just tablet talk, but also the world that is the life of a teacher.

But first....What went wrong?  To make this short and sweet....It was just too much, too soon.  With the amount of issues that shrouded us through the first year with the tablets, it seemed impossible to capture the same excitement, motivation, and zeal when redistributing the new tablets.  As a teacher, we were hammered with way too many changes and not enough direction; in other words, we were building the plane while flying it and metaphorically, you know what that ultimately leads to.  The worst of the debris was the awesome company tech. support people we lost in the process.  Incredibly talented, innovative people who became not only colleagues, but friends, now only a product of the crash.  We wish nothing but the best for them all!

It was amazing to be part of the process, and we have learned much from it, but it is time to regroup and move forward; learn from our mistakes and move towards what's best for our students.

The twinge of excitement is begging its way back in as I am learning more about the new device that will be purchased by GCS.  And with what I have heard....it just makes sense.

We may be able to recover after all!  Only time will tell.  Stay tuned to the "scoop" on what devices made the cut.  Time to move forward!!

Image result for learn from mistakes

Comments

  1. Nice reflection and transition to the next step in this journey.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

BOOT CAMP PANDEMONIUM

Let me start by saying, WOW!, what a day;  Excited students, teachers, administrators, staff, volunteers, and parents. Northwest Middle was hopping with the Tablet Buzz yesterday.  Sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students (700+) entered the gym and were greeted with smiling, happy faces.  It was a busy morning; everyone was exhilarated and filled with anticipation. All Smiles! Awesome Sixth Grade Teachers As students trickled in, teachers grabbed groups of 23 students, 3 boxes of tablets, and covers and headed off to their classrooms to begin BOOT CAMP. Before I go any further, I must digress and explain our school environment,  more specifically,  the 6th grade "village". Let me introduce you to our 6th grade "village": We reside in trailers, a huge pod of more than 12 "mobile units" connected by outdoor boardwalks and awnings.  We are backed by woods and close to a nearby farm that I have never seen, but have heard ...

Ode to Connectivity

Connectivity, Connectivity, Why are you such the irritating mystery? You thrash us to and fro, Knocking us out in vicious throws. By now, I thought you would discover, the needs - already uncovered. But instead we continue to wait, and wait, and wait, and wait, distribution seems way too late. We are bound by your limitations, will you be ready by Holiday Vacation? What is standing in your way; the mobiles, the server, the electronic highway. We need several miracles here to get this thing going, get it in gear!! As we wait, and wait, and wait, for Thursday  -  the magical date. Stress Test - Yes, it was! STAY TUNED!!! (Distribution to 6th Grade Thursday, September 12th)

Great Success is always Predicted to Fail

How many times am I going to hear this??? "The kids will break them, lose them, and they will get stolen." "In 2 years the tablets will be irrelevant and useless." "The tablets will not solve our educational problems." By the way, educational problems will never be solved.  (That should be in that quote with death and taxes.) Is is not just human nature to resist change?  Absolutely!  But, hey, is all this negativity really necessary?   History speaks amazing success of many innovations and ideas that were doubted and predicted to fail. What I see is a general lack of knowledge, written by a whole bunch of people that went to school, but yet, have never spent one day teaching school.  FYI:  It's real different now. I would like to hear from an actual student;   talking about how the tablets are not going to help them, or how the tablets are useless, or how the tablets will be irrelevant in their education in 2 years, then, I think I would...