Since September of 2010, there have been many changes in my personal and professional life.
Personally, I have been devoting less time to family. What I have attempted to do is add more quality tot he events so that I am not missing out and more importantly, my family is not missing me.
Professionally, I have been enrolled in a Master of Education program and this has led me down a path that it filled with doubt, indignation, progress and transcendence -- if I can be so bold. The doubt set in when I enrolled in a philosophy course; an area of study that I had no real desire to study or be in. the course was mental Olympics every Thursday night and while it did cause me concern with respect to preparedness and "sounding smart" I came to truly enjoy the class because it forced my brain to be used in less than pedantic ways. The other course I took that term was an early childhood education course and my professor was the best thing that could happen to a first year graduate student. She allowed for different opinions, corrected but did not dismiss and ensured that voices were heard.
My most challenging course was one which required a new set of skills to be fostered and implemented. It's the course which caused me great concern the first class, so much so, that I was prepared to drop it and the term. It deals (since it won't end until June 27th, it's pending) with technology in the classroom and how to make use of it. As a "sage on the stage" and "chalk and talk" teacher, it's difficult to make changes to routines that allow for 21st Century creativity. But I did.
To be fair, I use and expect Power Point presentations, I make use of www resources and know the difference between the internet and the www. What, you don't? I know about many of the programs and apps out there that would definitely help engage students, but time constraints, unfamiliarity and lack of classroom computers makes it a real challenge.
New tool number one: twitter based history presentation on WWI Trench warfare. Really, it can be done, but it requires a considerable amount of prep and 6 remarkable students to help administer it. I'll make a list in a future post. Based on student participation and the next day discussion, it was a success. Both they and I were quite surprised at how well it worked out.
New tool number two: a plethora of online accessibility tools that are designed to make www for all and not some. To make the www as inclusive as possible without diluting the material. From JAWS to WCAG, colour combinations to voice to text, I have grown a real interest in making things more accessible; not just online, but regular course work as well.
New tool number three: this blog. While it was started with the intent to be more arts centric, and it will be, don;t worry, I realise that it should be more. I can't maintain two or three blogs at the same time, so it'll be this one but it will have more than one particular focus. As this particular blog entry supports.
To conclude: I'll be in Italy this summer. I plan on treating it as a gift to perseverance and success. I plan to blog during the trip, as long as wifi holds in the Appenines.
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