We are almost at the end of Connected Educator month and I have not yet recieved a single greeting card wishing me happy connections, so if this month was created by the greeting card industry, I think they missed the mark.
Last year I remember thinking, "Connected Educator month? I am working everyday to be more connected and to integrate tech into my class. How is this month different?" I don't think it is different. This month teacher are working just as hard to be engaging and stay relevant as last month. Everyday more teachers make the decision to "figure out tech," and everyday teachers in the online teaching community put their best ideas and greatest challenges out for other to read and watch.
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One of the trickiest pieces of tech integration is keeping yourself in the game and knowing when to pull back. One of the teachers I work with (sometimes I say my teachers because I really feel like we are all a team) was asking about how she could use tech more effectively for a game show she hosts between students and parents. She calls it "Are You Smarter Than a Second Grader." She showed me the Prezi she built last year and explained it took forever to set up, she asked if I knew an easier solution. I told her about my experience with Jeopardy Powerpoint Templates. As we discussed how these are set up and how they work the teacher realized that this new set up would create issues about when students would read their questions and how questions would be picked.
We talked about how the questions are written and shared and I asked the teacher to show me the Prezi she used last year. As she was showing me the slides, I asked her what didn't work. The biggest issue with the Prezi was how long it took to set up. As we were talking it became clear that using the ppt or any other template would require serious setup time. In the end I suggested she edit last year's prezi to include this year's students and questions in order to get some more value out of the time she had already put into the project last year.
Mindful tech integration takes time and it can feel like we aren't doing enough if there isn't something new in every lesson. I support keeping teaching current, and lessons fresh. I also support keeping teachers going and working smart when we can. Don't be afraid to make the right choice for yourself and your class, even if that means that today you are not innovating your tech use. (There is always tomorrow).
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