Playdate

I'm still not a blogger, but every once in awhile I need to get my thoughts out to share with my colleagues and just get them out of myself.  I attended my first Playdate yesterday and this is my first blog since I've been on Twitter for awhile now.  At Playdate I gained new Twitter followers and I actually met some people that I've been following on Twitter!  It was so much fun.  My Stop Comparing! title that I had forgotten about is even more appropriate.  Even though many people at the Playdate are much more advanced in their knowledge and use of technology, comparing myself to them would do me no good.  And they did not treat me as if I didn't belong.  I was even a facilitator (at the prodding of my Tech. Coordinator) and made it through that experience learning what to do better next time and happy that I took the chance and happy that the participants got some ideas and added to the discussion. 

My main goal in this blog post is to encourage my Joliet colleagues to realize that wherever they are in technology, they need to stop comparing, stop feeling stupid, stop feeling pressured.  Nobody is pressuring them.  The pressure is self-imposed.  The pressure is imposed by the changing world, not by their peers or their bosses.  When we embrace the technology and the fun and the technology when it makes sense, we will stop feeling stupid and stop feeling pressured.  The Playdate was teachers sharing with teachers--nothing more, nothing less.  I really hope that we can start to do some things like this in Joliet.  We are having "tracks" at our February SIP day. I hope that can be the start of teachers sharing with teachers.  I know the Technology department is passionate about helping us and helping us to help each other.  I really want to be a part of that movement and I know there are teachers out there doing fantastic things and I want to learn from you.  Please consider sharing and not comparing. 

STRESS!

Yes, we live in a stressful world and in stressful times.  But so much stress is self-imposed by comparing ourselves to others.  As an introvert, I have my share of insecurities, but somehow I think my introversion has helped me develop an inner confidence not to worry that I won't be able to measure up to other teachers' extroverted ways because I know I never will.  So I've always adapted and changed things to make them fit my ways and I've created my own style.  I think that might help people in today's technology world where there are people stressed out about not using technology the "right" way and feeling insecure that others are using it "better" than they are. Or feeling that they "should" be doing certain things.  We need to develop our own style!  If we just do things the way others do them, it's boring and it's inauthentic.  Our personalities get lost and we lose our enthusiasm and the students will feel that.  We need to find things that we are enthusiastic about and that will translate to our students.  We've heard it a million times--The technology is a tool.  If we don't have need for the tool or it doesn't help us with our task, it's useless.  We need the feeling of "Isn't this so cool?" to go along with what the tool can do!   Don't pick an activity or a project, just to do it.  Pick an activity or a project that makes YOU say, "This is so cool!"  Not because your colleague says, "This is so cool!"  If your colleague says, "This is so cool," then it's the perfect activity for your colleague, not you.  Be excited for him/her!  If we give our students the opportunity to do a project and they know a technology tool that we don't know, let them use it.  Tell them how cool that is.  Don't be worried that you don't know it.  Show enthusiasm that you are learning from them.  Who cares that you don't know it?  People who are really into technology are never afraid to say they don't know about sites or tools.  You can never know about everything that's out there.  People who love technology are excited to hear about a site or tool they've never heard about before; they don't feel inadequate or insecure because they've never heard of it. 

I'm not a blogger.  I'm too thin-skinned for it. LOL  But I wanted to get this out there for some of my good friends in the teaching world who are such great teachers and way too stressed about technology and who have lost some of the joy of teaching by comparing themselves to others. Please find the joy again and find YOUR strengths and your enthusiasm and focus on that and your students will benefit from your wonderful personalities and strengths and you will be so much happier and you will naturally find the technology that suits you!

P.S.  Technology/Pinterest!  has helped me think of and create some of my cutest and most fun no-tech games and activities for class!