Thursday, June 5, 2014

"In Summerrrrr"




This year has been quite a wild ride! As a new blogger, I have infinite amounts of admiration for all those out there who relentlessly keep up their blog post throughout the school year. It's definitely something I will have to work on more next school year. Now that school is out for the summer, I am finally beginning the decompression process as well as reflecting on the year. As I complete my fourth year of teaching, here are just of few of the things that I will take with me into future years of teaching. These are things that would never have been possible without the inspiration and support of those awesome educators who I have been privileged enough to add to my professional learning network.

1. Taking the plunge to become digital in record keeping- I was inspired after listening to Cathy Mere and Karen Terlecky present with a group of brilliant women at NCTE in November. I started using Evernote to record anecdotal notes of student conferences. I loved the ease of use and being able to access my notes anywhere. It helped me keep track of student goals and growth throughout the year. I look forward to using it from the get go next school year.

2. Exploring ways to embed digital literacy in my classroom- With the educational field ever changing, it can be overwhelming to keep up with the changes.  I jumped in to using quite a few different ways for students to share their learning using technology this year.  I only brushed the surface of digital literacy this year, but I feel that that has given me enough of a background to make me feel more comfortable with the idea of embedding in my future classrooms.

3. Becoming more comfortable on Twitter- For the longest time, I was a Twitter stalker. I loved to follow educators I admired from afar, but did not feel comfortable putting my own thoughts out into the "twittersphere" or connecting with others I did not personally know. This year, I have made a point of being more active on Twitter (May excluded ;) ). This in turn helped me to find a voice to start a blog, one which I hope to update more frequently "innnn summmeerrrrr"! :)


So, what new learning will you take with you into future years of teaching? Please share!




1 comment:

  1. Katie,
    I'm a little disappointed to find my comment isn't here. When will I learn not to comment from iPad through Twitter? I read this shortly after you tweeted the link weeks ago. I came back on my commenting journey and see the comment didn't make it through.

    You amaze me with your spirit and enthusiasm for what you do. It's contagious! I hope you know you've inspired me every time we've been in the same room.

    This thinking, "here are just of few of the things that I will take with me into future years of teaching," is sometime I try to do at the end of each year. In the busyness of my daughter's graduation, packing a room, and finishing end of year work, I haven't taken the time for this reflection. Thanks for the reminder.

    I'm glad you have found Evernote useful. As I switch positions next year into primary reading intervention, I'm trying to decide if I should live in Google or Evernote. I want teachers to be able to view my notes quickly. You know I love Evernote.

    Cathy

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