Jacob Reflections

Yesterday afternoon I was on my way out of the school building after a usual hectic day.  The high school cheerleaders were sitting on the hallway floor and one of them called me over “just to say hello.” I exchanged simple “hello’s” and smiles to the girls, not expecting much more of a conversation. That’s where I discovered the profound yearning for learning that lies with each student.

One of the girls said that the German teacher was talking about their project in December. (This project is one I am working collaboratively with the German teacher on taking the students on a journey in Second Life. We will arrange meetings with other students across the world and all meet in one location in Second Life to explore and engage in German conversation. My hypothesis is that the students will be more likely to engage in conversation as an avatar, as opposed to real life conversation.) This student said she was so excited to learn about Second Life and to explore the virtual museum. She then began to discuss with the other girls what a “cool” learning experience it was going to be. I then discussed with the girls the basics of Second Life and how we can use it educationally.

The conversation lasted for twenty minutes, each girl talking about how “cool” it would be and how they could use it in their different classes. They all wrote down ideas independently (without my prompt) and they wrote notes on Second Life. This started as a casual conversation, but ended up as a learning opportunity for all! I was amazed at the intense desire coming from these students. They want to learn. They want to be engaged. They want to take control of their own learning.

As an educator, this was valuable insight for me. I realize that the inspiration sometimes must come from me to engage the students. I realize that I must apply the learning to the students. The girls sitting on the floor were not “over achievers” in academics, but one could see a yearning to learn new things. As a coach, I must engage my own teachers to engage the students. Sometimes the age gap can influence learning motives.  Our students are motivated through the use of technology- not all of them, I must add! Some of our students are very nervous around technology and I must not overwhelm them initially. It was an encouraging experience and I hope to engage students through technology with my CFF teachers.

In between my many goal setting meetings this week, I stumbled upon the Centre for Learning and Performances site c/o the great Victoria Davis (Cool Cat Teacher Blog). This site lists the top 100 tools for e-learning. I decided to take a glance for the top twenty (just to make sure I was keeping up!). Take a glance…

TOP 20
Key to availability: D=download; H=hosted; C=insert code onto page

I then decided that this list would be an excellent example of sites and programs my CFF teachers need to be made aware of. Why not set a goal this year to teach these twenty sites/applications? Well, as of this posting, I am making this one of my goals for the year- teach the teachers how these sites/applications can be used effectively in education.  The teachers do not realize that vast array of applications and sites available to make life interesting, interactive and engaging.

Yesterday was my first official day as a CFF Coach in my building. While hectic, I was able to quickly organize my office (Wires, wires everywhere!), send mass emails to the new CFF teachers, and make necessary announcements at the faculty meeting. Many of these experiences are firsts for me, so needless to say, I was nervous and on edge the entire day. I have a variety of goals for this experience: First, I want to be in the classroom as much as possible. Although this little office is nice, I want to be “out there” in the firing lanes with my fellow colleagues and provide them all the support I can. I also want to design my instruction and lessons for each teacher so that they are all unique. I feel that unique lessons will empower the teachers and provide them ample positive feedback from the students- my easy way of encouragement! I also want to assist the other teachers in the building and design lessons with them in a collaborative way.  I do not want the other teachers to think I am just here for the 16 CFF teachers. I am here to improve educational technology for the entire high school.

As I reflect on yesterday, I thought my life would be less hectic in an office, but it is, in fact, more hectic. You do not have the scheduled bells to drive your instruction, yet in the back of your mind you must know them because you scheduled times according to “periods” to meet with teachers. I find myself resorting to a bell schedule more and more- I hope I get used to it! One of my goals in becoming an administrator was to impact more students in a positive manner. While I am no where near being an administrator, I do hope that the CFF coaching position will impact more students, compared to the classroom of students I had.

I do miss the classroom, and I feel awful that my students are upset I left. I hope that this experience will make a positive impact on the lives of all the students in the high school. I guess time will tell, and as for now- I have much time to make improvements!