I made it!

The end of the semester is her. I have one more final tomorrow, but it's just a presentation of a unit I created so I'm pretty much golden. I don't think a semester has ever flown by as fast as this one. I am fairly certain I have never worked this hard or cared as much about the quality of work I have done, and I KNOW that I have never learned more than I have this semester. I learned about myself, my students, teaching, english, writing writing, all kinds of awesome stuff. One of the things I was not expecting an education in was this... technology. For those who know me, you know I'm not the most tech savvy guy. So when I learned I'd have class centered on its incorporation in the classroom I was less than thrilled. I had read plenty about people using it successfully in the classroom and I had seen it's rewards in Philly, but I assumed it worked for "those" teachers and I could get around it. As alway my own ignorance and stubbornness threatened my learning and growth.

As the semester went on I saw first hand the benefits of technology; both for me and my students. Each student in PDS recieved an Ipad which were to use for professional growth. We used it mostly for blogging but we were also required to film ourselves teaching and post it with a reflection for ourselves and peers. I was required to keep a blog for my students, as well as interact on a blog for my peers. I really found this useful and started this blog as a way to reflect further and share my experiences. Technology really is a gift and a tool we can give to our students. Ignoring it would be as foolish as not talking about the current occupy wallstreet movement in a government class. This is current and a huge aspect of our kids life. Theres all kinds of exciting stuff out there that our kids can do, and for me to push that aside because I'm not that great with it is selfish.

So here's a sneak peek at my new years resolution: I want to be more active, professional and responsible with my technology. I'm going to blog and tweet daily and I'm deleting my facebook and replacing it with a more professional profile. Over break I'm going to working feverishly on my unit plans. I'll keep everyone updated with my progress and maybe try some things out on you. Anyway I made it; it's awesome to know that this is just the beginning!

PS
I know you all have heard me mention my co-op from Philly. He recently did something really awesome for me and featured me on his blog in hopes that he and his community of teachers could assist me. Here's a link to see his blog and a video of him so you get a sense og who he is and why he has such an impact on me. I'm really blessed to have him as a mentor, thanks a lot Chase!

http://autodizactic.com/blog/?p=1651

Some Inspirational Stuff from me to you

As alway, the week before finals week is chaos. I have soooo soooo much going on, and not a lot of time to do it. But I don't want to leave you guys hanging because I know it has already been over a week. So here's some stuff that gets me through stress.

You Reading This, Be Ready

Starting here, what do you want to remember?
How sunlight creeps along a shining floor?
What scent of old wood hovers, what softened
sound from outside fills the air?

Will you ever bring a better gift for the world
than the breathing respect that you carry
wherever you go right now? Are you waiting
for time to show you some better thoughts?

When you turn around, starting here, lift this
new glimpse that you found; carry into evening
all that you want from this day. This interval you spent
reading or hearing this, keep it for life -

What can anyone give you greater than now,
starting here, right in this room, when you turn around?
~ William Stafford ~
This is a really awesome story some of you may know, if you don't I'd encourage you to watch it.


Again some of you may know this, but this for me is really just the video on how to live