Back at it with Brock

So I am taking another AQ course with Brock....this time tech integration part three. It seems no matter what I thought I had learnt, I am faced with new and challenging things just to get started with the new course. To add to the pressure, my LTO has been extended past the start date of the course and I have taken on the Scholars after school program for Grade Three students this spring.  Of course, if I hadn't registered for the AQ course or for Scholars, my LTO would probably not have been extended. So much for an relaxing spring!

This is my seventh year in education, and yes, I am still on OT.  That is partially due to my lousy interview skills, but mostly due to the fact that I have been able to work in a number of long term placements close to my home.  Working in or close to my home community has always been important to me for a number of reasons.  The main reason is my family, as well as the personal logic that I would rather spend time with them, or learning and programming for my students, than driving on a highway for an hour.

Teaching has been a way of life for me, although as a profession it came later in life.  After staying home to raise my two boys for many years, and volunteering at the local schools, I decided it was time to try something new.  With the encouragement of the principal and staff at my sons' school I took a huge leap of faith and applied to Teachers' College.  I was accepted to Charles Sturt's Burlington campus and started the journey to becoming a professional educator the year I turned 40.  On the syllabus were a few texts and a set of laptop requirements.  At that point in my life I barely knew how to check my own email. Who says, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks"?

As I embark on yet another learning experience, I hope to be able to more actively apply my learning than I have with prior computer and technology courses.  I have gone from schools without wifi, to one with a Smartboard in every room, back to a classroom with two netbooks and a handful of iPad shared between all the classes.  So far, this next venture into integrating technology in the classroom has actually had me thinking about philosophy, pedagogy and mastery in conjunction with the realm of possibilities that stem from the technology more than its actual usage.  There are so many questions to consider in regards to implementing 21th Century teaching and learning. ..and the answers are continually evolving.