4 QUICK & EASY Tips to Tech-Up Your Teaching

As the summer is quickly coming to an end and emails from my principal are beginning to make their daily appearance in my inbox,  I got to thinking of ways to help newly hired staff get in the 'KNOW' as quickly as possible.

Rather than send out another email that might not see the light of day, I am posting my 4 QUICK & EASY Tips to Tech-Up Your Teaching right here in hopes of reaching beyond the confines of my own school, district, city and state.   

Get on the road to becoming a connected educator:

4 quick and easy tips

1. Sign up for Twitter  (if you already have an account, let me know and I will follow you. You can create a professional one for work if you prefer not to use a current one. 
2. Sign up for a Livebinders account 
3. Sign up or update your linkedin account
4. Sign up and create your own Symbaloo webmix and share with people on your campus

"Tech Up Your Teaching" and becoming a connected educator doesn't mean you all have to be the techEteacher on your campus.  It just means that you help yourself by reaching out and making connections one step at a time. 

 We need to get on the top of our game

Administrators  and coaches are not excluded.  Anyone in a position of leadership on school campus or district office MUST be examples for all staff.  They are mentors and should be a resource for newbie teachers and not so newbie teachers needing guidance in this highly competitive educational market.

With so many educational options out there for parents (online, charter, parochial, home school,) we in the public schools need to get on the top of our game if we want to stay in business. So you are asking what can you do? Here are my suggestions:

• Use resources when you are given them
• Build upon your own Personal Learning Network (PLN) to better expand your knowledge base
• Implement one new idea you have learned from your exploration

I know what you're thinking

Saying that you don't do technology, that it is not in your job description or that there is just too much to learn is not an acceptable excuse!

When handed a device like an iPod or clicker, a student doesn't say, "I can't use this, I haven't had any PD on it!" They jump in and figure it out.  

Let's learn from our students and not be paralyzed or afraid of failure. So long as you make an effort, there is no failure in life.   

Suggested Reading Assignment

Not long ago on Twitter, I was asked by @snbeach of 21 Century Collabrative to contribute to to her Connected Learner Manifesto by simply adding my own thoughts on connected learning. Here is what I said:

I believe that the educational journey of my students and the people they become as a result must be enhanced with the right tools, be it a pencil, a ruler or an iPad. The journey must help them be better prepared for tomorrow's world. @techeteacher 

So here it is in a nutshell...  

Your journey of life long learning ends when you are dead so get out there and make a difference until then.