Days 15-16: Shifting

A lot of ideas/thought/philosophy for today's post comes from an earlier entry, Day3: Shift.  I suggest reading it (if you haven't already) to get a better idea of my thinking.

I had one of those adrenaline moments yesterday. Perhaps you know the feeling.  I was doing something I really enjoyed and I couldn't keep up with all the cool ideas my brain was throwing into the discussion.  It was a buzz of excitement and a "I love what I'm doing" moment.

October 2006

It happened working with our fabulous 5th grade teachers, Anitra Jensen and Joan Kyriopoulis.  Each year 5th graders from EBLS spend two and a half days at the Teton Science School in Kelly, Wyoming.  It is a fabulous experience discovering, exploring, and learning about the Grand Teton ecosystem.  I've gone in previous years.  (see the picture of my son, Thomas, and I )  I am lucky enough to go with the 5th grade this year with the challenge of using technology to improve the learning experience of the students.

This is where my adrenaline rush comes in.  In thinking about how to enhance the experience, Anitra, Joan and I had a really good conversation about... Teaching and Learning!!!!!  The focus wasn't technology, although we did throw some ideas around.  These wonderful ladies talked about what they wanted to see their student's get out of the experience.  They shared curriculum objectives and learning outcomes.  They talked about what was most important to them and what they felt was most important to their student's learning.

They made my life easy.  I can now go about my work looking for innovative uses of technology to enhance what is most important.  I can suggest technology that will not only be cool, but also effective.  I can tell them why doing (tech project A) is much more effective that (tech project B).  They are willing to trust me enough to shake their heads up and down in agreement even when they may not understand the nuts and bolts of what I'm talking about.

Thank you for putting learning first.  That helps the technology be sooooo much more effective.

P.S. On a side note...  my dissertation proposal was officially approved by the USU IRB.  I'm now off to gather some data and write a few pages (or more) of deep philosophical significance.  Topic: PARENTAL PERCEPTIONS OF THE INFLUENCE OF DIGITAL MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY ON STUDENT READING HABITS AT HOME.