Floundering in the Sandbox

Picture a fish out of water- flapping around, trying to survive, gasping for air.

That's me. Well, at least, that's how I feel some days. When it comes to technology. Truth.  

So I don't like that feeling. Not at all. And, to help solve that~ I've decided to be a risk taker this year. (Well- as risky as I'll be.)  During a snow day, I participated in #ncsnowchat and saw a posting about this crazy thing called a MOOC_Ed class offered through the Friday Institute. I researched and found there was an offering on Coaching Digital Learning. Next thing I knew, I'd signed myself up. Little did I know it would help me develop in ways I couldn't imagine. I read, participated in discussions via board postings, and a Twitter Chat. While I know I don't have the answers to everything,  I have so much more information than 6 weeks ago! 

Add to that: NCTIES. 2.5 days of technology integration heaven. I learned about Minecraft Edu and Doink. Attended workshops on Google Classroom, Blended Learning, differentiated literacy lessons via the iPad, developing professional development, and plugging into the wired generation. What lessons did I hear over and over: take risks, try, it's ok to fail. 

Enter this week: Floundering in the Sandbox. It's my take on a PD offering for my staff. Teachers sign up for sessions to learn what they want to learn. That's where the Sandbox comes in: they pick and play. We do face-to-face and have a Google classroom where we share our ideas, implementations, and reflections. We discuss what is technology? And we will discuss: SAMR, TPACK, digital citizenship, and how we move forward in integration. 

Floundering? That's me. The fish out of water. Taking the risk. Jumping out and trying something new. The cool thing? I'm not worried about dying in the Sandbox. See, we're all just fish out of water trying to find our way. Together.