Mentally and Physically exhausted. That is how I feel after I have experienced my first full week of being a TIS. Who knew my schedule would be more full then it was when I used to teach 13 music classes a day in the early 1990's. At least, I was in my 20's then. Today is the first day I really felt like I was getting the feel for being a TIS and wasn't really missing my old job. I am really ready to take on these tasks now. I am getting the rhythm of each building too. They are so different and need different things. I figure by next week the flow will be better. The lab will be in use and I can do some observing and collaborating. I think most people are all set up now and are ready to "get to busy" and start really integrating technology. I have some eager volunteers and plan to start working with them. After a couple days of rest, I will be eager to jump in and help them.
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I went to Hannan Jr/Sr High today. When I got there this morning, the principal came out to tell me students couldn't come in until 7:45. It is nice to think that on the school cameras I don't look like a 45 year old woman. Dr. Oldham then recognized me and said hello and welcomed me to the school. I tried to hook up my laptop or tablet but couldn't connect to the school wireless. I also don't have a login yet but they are working on it. I finally got smart after a frustrating start to my day and plugged into ethernet with my laptop and then I was finally online. There is no cell reception at Hannan except for some tiny spots. I went around and met several teachers and helped a few with problems with printers and Dbabble. I also showed several my website. In the afternoon, I compiled a list of the emails and made an address book. Then I emailed an introduction and shared the link to my website. I go back to Hannan on Monday. I had most of the students at Hannan when they were in elementary for music. Several were like what are you doing here? Some said "are you the same Mrs. Doyle." I said , "yes, the same one". It was kind of fun to see them so much bigger. I figure when I go back Monday, I will be swamped. Today I got to go to Beale Elementary. It is a really nice school ,but it is 10 miles north of Ashton Elementary. That is a pretty "far piece" as the locals would say. I got in about 7:30. Everyone there is very nice. This is only the second time I have been there. Anyway, I had a few notes in my box from people looking for assistance. We had a few people with internet problems and I forwarded technical problem emails to Dustin, our technician. Then I got a list of the staff and room numbers and set out to make an email list to make communicating with them easier. I had to do most of my morning mailing from my iPhone because I didn't have a login to the MCS domain. That is fixed now. Then I spent time with several teachers showing them how to get to my website. I helped the teacher who has really bad eyesight make her display larger. I gave out logins and passwords for people who needed them for WVEIS on the Web and Engrade. I even did a training for a 6th grade teacher on how to make a weebly website like mine. I was back and forth and up and down the halls all day. This job is going to keep my hopping. Then at the end of my day I drove 15 miles towards home and realized I forgot my purse. Had to go back and get it. So I got home really late. Still it is a good gig. Well I spent my first day with students at my home school of Ashton. Several of the students didn't realize I had changed jobs and were very sad to here I wasn't going to be their music teacher anymore. It is a little bittersweet watching someone else do "your job". I have been teaching there for 8 years, and teaching music for 23. Anyway, the internet was still down. It hasn't been working since Wednesday of last week. All my cool ideas for the first day of school down the drain. Time to punt and come up with a new plan. So our county technician showed up and worked on the server most of the morning. The Frontier technicians came about 11:45 while I was having lunch. I showed them where the fiber came in and went back to lunch. The router was bad and Frontier replaced it. Jerry cleaned out all the bad IP addresses and we were back in business by early afternoon. My day wasn't a total loss though. I got the computer schedule done and emailed it to everyone. I went around and showed several teachers how to make their cables work for the smart board. I taught a few teachers about their printers and showed the difference in USB and Serial Ports and taught them how to install their own printer. I also did a mini professional development for our 1st grade teacher on how to use the Intelliboard. She was very appreciative. I also shared my new website and distributed netbooks. I would say it was a successful first day. I ended up staying until 5:00 to take care of juggling items from one room to the other. I'm off to Beale for tomorrow for another day of fun Well it is the day before the students come and I am up early on a Sunday morning with so much on my mind. I worked really hard on this website last night and spent hours getting it started. I am required to make a teacher resource site for my TIS credential. I keep thinking of things to add. It even wormed its way into my dreams last night. I hope somebody besides me will use this site. Technology and Learning is the image I chose today because I think that education has changed more in the last 10 years then it did the 100 before that. Today I carry the entire world around in my pocket with my iPhone. I am also much more connected than I have ever been. I regularly get ideas from teachers all over the United States. With social learning sites like Edmodo, Twitter, and Pinterest the number of teachers I am now connected to was unimaginable just a few years ago. When I started teaching in 1989, I was put in a room by myself with some books and had to figure it out. It can be overwhelming at first but the connected community can really improve your instruction. Just sharing ideas and trying new things will change your teaching. Learning can now be everywhere, all the time. Take advantage of it and you will be doing yourself and your students a huge favor. To all my fellow teachers in the classrooms good luck with opening day and try some new technology and learning this year. My first few days as a TISWell, I was officially hired as a Technology Integration Specialist on July 31, 2012, but this was the week I actually started. Our first day we spent the day at Point Pleasant Jr/Sr High going over policies and meeting as a the TIS team. I am one of 4 TIS's in the county. I am the newest kid on the block. I feel like I am pretty tech savvy but am kind of overwhelmed with having three schools to serve. Thursday I went to Ashton, which is my home school. I have been the music teacher there for the last eight years. I have to say I feel a little homeless there, because the new music teacher has my room . I know I will miss my students. I really wanted to be a TIS, but it does feel weird not to be getting my room ready to teach music. I get to spend two days a week there but am a little sad to not see my usual coworkers every day. In some ways I think working at Ashton will be a big adjustment in others, it is like going home. Friday, I spent the first half of the day at Beale. I will be spending two days a week with them. I must say they were pretty welcoming and already had plenty of help that they needed. I had never spent any time at Beale Elementary and found it is a nice school. Also,they have really great technology stuff. Elaine Matheny, who was last year's TIS was very gracious to come down and help me out for awhile. My afternoon was spent at Hannan Jr/Sr High School. I met a few teachers there and even helped out several that were working with Technology for Back to School. The principal was at a meeting, so I haven't gotten to introduce myself yet. I have never worked out of elementary, so I feel I have the most to learn here, but only get to spend one day a week here. The students come Monday so I better get ready for the ride. |
Chrystalle DoyleI am a Technology Integration Specialist with the Mason County School System in WV. I work in 5 schools to provide embedded professional development and help teachers integrate technology into their teaching effectively. Archives
February 2018
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