RE●FLEC●TION (n)
6: a thought, idea, or opinion formed or remark made as a result of meditation.
MED●I●TA●TION (n)
: the act or process of spending time in quiet thought.
(Source- Webster Dictionary)
I took some time on one of my many snow days recently to meditate on where I started as a Digital Promise coach. While I was meditating I began writing out my challenges from the beginning to now, my victories, my lessons learned, and finally my current needs and concerns, which all help me see my action steps. By meditating on these challenges, victories, lessons learned, and needs and concerns, I was able to form a reflection on where I was, where I am, and where I am going.
“Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome.” -Arthur Ashe
My Challenges:
- I didn’t even know what Google Drive, Google Docs, etc. was in the beginning.
- I have never participated in an online meeting before, let alone a Google Hangout. I always wondered about half the apps on my android phone. In the beginning very few of them were used.
- I had no idea the letters MDM stood for anything!
- It is February and students still do not have their tablets.
- Getting students and parents to complete the prerequisites before they are allowed to receive their tablet.
- It has been a challenge finding time to get into classrooms to assist teachers and students. A lot of my time is spent doing behind the scenes work.
- Our storyteller is having a difficult time collecting enough material to form a story.
- BLOGGING!
My Victories:
- I now use Google Drive, Docs, etc. for a majority of my work. Several teachers have even started using it. I am slowly beginning to see this turn into a necessity for everyone on staff.
- I no longer am clueless about Google Hangout. As a matter of fact, I had a Hangout with my husband on a business trip. I was introducing him to Hangout!
- Several of the unknown features on my cell phone and tablet are being used daily!
- I now not only know the meaning of the letters MDM, but I have enrolled all our devices into the MDM, and am becoming more familiar with the MDM portal.
- We implemented a soft rollout for teachers and students. Teachers have about 20 devices in their classroom. They have set-up charging stations and their own sign-in/out system.
- Our storyteller and I are beginning to email regularly and assist each other. We are feeling more like a team. We have planned a series of film editing classes on Fridays to slowly start to build a student tech team.
- I am slowly starting to blog, which is helping me slow down my thoughts and identify next steps.
My Needs and Concerns:
- The MDM is still not working properly. Only certain devices are reading the changes I make to it.
- I need to do a better job of meeting with teachers and getting into their classrooms to help them and assist students.
- Tablets are not rolled out yet. Students, parents, and administrators are getting impatient.
- Not enough students have completed the prerequisites. I would love to try to build back up enthusiasm by posting the student names on a wall so everyone will know who will be the first ones to receive their tablets as well as create a graffiti wall. I will do this once we have an official roll-out date set!
My Lessons Learned:
- I am slowly starting to blog. It does help me slow down and reflect. I would love to see teachers complete a victories, challenges, lessons learned, needs/concerns weekly to help them grow and slow down!
- Be a problem solver! If we want students to problem solve we need to model this skill.
- What was hard at the beginning eventually becomes easier. The journey includes triumphs, struggles, and obstacles. I have to take the good with the bad and trust that the destination will make the journey worthwhile.
