As strange as it might seem, in just 3 days, I go back to work. As a School Based Technology Specialist, I am an 11 month employee and as always, my 1 month of summer vacation always goes by way too fast. Part of that is self inflicted- I love what I do so I fill my days with those activities even when I am not on contract. So before I go "back to work" officially, I wanted to take some time to reflect and grow for the upcoming school year,
In the past 4 weeks, I have grown a lot both personally and professionally. Not every venture that I have undertaken has been successful. Anytime that we venture outside of our comfort zone, there is a risk that it won't work out, but there is also that chance it will. Those things that "didn't work out" have taught me so much, about who I am and my WHY. Life is full of ups and downs and as we navigate those struggles and celebrations, we grow. In my book, TRANSFORM- Techy Notes to Make Learning Sticky, I share all of those ups and downs in my opening chapter. So if you have ups and downs, know that you are not alone.
Personal Reflect...
In the last four weeks, I have leveled up my fitness program and added healthier eating into my daily practice. The last four weeks, I have done strength training four days a week and steady state conditioning at least 2 days per week. I am finding that I am loving this practice. While I am working out, it clears my head and helps me focus. I have also started tracking my food again. Not every day is perfect, but I am living my life as a healthy and fit person every single day. In addition, I have gotten to enjoy time away with my husband to celebrate our anniversary, watch a show with my daughter, and so much more.
And Grow...
As I walked yesterday, it hit me. Yesterday, I hit my fastest walking pace yet. As I walked in the door, I texted Dawn, my fitness and health coach. " What do you think about me doing Couch to 5K on my steady cardio days?" She was immediately on board as we adjusted Month 3 of my program so that I could do 3 days a week of Couch to 5K and 3 days of strength training. I used to love running, but after a really hard half marathon in 2019, I lost interest and the added weight made running harder. I am excited to use this opportunity to grow in the coming month and if all goes well, I even identified a 5K to run in September as a goal.
Professional Reflect...
In the last four weeks, I have had some amazing opportunities to present, including my first job in Illinois presenting as TannenbaumTech LLC. It has been so much fun. I have gotten to present in Nebraska, Iowa, Alabama, and Tennessee virtually and was so honored to get to present two playgrounds at ISTE 21 LIVE! In addition, I helped to create a future Academy course on becoming a Common Sense Educator during Summer Curriculum Design work. This coming week, I close my summer with virtual presentations in Virginia, West Virginia, and Tennessee, while also presenting at FlipTech 2021.
And Grow...
What's ahead professionally? A busy summer as I help my school prepare for implementation of our new learning management system, Schoology and a successful start to our one to one as we go back to the building five days a week. In addition, I will be presenting at a few virtual conferences in the weeks to come: the WeVideo Creator Community Summit, EdChange Global, Flipgrid's PD Palooza, and BCS STEAM 2021. I have been working on leveling up my presentations so that they provide participants even more value. In addition, I am working on my next steps as TannenbaumTech LLC. With a weekly newsletter and Facebook group already in place, I am looking towards course creation as my next step.
As you get ready to wind your summer down (hopefully later than I do), what are you reflecting about and how do you plan to grow? Do you have personal and professional goals to reflect and grow on? What are your next steps to ensure that you are successful and thrive in the coming year? Take some time to reflect and grow like I did.
To #transform, we need to do that. If any of your goals involve best practices for using technology, please feel free to contact me. I would love to discuss how I could help you to do what fuels me every single day:
Empowering Educators to use Technology in Transformative ways to Amplify Student Learning.
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