You Don't Have to Marry It!
Got Ed Tech Relationship Anxiety?
It's so easy to feel Ed Tech trend overload at the beginning of the school year. It's exhausting and can be overwhelming. Just remember, it's OK to date new technology, you don't have to marry it!
Use resources like Common Sense Media, PBS LearningMedia, Twinkl, Google Edu, or Flocabulary to add to your teaching toolkit.
Check out the latest journals and articles. Don't have time to read the latest? Check out the trending hashtags and conversations on Tik Tok, Twitter, and Instagram. Go to those platforms and search for #EdChat or #MiddleGrades or whatever hashtag your subject or grade level uses. Remember, a hashtag is just a search filter.
Consider each new classroom tech innovation or tool as a first date - simply "pilot" and "beta test" by trying it out on a small scale. Then, when you find one you like, you can go steady. Date a while. See how it goes.
When you're ready to commit, you'll know it!
Prenup optional.
Check out this classic post: Time and Tide Reflection.
Hey my longtime readers, don't know if you've heard, but I've left Murray Hill Middle School. After 30 years of teaching, I have now taken an early retirement to lend my expertise, Social Media following, and Ed Tech know-how as a Global Educational consultant and speaker. I'm looking for a challenging and FUN part time remote side hustle that will keep me energized and leverage my talents to help more people, educators, and kiddos! If you know of anything, or would like to talk to me, feel free to reach out at gwynethanne AT the Gmail Dot Com. Let's see if we can make something daring and fun happen!
Finally, if you're still stressed about the next school year -- my best advice
Don't stress, just can pick 1 thing! A week, a month, a school year....just 1 thing!
Once you do that one thing and feel good about it, add another. One at a time. Don't overwhelm yourself - that leads to crazy anxiety and burning out.
--------------Just starting out? Stop here!--------------
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LinkedIn - (Whatever you do, fill out the profile & add a picture! Be where your parents are, because you're a professional, too!)
Thank you for sharing this. As educators, we often attempt to reinvent the wheel and need reminders to slow down and trust ourselves. As our student’s lives change and things become bigger, faster and better, we feel the need to keep up. It is important to do everything in moderation. After running a one-to-one classroom where everything was online, I realized that the good ole reliable sites like you mentioned: Common Sense Media, PBS Learning Media, Twinkl, Google Edu, or Flocabulary were tried and true. I spent many hours, down the rabbit hole, always looking for the newest and greatest only to come back to the reliable and tested!
ReplyDeleteSo many things you say resonate with me and reading this helped to calm my nerves. YES! Twitter! YES! Share, share and share. YES! Just can pick 1 thing! A week, a month, a school year... just 1 thing! Technology is ever changing so my advice to my student teachers is the same as yours, chose one and learn it. If it doesn’t work move on. Thank you for the reminder!
Thank you so much Jenn for your comment and your kind words! I think we're all likely to fall into that "I gotta keep up mode!" OK...maybe not me today cause I'm retired! LOL But still, I like to be cutting edge. Tried and true and reliable are more important sometimes than the flashy & sometimes flukey! Best in everything for you! ~Gwyneth
DeleteI think this is a great way to bring the students together for a good online learning game. it is something I would bring into my classroom one day.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteI agree! I love finding new ways that I can bring technology into my classroom and thing is a great option!
DeleteI agree! I love finding new ways to bring online games into the classroom and this was a great option!
DeleteI really appreciate this post! It feels so overwhelming to even think about being an expert in all aspects of technology, especially since it is ever changing. Thank you for providing some very specific resources as a starting point. I also really appreciate that you mention just focusing on one thing. It's okay to feel like it is overwhelming, because it is! Just pick one thing, try it out, explore it and keep it or not! You don't have to marry it! Love it!
ReplyDeleteThanks :)
That's right! You don't have to be an expert in everything all at once! Impossible! Thank you so much for your comment! Stay in touch! ~Gwyneth
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ReplyDeleteThank you, Gwyneth! I read that and exhaled a sigh of relief. As I study to become a Teacher Librarian, I can see that I am not alone in my jitters about technology. It seems that many prospective TLs are (expectedly) very comfortable with the printed word, yet the word “technology” has us feeling like long-tailed cats in a room full of rocking chairs. Your approach has given me a fresh perspective. I can’t lie and say that I’m suddenly brimming with confidence but I’m feeling somewhat better about trying new platforms and tools. You released some of the pressure with your words of unleashing our “daring innovative change agent spirit”. You even took the time to point lost souls in the general direction of discovery by using hashtags as filters.
This one post of yours has been a huge resource and source of encouragement. Merci!
Oh Kappa, thank you for the kind comment! I'm so glad this has helped you! If you ever need me, please feel free to reach out and email. Best, ~Gwyneth
DeleteThank you so much for writing about the stressfulness of including technology into your library/classroom. It was nice to know I'm not alone.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you found it helpful, Anon!
DeleteThank you for writing this! I'm just starting to learn about Ed Tech, and it's helpful to know I don't have to know or implement everything at once! It also helps to think of technology as a tool, and not a subject that is being taught.
ReplyDeleteCheers for your comment & best of luck to you, Unkown - Anonon & passionate possible Grad student! Is this comment part of an assignment? If so, you get an A from me!
DeleteAs I am now going through schooling to become an educator, reading this article has been a huge help to remind myself that as I start teaching and as I move through my career, there will be a lot of different strategies to try out. Being able to try them all and figure out which ones suit me best is something that is awesome about teaching now, so thank you for the reminder to keep the anxiety down as these tools are going to come and go, but to keep the passion and everything will work itself out one way or another.
ReplyDeleteSo glad I could help! Anonon & passionate possible Grad student! Is this comment part of an assignment? If so, you get an A from me! ~Gwyneth
DeleteI think that it is so important to remember that just because we try something out, does not mean we have to stick with the program. It may advertise that it will work super well within the classroom, and after trying it, it may just not be the right thing for your students. Which is totally okay. Especially with how many different software programs that are out there, we can try as many as we feel comfortable with. I thought it was cool how you brought up how technology is always changing to, which I think means we should be ready to change with it. Just remembering back to 10 years ago, the technology we used was completely different than what we use today, and could be very different 10 years from now as well. This was a very interesting post to read, and definitely help my mindset on the subject!
ReplyDeleteYAY Ryla!!! A+ Comment! Thank you so much! I appreciate how you strived and published it after first leaving it as Anon! So glad I could help! Anonon & passionate possible Grad student! Is this comment part of an assignment? Cheers! ~Gwyneth
DeleteI love how encouraging this post is! Technology can be overwhelming, especially because it is ever-changing. This article is a good reminder that we owe it to our students to try new techniques and if it doesn't work, try something new! By starting slow with technology, you will be able to see the elements that work best for your classroom/ library.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
Thanks for your comment! Good luck to you! ~Gwyneth
DeleteThis was such an encouraging and mindful post. Loved how it showed technology doesn't have to be something we fear as teachers but seen as an opportunity to expand our creative juices and try new things in our teaching strategies.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Carson! I truly appreciate your positive feedback. ~Gwyneth
DeleteGreat Post
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for all your lovely comments! Sorry it's been a min...or a few months since I checked and weeded out the real comments from the SPAM. Good luck to you in your future journy in Education!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post. I think that as teachers we feel like we need to use all of the educational tools out there and we need to put them into our lesson right away. If we just focus on one and use it several times it will make it seem less scary and we will want to use more digital tools. I also think that it does take time to find the perfect tool to use, especially when you teach a variety of grade levels and abilities.
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting and helping future educators like myself
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