June 19, 2013
What’s a Tech Teacher Do With Their Summer Off?
What I did on my summer vacation (click to see original)
UPDATE
Are you going on road trips? Are you playing with your children, seeing friends you forgot existed, or engaging in retail therapy, although you can actually learn Jason Linett’s advanced hypnotherapy course to help your students or start a business.
If I have time in between what I HAVE to do, I’ll join you. It might be a virtual trip, but we’ll make it happen.
Here’s what’s on my plate (so far) this summer of 2012:
- Attending ISTE 2012. It’s in my backyard this summer–San Diego.
- Attending training my school signed me up for on UbD, our new grading program (forgot the name), and robotics. One of the training sessions comes with a free lunch.
- Editing a K-6 technology curriculum and a keyboard book for Structured Learning (a great publisher of edtech resources for the classroom)
- Working on a tech thriller I hope to finish and get off to publishers. Of course it has lots of cutting edge technology in it and a quirky AI named Otto.
- Picking the brains of my two children. One works in cybercom for the Navy; the other the Signal Corps for the Army. Most of the stuff they can’t tell me, but I love hearing what they can.
- Working with tech teachers at my local school district on a technology curriculum for their K-6 classes.
- Presenting at several schools on tech ed topics. If you’re interested in working with me on that, please contact me at this link.
- Consulting with a Denver school district online to train their new tech teachers in what to teach in their computer labs next year.
- Getting back to my inquisitive, curious roots. I used to spend hours figuring out how to solve problems, find solutions, determine what made something tick. Now, I’m too busy. I can feel the rift in my spirit, my sapped energy, my fuzzy brain. This summer, I’m getting back to that. Here’s my promise:
For the next six weeks, when I see something techie I don’t understand, I’ll stop and ask the essential questions:
“How do you learn that?”
“How do you know that’s true?”
“How would you find out why?”
This sounds fun, doesn’t it? I know, computer geeks and their toys. Sometimes, I think we tech teachers picked our profession because we couldn’t stand the excitement of accounting. This summer, it’s more about the cerebral challenge, the mental mayhem I can cause if I figure everything out.
I’m ready.
What are you doing this summer? Can I join you?
Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-8 technology for 15 years. She is the editor of a K-8 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum, and creator of technology training books for how to integrate technology in education. She is webmaster for six blogs, CSG Master Teacher, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, Cisco guest blogger, a columnist for Examiner.com, featured blogger for Technology in Education, IMS tech expert, and a monthly contributor to TeachHUB. Currently, she’s editing a techno-thriller that should be out to publishers next summer. Contact Jacqui at her writing office or her tech lab, Ask a Tech Teacher.
