You're just a guest

Last night, we had Jimmy Casas, principal of Bettendorf High School, as a guest on Dads in Ed. He was great, and I encourage you to check out the whole video recording or listen to the podcast (click here for iTunes). 
One thing he said really stuck with me as I tried to get to sleep after such a great discussion. While taking about being an administrator at Bettendorf High:

"The reality is that I recognize I'm just a guest in that community. You know, our time as leaders in different organizations will come and go, but we have a responsibility while we're there to continue to make sure that we do everything we can to maintain a sense of community and to bring that passion and to bring our best everyday to an organization. That's honestly our responsibility to make sure we are doing that, especially for our kids and to model that for our community." 

Click here to skip to that part of the show.

I hadn't ever thought of it like that, but it's so true. Think about the elementary school that you went to, or even the high school. Are you proud to say that you went there? Do you still associate yourself with it? How many of your teachers are still there? The building itself is still the life blood of the community, even though a number of those teachers are no longer there. I'd be willing to say that most, if not all, of my elementary teachers are no longer teaching at the school I attended. In my first five years of teaching, I had two different principals. In 12 years at my previous district, I went through three superintendents. Your school will still be there long after you move on, but will you make it better while entrusted in your care?

Redefining the Tech Fridge Purpose

Last week we shared Darren Draper's post referring to ed tech as a "breakfast buffet." In response to that, Kristine commented and a couple of friends asked in person if the Tech Fridge was a metaphor for that. I had to admit, when I started the Fridge just over a year ago (whoops, forget my blogaversary on July 22nd), the name came from a more "cheesy" way of thinking. We wanted to provide you with the "coolest" tech ideas. But Darren's post changed how we are thinking. In a soon-to-be-coming out letter to my district tech people, I told them that with ed tech being a breakfast buffet, they didn't need to be connoisseurs of everything, but should know where to look to find valuable "food" to bring back to their "table." And I think that's where we are going with the Fridge. The grocery store brings in many different types of food for you, but your fridge stores just what you need and want. That's what we hope to do here. We want to bring in only the ed tech that will be valuable to you. We may stand on a soapbox every now and then, but only when we have something we are passionate about. While there won't be a noticeable difference in how we do what we do, the management of the Tech Fridge is working to make sure that we do the research and don't waste your time.

So, as we start a new year, thanks to Kristine and Darren and the rest of our ever-growing readership (didn't think it was a word until spellcheck skipped over it), we hope that you will join the conversation so that we can effectively store the "coolest" ed tech ideas for you.

My Poor Cheerios - From the Soapbox

All in all, the Tech Fridge is pretty level, which, in fridge terms, is good. But even the Tech Fridge's alter ego, who has fingers to type out these lovely posts, doesn't get too worked up about many things, but every now and then...
As Alan Levine said (and many others, I know) the other day, someone peed in my cheerios this morning.
I was involved in a group conversation this morning in which we were told that teachers request each year for training in technology (raises hair on your neck when you hear it live) and that we really don't have time to do that because of the amount of curriculum training that we do (paraphrased).

I really feel that this phrase shows exactly what's wrong with so many districts who still hold technology as an "extra" and do not properly integrate it. If you want to use technology properly, it has to start with the curriculum and how the technology can enhance instruction.
It is mindset, I understand, but:

"If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change."
-Wayne Dyer

Get out of the rut. The longer you wait the farther behind your students get. Like a former high school coach once said, "Crap or get off the pot." Just not in my Cheerios.