A Post From the Bleachers

This week my post comes from the bleachers as I’m on my weekly lunch duty assignment.

One of the things I love about our middle school is the freedom the students have during their lunch.  They have multiple areas, all outdoors, where they can purchase and enjoy their lunch, and they are free to hit the library for some quiet or the field to burn off some energy.  Its some kind of controlled chaos or sure as there are usually multiple balls and teams on the field at once, but somehow they manage to make it work.

Its been a good week in the world of technology coaching. The focus right now has been primarily on our Google Certified Educator initiative which seems to be going pretty well so far.  I actually just sent out a survey today to get a little feedback from the staff so more on that later.  (I do love the real time results you get from Google Forms)I’ve averaged about 20 participants a week over the three week period.  Not terrible, but not great.  That means I’m only reaching about 25% of our staff directly, but I’m counting this as a blended learning model as teachers have the option of coming to my sessions, working directly through the Google Training Center, using the resources I’m creating along the way or some combination of both.  I also figure this 25% means I’m hitting that middle group between the early adopters and the ‘not gonna do its’.  

I’ve gone back to reading the Art of Coaching as I try to build my skill set and develop this job.  It feels like a good place to start.  I’m also contemplating a go at ISTE’s Coaching Academy series.  I had hoped to start it with the beginning of the new year, but in the midst of running Google Training, the usual start of the year stuff and planning a couple of workshops for AISA’s conference in October, I’m thinking it will have to wait.  For now I’m relying on my Twitter friends, personal experience and reading for my professional development.

Alright, lunch is over and its time to get back at it.