30 Days of Celebration: Day 13, Tech Week

Last week I co-directed a Technology and Writing Institute for a school district a few hours away.  Those of you who know me in real life are already laughing because I am anything but techie.  In fact when the NCWP director asked if I would be one of the three co-directors my response was something like "Uh, that sounds great, except for the technology part."  He assured me I'd be fine.  It was quite nice of him to lie to me like that.

I agreed, knowing full well I'd be the weakest leg of the tripod.  The other two directors are adept at weaving technology into curriculum, and more importantly, using technology to add meaning to the curriculum.  On a good day I can turn on my Interwrite board and make it talk to my computer.

But I said yes.  It wasn't easy because I knew full well that I wasn't nearly on par with my two co-directors.  This is the thing though, I believe that the best way to get better at something, at anything really, is to surround myself with people who are better at that thing than I am.  It's the reason I ride with people who are faster than I am.  It's the reason I prefer to work with teachers who are more experienced than I am.  It's the reason I said yes to helping with the technology training.  I knew I'd learn way more than I'd teach and it was an opportunity I couldn't pass up.

Sure enough, I spent the week learning how to use Word and PowerPoint together.  I learned how to use Little Bird Tales and Glogster.  And when I wasn't learning, I showed how I use Animoto in my classroom and I helped a teacher set up a class blog.  I worked hard, harder than I can remember working in a long time because each day after the inservice, I'd go back to my room and teach myself more about the things the other co-directors were sharing.

It was empowering to help others see new ways to use technology to bring subject matter to life.  It was empowering to be one of those teachers.  It was immensely rewarding to do something so far outside of my comfort zone.  I learned countless new things and spent a week with some wonderfully dedicated teachers.  And in my book that's something worth celebrating.