My #OneWord for 2016

My "One Word" for 2015 was LET'S...and how prophetic and apropos it was! I've never felt so entrenched in collaborative efforts as I did in 2015. I've had the honor of having more amazing educators in my professional learning network than ever before. I've had more face to face opportunities with amazing educational technologist than ever before. I am no longer a lone wolf educator, I've embraced the power of others and the strength in learning and working together to meet the needs of my teachers and students that I support. "LET'S do this" was a great mantra for my year. Even when I wanted to be stand alone and prideful, I was put in my place and shown that there are times you just have to embrace help. The value of team and LET'S will always resonate in my 2015 memories.

Beta means precursor. So this year my "one word" is BETA. According to thefreedictionary.com the definition of beta is based on this:  "beta version - Alpha version describes a development status that usually means the first complete version of a program or application, which is most likely unstable, but is useful to show what the product will do to, usually, a selected group—and is alsocalled preview version; the beta version is usually the last version before wide release, often tested by users under real-world conditions."  I love innovation. I love trying things that have the possibility to change education for the better. I love being a risk taker. I love learning, adapting, trying, adjusting, all to make educational opportunities better. 

"Better" is a vague term that might mean more fun, more challenging, more engaging, more cost efficient, more dynamic, or maybe more EFFECTIVE. Regardless of what "better" happens within my year, I want to live 2016 in BETA format. Allowing myself opportunities to try new things but balancing it with knowing when something isn't working. I want to be used in the educational world to make a difference. I want to be the tester of ideas. I want to hold tight to those things that have been tested, tried, and have proven value to education as I always do, but this year I also want to be given opportunities to have more BETA experiences. BETA means letting go of fear that stops me from going with my gut and the Holy Spirit. BETA means being faster and stronger in my thought processes, trusting myself in my decisions. It means moving forward knowing I'm trying my hardest and (heaven forbid) even allowing myself a few failures along the way. BETA may mean I'm not always the popular one or the favorite. BETA means I'm a risk taker but not just for the sake of taking risks...for the journey of finding something that doesn't already exist- a better me, a better educational option, a better environment. LET'S BETA! (See what I did there?)

Time Management of Devices

Do you ever wonder just how much of a slave you are to your smartphone? How much time do you actually spend on it? I'm fairly guilty of checking my phone out of habit as much as need.
So recently I downloaded the app "Moment," you leave it open on your phone and it tracks how much time you spend actively using your phone. For me it was an eye-opening experience to see how much time I seek my phone out of habit and not need.

After testing and also ACKNOWLEDGING that I might be tied to my phone more than I want to be, I decided to take advantage of the built-in helps on my iPhone at Settings>Do Not Disturb. There is a variety of ways you can use this to your advantage while working, studying, sleeping, or investing in others. 

How does this relate to others? We can all be slaves to multi-tasking. As educators we have a responsibility to show students the pitfalls of multi-tasking and becoming too connected. One of my favorite ways to show students that they probably aren't as good at multi-tasking as they think is to show this video: 

                  

And then I have the students test themselves http://davecrenshaw.com/multitasking-exercise-v2.pdf. We talk a lot about digital citizenship with our students but I believe we sometimes lack in modeling and explaining the need to put the device down. We need to show them the value of plugging into the day not just taking photos of it for social media purposes. If you haven't seen someone in weeks, isn't having two arms open to get that first hug more important that videoing the look on their face? 

This year I plan to spend more time helping my teachers and students see the value of technology used efficiently and timely.