This has me thinking that we all have changes that happen and we all find ways to adjust and re-align our life.  This happens constantly in education.  Changes.  New curriculum, new staff, new students, snow days, sick days, new years, new technologies.  The list could go on and on.  How we deal with it is what makes the difference.  We can try and keep things the same or we can try and adapt and work with the circumstances we are given.  In today’s world, technology is making a place and this is changing education.   The focus is not technology, the focus is on how to reach our digital learners.  I posted recently at my Lutheran Tech Teacher blog a little more about this after attending the LEA convocation.  Feel free to check it out.  Because so much is changing, it is hard to keep up with everything.  Find one thing you can try.  Learn it well, use it well and add more as you go.  Make little changes that you feel comfortable with and you may surprise yourself!   Happy Learning!

All the above are great places to start.

Our main presenter was David Black.  He took us on the journey of looking at Digital Age Learning Skills.  For many of the principals these aren’t new concepts, but something they might not understand fully.  Dave made sure we remember to always leave an apple pie!  We are in revolutionary times and we will have great challenges, but in those great challenges we will have great opportunities.  Dave did get a great room of laughter when he answered a question from a principal.  The principal asked Dave about what to do with the teacher that will change change because they are holding out to retirement in 3 years.  Dave answer, although was funny is true.  Dave answered it is easy tell that teacher it is not about him it is about the students, it is about THEIR future.  Dave went on talking about trends and meeting standards and what he has been doing at his school.  It was a great time and at the same time  not enough time.  I personal enjoyed having Dave there since it was the first time meeting him in person, after years of online communication.

Our other big presenter was Gordon Kennedy and how curriculum mapping.  This was a great wealth of information as I want to start this process at Holt Lutheran.

I got to meet some great people and great principals.  The only time I felt a little uncomfortable was sitting in the fellowship hall playing euchre having a beer and sitting across the room is my first grade teacher, my second grade teacher and my high school principal.  The late night fellowship around the campfire was priceless.  Building those relationships with others outside of your 4 walls of a school is crucial.  Just remember to stay away the 7th Hole and 3 Dogs!

THURSDAY 02/25/10 – 4:00-5:00pm
What Are You Doing?
Kathy Maske
Altamont Lutheran Interparish School

Link to recorded session: https://corsica.cuw.edu/p41048649/

“In our schools today, education is changing.  We have more technology than we know what to do with.  Our Lutheran schools have the opportunity now more than ever to utilize the same technologies as other schools do via the Internet.  There has been an explosion in online, collaborative networking in the last 5 years or so with the introduction of MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Plurk and other social networking sites.  What happens when we utilize these tools in our professional development?  Continuous online learning!  We now have tools that we, as Lutheran Educators, can use to collaborate with other educators continuously.  Whether you are seasoned at networking or are just beginning, sharing is valuable for all.”

THURSDAY 02/25/10 – 5:00-6:00pm
Podcast My Class Fast
Daniel Burk
Grace Lutheran Lancaster, CA

Link to recorded session: https://corsica.cuw.edu/p59231468/

“Teachers are afraid to try something new.  Podcast is something that any class and any teacher can utilize in their classroom.  We will go step-by-step how easy it is to record and publish a Podcast for your class.”

FRIDAY 02/26/10 – 11:00-12:00 noon
Personal Learning Networks and You
Jeremy Biddle
CUW Ed Tech Cohort/Lutheran Educators’ Guild

Link to recording: https://corsica.cuw.edu/p73822927/

“Personal Learning Networks [PLNs] are a solution for one of 21st Century education’s most difficult problems: keeping informed of emerging technologies and learning how to utilize them in our classrooms.  PLNs tap into the vast array of freely available information via traditional sources (books, newspapers, etc.) and emerging ones (blogs, Twitter, etc.).  A PLN, states Dr. Daniel R. Tobin, is a group of people who can guide your learning, point you to learning opportunities, answer your questions, and give you the benefit of their own knowledge and experience. This presentation will provide a starting point for educators to implement their own PLNs.  The audience will be provided with a brief presentation on PLNs and their usefulness, suggestions of software to use (along with tutorials/demonstrations of their use), and a categorized list of sources for individual educators to use in beginning their own PLN.  The list of sources will be posted online, with the ability for an educator to make their own additions to share.”

It stands for 21st Century Lutheran Education. 21CLE is an online conference in its 2nd year. There are speakers across the map. All the presenters love Lutheran Schools and Educators and want to improve Lutheran Schools and Education.

Want to know what the great thing is?

3 of your very own Guild authors will be presenting this year! How great is that!

02/25/10 – 4:00-5:00pm
What Are You Doing?
Kathy Maske
Altamont Lutheran Interparish School

“In our schools today, education is changing. We have more technology than we know what to do with. Our Lutheran schools have the opportunity now more than ever to utilize the same technologies as other schools do via the Internet. There has been an explosion in online, collaborative networking in the last 5 years or so with the introduction of MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Plurk and other social networking sites. What happens when we utilize these tools in our professional development? Continuous online learning! We now have tools that we, as Lutheran Educators, can use to collaborate with other educators continuously. Whether you are seasoned at networking or are just beginning, sharing is valuable for all.”

02/25/10 – 5:00-6:00pm
Podcast My Class Fast
Daniel Burk
Grace Lutheran Lancaster, CA

“Teachers are afraid to try something new. Podcasts is something that any class and any teacher can utilize in their classroom. We will go step-by-step how easy it is to record and publish a Podcast for your class.”

02/26/10 – 11:00-12:00 noon
Personal Learning Networks and You
Jeremy Biddle
CUW Ed Tech Cohort/Lutheran Educators’ Guild

“Personal Learning Networks [PLNs] are a solution for one of 21st Century education’s most difficult problems: keeping informed of emerging technologies and learning how to utilize them in our classrooms. PLNs tap into the vast array of freely available information via traditional sources (books, newspapers, etc.) and emerging ones (blogs, Twitter, etc.). A PLN, states Dr. Daniel R. Tobin, is a group of people who can guide your learning, point you to learning opportunities, answer your questions, and give you the benefit of their own knowledge and experience. This presentation will provide a starting point for educators to implement their own PLNs. The audience will be provided with a brief presentation on PLNs and their usefulness, suggestions of software to use (along with tutorials/demonstrations of their use), and a categorized list of sources for individual educators to use in beginning their own PLN. The list of sources will be posted online, with the ability for an educator to make their own additions to share.”

If you would like more information head over to http://blog.cuw.edu/21cle/ List of all the presenters are there.  You can also register to attend.

Personally, this will be my first real public presentation.  I have talked in front of my school and church and I have voiced thoughts in conferences before, but to be the focus!  I am a little nervous.  A lot of thoughts of being a student is rushing to my head.  Am I qualify to talk about podcasts? What if I am asked a question I don’t know how to answer.  Will I sound ok?  I kinda hate my voice on recordings.  Just need to breath and pray (A LOT!).

Make sure you join us during the 2010 21CLE, tell your colleagues to watch/listen to the presentations (Think about PD days)  All the sections will be recorded also.  You can check out the 2009 21CLE on the site also.

Make sure you tell your friends about the Guild also.  Plus this is your Guild also.  Make sure you make comments and be part of the forum to go into more depth on any topic that is discussed.

I am sitting in the Vegas airport, hoping my battery doesn’t die before I finish this, but waiting for my flight back to LA.  I spent all day at Faith Lutheran Jr. High and High School in professional development.  No one is making me go.  Well no one but me. My school didn’t say I had to go, I wanted to go.

This past Thanksgiving week I got very sad, because I was not able to go to our annual Lutheran Educators Conference (LEC).  Our school didn’t have the money.  I am also guessing they didn’t have the love for their teacher or students.  I was told the conference was “optional” and not “mandatory.”  Everyday we ask our students to learn, but do not ask it of ourselves.  Professional development is MANDATORY!  In a recent survey of Lutheran educators it reveals that professional development for information, media, and computer literacy is a PRIORITY.  Dr. Perry Bressman shared this thought, “Who wants to go to a surgeon who hasn’t learned anything new in he last 10 years?” Why should parents send their kids to us, if we are stuck in our teaching methods that are outdated.

So the only thing that can come from PD is good things. (even if the conference sucks)

I love going to LEC for numerous reasons.  It is a time to relax (vacation time for my family), it is a time to learn, and it is a time to interact.   Although our staff does interact with each other during the rest of the school year, it is always nice to sit down as a staff for a nice meal.  It is a time to bring each other closer to each other.  As you may know the Lutheran school system is actually very small in some terms.  I have taught at 3 different Lutheran schools and have made connections with other teachers, which is always nice to catch up with at these conferences.  I meet new people who in turn can become part of my PLN.

I love going to the sessions and learning new concepts and applications.  If I could I would go to a conference every week to learn something new.  But, it is also a way to refuel my tank.  I can get excited and can’t wait to be back in my classroom to try something new.  It helps you from getting burnt out.  Most Lutheran teacher burn the match on both end.  We need time for ourselves.  Mary Irish, principal, talked to this very statement about how we need to make sure we take care ourselves so we can take care of others.  Mary compared it to taking an airplane.  They always tell us on flights that if we need to put on oxygen mask to make sure we put ours on first before we help anyone else.  It is nice to be at a great place.  For this SLED conference we were at the Red Rock Resort in Vegas.  It was so relaxing.  The room was great and peaceful.

What are you doing for PD?

If your school is like mine, you might not get the opportunity to go to conferences, because it is too expensive.  But, you should not worry.  You can still learn and interact.  You need to take your ownership in PD as I mention in earlier post about this being your year.  Create your PLN and learn from them.

Here is what you should do.

Go to http://blog.cuw.edu/21cle/archive-2009-presentation-recordings/ and listen to the different presentations from last year 21CLE.  Then, make sure you mark your calendars for this years conference – February 25th, 26th and 27, 2010!

Finally you need to keep reading here on Lutheran Educator’s Guild.

Fall in love with your PD.