You Can Either Lament or Lead. I Choose To Lead.

I have been thinking about this for a while with all that has been going on with education.  I was inspired to create this short post by Brian Bennett's post today called I Can.  We have been "bunker" mode in our district for the last two years with funding cuts, layoffs, schedule changes, and all that comes along with that.  So mentally we (the faculty and staff of BCPS) have been beaten down mentally. We are finally coming out the dark tunnel and I have changed my focus. Thus, in the past year I have been trying to integrate technology into my classroom and have been frustrated by the state of student technology in our building.  I had been lamenting and complaining about it but never really thought about what I could do to make it better.  So this year I finally decided to stop lamenting and start leading.  I have been "flipping" my class and integrating technology but rather than complain about the technology I decided to work with what I have.  This means using applications that are web-based and using Google Apps for Education.  By doing this I am leveraging the browser, web, cloud tools and the cloud itself to integrate technology in the classroom.  By doing this we have fewer issues with the technology and more productivity.  This is not to say we still don't have issues but we work the problems and make them learning moments for the students.  So rather than lamenting we are leading and learning.  The students are picking up on this and going home and teaching their parents what works and what doesn't.  Finally, it is less stress to lead than lament (plus we just passed a bond for technology upgrades).