A reflection on #otrk12

Last spring I attended my first digital learning conference: Connecting with Others in a Digital World (storify). I was slated to present about getting started with blended learning, which I did with my then fabulous teaching partner/mentee (aren't first year teachers just the best!). We had only been doing it for a few months, but after hearing George Couros speak we felt we were on the right track. Our brains were full, we were overwhelmed, we didn't know what we were going to try Monday morning but were nevertheless so very excited to try something, anything!

I remember feeling like there was so much more I could be doing. I went to a fabulous presentation about D2L in Science and Math and another on Google Docs. Both presentations I keep referring to the ideas and have been able to implement, especially when I went from teaching 5/6 to intermediate and Science on rotary.

In the meantime, I've joined twitter, I have a class account and a teaching account, I don't call it personal as it's really just trying to save ideas to use later. I may be on it a bit too much, but I love to read and learn about the exciting things happening in classrooms all around the world.

Fast forward to this week. I'm a presenter. I'm going to workshops and listening to Ron Canuel, and I'm thinking...I feel really good about what I'm doing in my classroom. I don't feel so alone! There are so many inspiring educators out there, and I don't feel as inadequate! The second time I presented, I was in the ballroom with a mike! It still seems very surreal... Plus I was honoured to have in my audience, one of the educators who inspires me Peter Cameron @cherandpete.

Teachers are their worst critics. Like I tell the students, it's really hard to be perfect 100% of the time. There's always room for improvement! I think my goals will be to continue to encourage my colleagues in the school to think about implementing blended learning and being more transparent in their classrooms.

Here are my resources from my presentation. I shared my journey in trying to implement inquiry in my classroom. I reference my blog, as I've used it to organized my thinking and process as I teach to my students' needs. I also reference many inspiring educators whose transparency have helped me improve as an educator. Ron Canuel mentioned that people need their hands held as they innovate, and I've been very lucky to have others hold my hand, simply by being excellent examples for me to follow.