Last Days as a Facilitator...

For those of you who don't know, this week is my last week as a Technology Integration Facilitator.  I will be heading to Plymouth, NC to take over as Director of Instructional Technology.  Although my title may be changing, I'm hoping to continue further my role in helping teachers innovate their use of technology in the classroom, and prepare students with 21st century skills.

As I leave FISD and my duties as a TIF, I'd like to share a few thoughts...

I have a loved being a TIF. It is has been a better fit for me than I ever could've imagined. I was blessed to have leadership that didn't care how young I was or how terribly presented my ideas were. Both my supervisors and my teams listened to my ideas and let me run with them, no matter how far they took me nor how short I fell. They allowed me the freedom to create, innovate, and share my ideas and passion. The success I've had while here in Frisco was due, in great part, to the wonderful individuals I was privileged to work with.

Some of my favorite projects and collaborations I've been a part of over the last 4 years...If you were a part of any of the projects below, I thank you and I will miss you.

• The Frisco Fab 5
• Geocaching Virtual Maps
• Digital Photo Frames
• UStream Debates
• The iPod Touch Audio lab
• Google Apps for students & teachers
• BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)
• ePub 
• Mythology books
• Cookbooks
• Children's books
• Morning Radio Show
• Library Gallery Walks
• Shakespeare Twitter/sms project

Finally, teachers are often times the most creative and innovative individuals in today's workplace.  The many lessons and projects that have been shared on this blog are a testament to that.  One thing that technology can do for educators is help us share our creativity, innovation, and drive to help students learn & grow.  We know that traditional media won't showcase our abilities or a fraction of the good that we do day in and day out.  There isn't any money in it.  So we need to share what we are doing. Technology lends itself to breaking down those walls and bringing the world inside our classroom. It's my hope that all teachers will see the need to share their ideas and lessons more often. Starting with your students and parents, to administrators, to colleagues, and eventually the world. You don't have to start big, emails, videos, blogs, podcasts... This age of 'New Media' can help you do it, and that in turn will help us improve education far more than any test or legislation.

Please stay tuned I will continue to post and share new ideas, projects and collaborations from NC in the next few weeks...