EC- Emotional Capital and solutions based outcomes and Making sense of change


One of my favourite NZ authors, Sheryl Jordan in her fascinating novel The Sign of the Lion, has Elmo say:' Confusion my dear is the greatest tool of the enemy'. That's true! Confusion erodes confidence. Its exhausting!

Embracing digital tools, digital teaching techniques and digital teaching strategies as part of a Blended Learning pedagogy is an area that i refer to as emotional capital ( EC). For a few years now a strange "fog" has sought to prod and poke and rob my confidence as a practitioner. "I refuse to be tired all the time" i say to myself. Now i say to myself- "i refuse to loose my confidence: i know who i am, i am skilled and capable. I am a perpetual learner and educator. " Two things have happened:
                        1. At a recent and rather invigorating IT Expo i realized that experience has been a brutal teacher, but experience is also rewarding. I have trialed ed-tech systems and just when i felt mostly competent the system was changed or updated. I, for so long have felt bewildered and oft at the mercy of systems and tried to work my way around storage or labeling or formatting in order to best serve my teaching and learning programs. Now i realize i must not adopt emotional responses too each and every "must do, must try..." recommendation. Logic for some teachers- but was not the case for me. So my continued shift towards more Blended teaching and learning approaches will be shadowed with a redefined and growing sense of confidence in who i am as a successful senior English teacher.                                   My students melt when i explain what i know and what i need suggestions or help with. They squeal when i use the phrase "clueless-please help". A comment by one of my "treasured", year 12 boys "Mrs H if i was as handsome as you are smart- i would be married already!" blew me away. Such spunk.  Compliments aside, good communication, good relationships and a class atmosphere free from IT systems intimidation is a doorway to fun and challenging and enjoyable pedagogy. Work on building those relationships with your Ss, when the tough or clumsy or challenging moments happen then talking through a problem seems so much easier.
                         2. The unmistakable gifts and skills of colleagues. Collaborative unit planning takes a chunk of time- BUT the end results are that a year down the line a wonderful consolidation and ease of delivery occurs. Seriously, how did i go it alone for so many years. A growing department has also meant a delightful personal and professional blessing. Some merging of subject activities is starting to happen. Exciting and managed start to blended learning developments at our school. And we are soon to embark on a large scale development plan. The building of a middle school.
 I am part of a team that is trialing Schoology as a  LMS. Wow- this has made SUCH a difference to my planing, delivery and sanity.
The use of tools and IT in the classroom is a bit like fashion... somethings are new and MUST be bought, somethings are classic items and don't need changing and somethings are seasonal as they only get used when the time is right. These are my decisions:
The New: Magical park, Sketch Up- Augmented and Geo-spacial reality games ( fascinating presentation by Melanie Langlotz, Founder of GEO AR games.
https://www.geoar.tech/magical-park
The Classic: Data systems, school network - I'm really liking  OneNote, Kamar and MyBogger
Seasonal: Those note taking Apps on my iPad. Just like WORD, Google+, Google docs,  All things Adobe are pretty impressive also.  And i will not sync all my systems! 
This is how i create mental clarity.
1. My Samsung 5 phone is for photos ( my ultimate hobby) , my Watsapp for contact with my family overseas, Facebook and Twitter and for all the on the go text and chat. This is my personal and private digisphere.
2. My iPad 2 retinal display is for my Blogging, my two email accounts and my daily attendance marking in class. Mostly Professional space.
3. My HP Laptop- Professional space only.

and the last comment is a challenge to myself: Get the key terminology right... this makes the bigger picture lucid...fluid.

Next task: Moderation of literary essays. 


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