#TCEA14 Wrap-Up: An Uncomfortable Tension

As the 2014 edition of the largest state convention in the US comes to a close, it’s easy to find yourself in a state of flux. Part of you is contemplative of the week that has just flown by. Your brain is swimming with ideas and you can’t wait to try all of them (just hopefully not all of them at once!) Part of you is looking forward to #TCEA15 and the learning that will take place, wondering what more you can possibly learn. But I want to encourage the part of you that is in the present.
So here’s your action item:
– If you’re a classroom teacher, as soon as you can, set an appointment to meet with your principal and request to talk to the staff or even just your department and share ONE THING that you learned this week.
– If you are a principal, you must share. Take back ONE THING to your staff that will change the way your teachers think about their classrooms. You are the instructional leader of your building and over the past week, you have been armed to the teeth with instructional tools.
– If you are a district-level employee, think about how you could use this week’s learning. Do you run PD sessions? You’re definitely ready. Are you a curriculum director? How can these tools challenge pedagogical paradigms previously entrenched in your district? Are you a tech director? How can you facilitate more learning opportunities so that teachers can effectively use the tools and resources they’ve discovered this week? Share these ideas with your colleagues.
Sure, think about the past week and be excited for next year, but understand that there is nothing more important than the present. Be fully engaged in the conversations you’re having. Seek out others with whom you can share. Your learning has the potential for so much more impact if you’ll pass it on. Don’t keep it to yourself because change happens in the now.

Screen Shot 2014-02-03 at 9.46.15 AMGreg Garner is currently an Educational Technologist at Eanes ISD in Austin, TX and is our “teacher blogger on location” for the week- covering all the great events, sessions and learning happening at the TCEA Conference.  Follow him on Twitter at @classroom_tech and find him at the conference to say hi in person.

Getting Smart Staff

The Getting Smart Staff believes in learning out loud and always being an advocate for things that we are excited about. As a result, we write a lot. Do you have a story we should cover? Email [email protected]

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