Day 9 of my 30-Day Blogging Challenge for teachers from teachthought.com

Here is the link to the site with the 30-day challenge. 

http://www.teachthought.com/teaching/reflective-teaching-30-day-blogging-challenge-teachers/

Day 9: Write about what one of your greatest accomplishments that no one knows about (or may not care). 

As a teacher I would have to say that one of my greatest accomplishments was just my ability sustain my energy and "turn-it-on" once I came into the classroom. I wish I could say that I had ONE DEFINING MONENT that really exemplified my career; however I think, as teachers, our school years are so full of those moments that we don't even keep track after a little while. Every kid, class and year seem to blend together. 

I sometimes wonder how former students remember me; and to be honest, I hope that it has nothing to do with curriculum. Now, I DO NOT want to be remembered as a "dolt" in the classroom. I still want to be known as an educated teacher who pushed his students to be successful; but overall I want to be remembered as a teacher who was always excited to be in class, made each day enjoyable and cared about kids. 

Day 8 of my 30-Day Blogging Challenge for teachers from teachthought.com

Here is the link to the site with the 30-day challenge. 

http://www.teachthought.com/teaching/reflective-teaching-30-day-blogging-challenge-teachers/

Day 8: What is in your desk drawer? What can you infer from those contents? 

This will probably be a short post; but I love this question, because I feel that the contents of my desk drawers have actually dwindled over the years, and I don't think that much could be inferred from digging around. I remember running out of space after my first 3-4 years because of all the copies of old tests, quizzes and homework assignments that I kept filed away for a rainy day. 

However, as I slowly transferred over to the digital world, my drawers became more of a place to keep "junk" rather than files. 

One drawer has some breakfast bars and a Mio, while the other one just has a tennis ball in it. If someone who didn't know me they would probably infer that I am a pretty lazy educator and don't do much. However, I really have become so invested in the digital world, the "clutter" around my desk has lessened and seemingly made my life easier. 

That being said my GoogleDocs are a whole other story. Quite a bit could be inferred from looking there. I have everything from wedding photos, AP Lit tests and Football practice plans from 2007 to Google Forms and funny articles I want to save. 

My desk could disappear tomorrow and I would be fine, but if I lose my Docs to the World Wide Internets (inside joke), I would be like the puppy who lost its way. (Yes...a Happy Gilmore Reference). 

What is in your desk, and what does that infer about you? I would be interested to know. Comment on my post if you want to share.  

Day 7 of my 30-Day Blogging Challenge for teachers from teachthought.com

Day 7 of my 30-Day Blogging Challenge for teachers from teachthought.com

Here is the link to the site with the 30-day challenge. 
http://www.teachthought.com/teaching/reflective-teaching-30-day-blogging-challenge-teachers/

Day 7. Explain: Who was/is your most inspirational colleague. 


After already throwing Joe Taylor @joe_edtech into my post yesterday, I do not want to get redundant and ramble on. This is a lesson learned, as I probably should have looked at all the questions before I starting writing. Still, I don't know if I can name my most inspirational colleague (aside from Joe of course). 

I don't feel that I ever had a TRUE mentor when I first started teaching. There were obviously those whom I worked very closely with, and in some ways, I guess we inspired each other. 

My initial days working at Buffalo Grove High School were interesting. I came in as a former college football player, Sergeant in the Army Reserves and.....well....also an English major (Although you might not be able to tell from my blogs). I don't think some of the teachers in the English Department knew how to take me. In fact, most of them probably thought that I was a coach first and a teacher second. One my my very good friends in the department has even admitted that she rolled her eyes when the department head said that she had just hired a football coach who was in the military. 

As the year began I became very good friends with another new teacher, Jeff Grybash @jeffgrybash. He seemed to fit the, "English Teacher" mold better than I did. Still, we were both asked to teach classes that: 

1. We had never taught before
2. They were not planning on continuing the next year 
3. Were new, so NO ONE had materials to share. 

Needless to say, our first year was a whirlwind. We had to meet every morning at 6:15 just to plan out the day and barely scrape by. As the years went on, we obviously learned how to work smarter, not harder and have really continued our trend of working together knocking out tests, materials and daily plans collaboratively. We even were lucky enough to have one of his good high school friends get hired @matthewbranham who works just as hard and tirelessly as we do. 

That being said, I feel that by my last year of working in the English Department, there were some whom I collaborated with more than others, but every single person in that department changed me and helped me grow into the teacher and tech-coach that I am today. Does that sound a little cliche? Yes, but I always felt that cliches were overstated phrases for a reason. So that't my story and I'm sticking to it. 

Day 6 of my 30-Day Blogging Challenge for teachers from teachthought.com

Here is the link to the site with the 30-day challenge. 
http://www.teachthought.com/teaching/reflective-teaching-30-day-blogging-challenge-teachers/

Day 6. Explain: What does a good mentor "do."

A good mentor does exactly what a good teacher does: makes themselves progressively unnecessary. I DO NOT believe that education will ever get to a point where teachers are not needed in the classroom and we are all be replaced with computers, but the ability of a good teacher/mentor to prepare their "pupils" for what lies ahead is a skill that cannot be take for granted within our education system.

I mentioned in previous posts that knowledge of one's content area does not necessarily make him or her a good teacher; and I think that the same applies to being a mentor. Mentoring/teaching require an ability to make connections with people through collaboration and patience.

I was lucky enough to have a mentor here at Buffalo Grove High School (Joe Taylor @joe_edtech) for 9 years before I became the technology facilitator. I remember watching him, when I first came to BG in 2005, and I was so impressed with his ability to talk to and assist teachers with complete and utter patience. I would constantly tell myself, "I could never do his job." However, over the next few years, I jumped on the technology bandwagon and began blogging with my students using Wikispaces as well as Google Sites for everything from classroom activities to youth football conferences.  Although I HEAVILY relied on Joe in my first few years using different technologies, Joe was always incredibly patient with me and, like I said before, made himself progressively unnecessary in my every day teaching.

Now, I still have my moments where I need to call or text him frantically since he left our district and became the Director of Instructional Technology at Deerfield High School, however I think that someone like Joe is really what exemplifies what a good mentor should be: someone who:

• shows you the way
• aides your growth and 
• is always there for you......until they are killed by Darth Vader with a light saber. (Sorry for the Star Wars reference. I couldn't resist!!!)

Day 5 of my 30-Day Blogging Challenge for teachers from teachthought.com

Here is the link to the site with the 30-day challenge. 
http://www.teachthought.com/teaching/reflective-teaching-30-day-blogging-challenge-teachers/

Day 5. Take a picture of your classroom and describe what you see-----any describe what you don't see that you would like to. 


Since I do not have a classroom of my own, I walked around the school to see what I could find. Although this picture dos not do the teacher justice, this classroom was interweaving online collaboration along with book talks and research.

Although our school is not yet 1:1 with the iPads, we are taking strides in that direction and hopefully will have iPads in the hands of every kid at Buffalo Grove High School next year.  However, I still do have that "old school" teacher part of me that fears that kids are going to get to the point where they do not know how to interact face to face.

I am one of the biggest proponents for more technology in the classroom, yet as a former English teacher I do want to ensure we do not substitute online communication for face to face discussion, but rather use the technological resources to ENHANCE the discussion and collaboration in the classroom.

Sorry for the short post!! On the run today!

Day 4 of my 30-Day Blogging Challenge for teachers from teachthought.com

Day 4 of my 30-Day Blogging Challenge for teachers from teachthought.com

Here is the link to the site with the 30-day challenge. 
http://www.teachthought.com/teaching/reflective-teaching-30-day-blogging-challenge-teachers/

Day 4. Respond: What do you love most about teaching?


I would have to say that my favorite part about teaching was building relationships with students. I think sometimes, as teachers, we feel that we only hear from the parents and students who are upset, while 95% of our other students and parents feel that we are doing a great job. Unfortunately, we let that 5% bother us to the point where we bring those emotions home when we leave the building.

Although I loved teaching English and watching kids grow as writers, the true rewards came when kids and/or parents came back to say, "thank you." I always knew that there were better teachers than me, but I never felt that knowledge of my content area was as important as encouraging high school students to feel confident as they attacked a piece of literature. One of my favorite parts of the year was watching high school football players deconstruct and analyze Shakespearean sonnets, all while trying to keep up their, "tough guy," persona; but those are the moments that we remember and take with us, not the nasty emails and test scores that sometimes cloud our days.

Leaving the classroom and jumping into the role of technology facilitator has been hard this past year, but I know that I am still indirectly making an impact on instruction that will allow, encourage and foster student success.



Just for kicks I am putting a copy of an email below that is  from a student who I wasn't even sure liked me; but like I said before, it is the moments like this that make it all worth it.



I wasn't sure if I would have time to say this tomorrow with whatever it is we're going to do and the many people I have to thank tomorrow, so I wanted to take the time to write it to you now.  My mom suggested that we get you some sort of card or food gift set thing, but I told her that it would be awkward and that Mr. Vlk wouldn't appreciate a fancy ham box.

Thank you for being an awesome teacher.  Thank you for picking on me and making me speak up in class, even though I really didn't want to at times.  Thank you for forcing me to come out of my shell and talk about myself and my own ideas despite me holding myself back.  You really went above and beyond the call of duty, and I'll always remember that.

Day 3 of my 30-Day Blogging Challenge for teachers from teachthought.com

Day 3 of my 30-Day Blogging Challenge for teachers from teachthought.com

Here is the link to the site with the 30-day challenge. 
http://www.teachthought.com/teaching/reflective-teaching-30-day-blogging-challenge-teachers/

Day 3. Write about one "observation" area you would like to improve on for your teacher evaluation. 


I know that this is not an "observation" area, per se, but my one of my goals this school year is really to "self-promote" as much as a I can. Now, this does not mean that I am going to run around telling people how great I am like Ron Burgundy, but I really feel the need, as a new technology facilitator, to be visible and available as much as possible.

Teachers understand that they need support; but at times, it seems that they either don't know where to get it, or they avoid it completely.  However, making myself and my DTCs (Division Technology Coaches) visible and available I think is going to really alleviate some of the worries that so many teachers succumb to when dealing with technology.

Day 2 of my 30-Day Blogging Challenge for teachers from teachthought.com

Day 2 of my 30-Day Blogging Challenge for teachers from @teachthought.com

Here is the link to the site with the 30-day challenge. 
http://www.teachthought.com/teaching/reflective-teaching-30-day-blogging-challenge-teachers/

Day 2. Write about 1 piece of technology that you would like to try this year and why. You might also want to write about what you're hoping to see out of this ed/tech integration. 


Since I left the classroom this school year, I have a lot more time to research and discover new pieces of educational technology. However, since I do not teach at all, it makes it more difficult to implement and practice what I find.  Luckily, our district has given each school 3 DTC's (Division Technology Coaches) who get a release period, and act as an extension of myself in the classroom. So as I take a look at new technology, I need to look at it through 2 lenses.

The first lens is as a teacher; I don't necessarily have "new" technology that I want to implement, but instead, I want the teachers in my building to try something new. Our district has done a great job over the past few years of introducing different LMS's (Learning Management Systems) and letting the teachers run with whatever they are most comfortable using. My focus this year has not only been to try and get every teacher on some sort of LMS (such as: Schoology, Google Classroom, Moodle or EdModo) but also get the teachers who are already on an LMS to try something new within the classroom they have created.

For example, our district has really gravitated towards Schoology. It is very user-friendly, especially for those who are, "not tech-savy." However, some are merely using it as a "substitution" (See SAMR Model)  for paper. My goal is to get these teachers to use these tools to "modify" and "redefine" their classrooms through on-line discussions and collaborative-friendly lessons where the teacher acts more as a moderator of learning, rather than the focus of the classroom.

Now, as a technology facilitator, I have had to find different ways to communicate with others in my position, as well as my building. I have really changed and transformed my Twitter @Vlkthetechguy from a place where I posted funny pictures and goofy phrases, into an educational resource. I went from following Brian Urlacher (to be quite honest...I still do.....) to following educational Tweets like, @jimpknight and @USNewsEducation. I guess I can say that my philosophy has not changed, but rather. just the lens in which I look through has changed.

So this is the start of my Reflective Teaching: 30-Day Blogging Challenge for teachers from teachthought.com

Here is the link to the site with the 30-day challenge. 
http://www.teachthought.com/teaching/reflective-teaching-30-day-blogging-challenge-teachers/



Day 1. Write your goals for the school year. 

Being a former English Teacher, you would think that I would love such an open-ended question. I should be able to rouse up a creative opening that has to do with new beginnings, opening new doors and any other cliche I can think of. However, this question makes a little nervous seeing that there are so many different directions I can take it.

Just this past year I switched roles, left the classroom and became the technology facilitator for Buffalo Grove High School. Originally, I was excited to take on this new challenge. It seemed like it was the prefect time in my career to make a change and do something different. However, with the new freedoms that this job offered, I noticed that my responsibilities had significantly changed.

The structure of being a teacher was nice:

1st Hour American Lit
2nd Hour AP Lit Section 1
3rd Hour AP Lit  Section 2
4th Hour Lunch

....You get the idea.

Although, as teachers, we complain about being "bound by the bells," there was some comfort knowing that I was "told" where to be at every single moment of the day.

Nonetheless, the ability to manage my own time is liberating and terrifying all at the same time. I have the freedom now to research, reflect and collaborate more so now than I ever have before, but I think there is a part of me that misses the bells.

So, I don't think that I can say that I have several "goals" (except what I have on my Danielson Rubric of course), but rather a desire to enhance the ability to teach of those around me. Sure, I miss the classroom a little bit, but in the end I know that the enrichment that I can give to other teachers in my building and around my district far exceeded what I could ever do on a day with bells.