Twitter and Google Hangouts and Swivl Oh My!

This week I went to Austin for #TCEA15 and my first thought was, like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz,"Toto, we aren't in Kansas anymore!".  Although we've spent the last two summers as a leadership team focusing on acquiring technology skills, this week was like a big picture that suddenly came into sharp focus for me. I saw how others are using technology in innovative ways, not only with students but also for delivery of professional development.

My boss, Dr. Laina McDonald, gave me some really good advice for choosing sessions at TCEA--choose a focus for learning and attend sessions that fulfill that purpose. My purpose was to find ways to capture information and connect with my teachers without always having to be face to face. Google Hangout is going to help me do that. I can be with a group of teachers and do a Google Hangout so teachers from another campus can join in. I can record the session so those who can't attend can view it later. 

I went to all three of Todd Nesloney's (@TechNinjaTodd on Twitter) sessions and was so inspired to reach out to other professionals across the country and world to learn via Twitter and Google Hangouts. He says, "If you don't know something, Google it! We are in 2015. You can no longer claim ignorance, just defiance." Wow! Such a true statement! In fact, during one of his sessions I learned about how he and his instructional specialist use a Swivl with their teachers to improve teaching and learning. I tweeted about it and one of our instructional specialists tweeted me back and asked, "What's a Swivl?" My response was, "Google it!" 

Speaking of Swivl, I can't wait to get ours and start using it in the classrooms. The things I can capture with that are endless! Our teachers are kids are going to love it!. Not too long ago I told a 2nd grade classroom that I needed them to practice up on their number combination center activities so I could record them doing them and explaining them. I told them they'd be famous! Mrs. Wilson's class will be my first Swivl project. When we have new teachers who need to learn the activities, they can access the videos. 

Twitter...yes, I joined Twitter almost three years ago, but this week I learned its true value and how it could be a constant stream of information and inspiration for me as an educator, a math director, and a leader. Tonight, I watched/listened to my first @EduAllStars podcast and loved it! So inspiring!

Google....now there's something that could take a while to conquer. Google Hangouts, Google add-ons, Google Classroom...I can't wait to learn about it all and I'll be sharing more about it as I do. Even today as I was trying to figure out how to save stuff to my Google Drive, I googled it!