A Quick 2017 Reflection

The last time I wrote for this site, I had agreed to participate in an #IMMOOC - An Innovator’s Mindset Massive Open Online Course - centered around the George Couros book - "The Innovator’s Mindset". It was in early September and I was just starting in my new role as an instructional coach.

At that time, I was still getting my feet under me as a coach. The first few months in this new role have been about building relationships and doing professional reading. I assumed, incorrectly, that I would have plenty of time to contribute to this ongoing, educational weblog journal.  It is now the last day of December...and 2017… and I am just getting time to reflect and write.

I have, over the past four months, been provided with a deluge of quality professional development through my Board, my Twitter Professional Learning Network (#PLN) and my own reading & research. My position also affords me the enviable opportunity to collaborate with creative, passionate and dedicated colleagues who consistently bring their “A Game” to classes and schools everyday.

So, I want to take a few minutes to reflect on 2017 and start anew tomorrow.

• Last year, I wrote  16 blog posts - My goal for 2018 is to get to 24. I also intend to ReTweet more blog posts from my colleagues. I think we should all tag each other in our posts and repost frequently - ideally quoting the post with feedback.
• My most popular was an effort to dispel some myths about Prayer in Schools that I penned in April http://bit.ly/prayerinschool  Perhaps this is evidence that I should tackle more controversial or dynamic subjects.
• Surprisingly, my least popular was http://bit.ly/AlrightFairEnough which detailed a cross-curricular approach to teaching Junior age students how to effectively and amicably disagree with each other. It was written in the middle of the summer. I suspect that had something to do with it.
• Another weak post was my early September effort to chronicle my journey as an Instructional Coach. This I get. It is self-indulgent and frankly boring. I need to do less of this.
• I am proud of the growth of my #PLN. I am following nearly 3000 Twitter users (mainly educators) and I am on the verge of gaining 2000 followers. I don’t want to set a goal here, because I have already far surpassed my expectations.
• The best book I read this year was Trevor Mackenzie’s “Diving into Inquiry: Amplify Learning and Empower Student Voice”. It was made better by my participation in a summer book club using my favourite App of the year - Flipgrid.
  

I want to keep this short. I know that is important. Knowing that my posts are short will embolden me as a contributor - I hope to come right back to the keyboard tomorrow to begin writing my #OneWord post for 2018.

Have a safe, happy and healthy New Year.

Marc

Summer Goals

My summer officially started today, Friday, July 8th. It was slightly delayed because I had the opportunity to teach a course with fellow educators that was sponsored by the Elementary Teacher’s Federation of Ontario (ETFO). The course was designed to help teachers transition to a Blended Classroom environment in the Junior Grades (4-6). Overall, it seemed to be well received by participants.

I am now looking at approximately 60 days before greeting my new Grade 5/6 class. Past summers have taught me that, left to my own devices, I will increasingly accomplish less. I have learned that I need to plan ahead and I must set the same S.M.A.R.T. goals I encourage my students to embrace. I need to be sure that my summer has some clear objectives that will keep me from too many late nights playing video games and/or watching television. I am also fighting a losing battle with my waistline. Although an extra ten pounds over the winter is understandable, gaining weight in temperate weather is just sad. (You can read between the lines and add "drinking beers" and "eating junk food" to my list of summer distractions.

With that in mind. Here is what I want to get done.

• Continue the 365 miles in 365 days challenge . I am currently at mile 208 on Day 190!
• Advance my TLLP Ontario Grant journey by mastering more at Code.org and Scratch(ed)
• Reorganize my math lessons based on computational thinking strategies provided here
• Read the book Invent to Learn
• Continue to practice my Spanish daily, using Rosetta Stone and Duolingo
• Write at least 6 blog entries (one every ten days) by the end of the summer.
• Learn 3 songs on the guitar that I can use in the classroom next year. This one for sure.
• Get more comfortable with the Lego Mindstorms EV3 robots for next year.

Beyond this, I still plan to have an awesome summer with my family and friends close to me as often as possible - with lots of beer, food, kayaking, hiking, campfires, laughs...a Mud Hero obstacle course race with my sister and, a 10 day vacation in Halifax, Charlottetown and Cape Breton to celebrate my 30th Anniversary with my wife! Perhaps I should reconsider the “A” in S.M.A.R.T. goals. These may not all be achievable - but it will be a great summer trying! I hope your summer is wonderful too.