Positive Workshop Experience Today

Special Note For New Readers:
If this is your first time visiting Free Technology for Teachers, please note that I rarely write posts of this style. The type of posts that you will typically find are things like Twelve Essentials for Technology Integration and 35+ Educational Games and Games Resources.

This morning, I attended a workshop about technology integration. The session was facilitated by two excellent educators from South Portland, Maine. Today's session was designed to introduce teachers to the basics of blogging. I was at this session because a few years ago my school received a grant for professional development. A requirement of this grant is to have every teacher attend a series of professional development workshops. Compared to the other options, this workshop was the one that I felt would give me the best learning experience. Turns out, I was right.

Some of you are probably wondering what I could take away from a workshop on the basics of blogging. Today was a great experience because I was able to become an informal facilitator working with my colleagues in a manner that our normal school schedule does not allow.

One of the things we (teachers in general) often complain about is a lack of time to actually talk about what we're doing or want to do in our classrooms. Throughout the morning I was able to converse with a small group of my colleagues, sharing information, exchanging ideas, and helping them get on the path toward technology integration. Overall, it was great to have the time to talk with my colleagues and see them brainstorming ideas for using technology in their courses. The workshop allowed me to experience the mantra, "it's not about the technology." I didn't pick up any new skills, but I did have a great learning experience with my colleagues.