Are You a Leader?

Welcome back!  I'm so glad that you decided to join me for week 2 of my blog!
The goal of this blog is to share out what I've learned regarding education.  That being said, today will not be a techie tip, sorry to all you nerds out there!  Today I would like to talk about the importance of leadership in education.
Six times a year, my district brings in a representative from the group Learning Forward to teach and support the new coaches.  Today was one of those days.  We looked at standards for professional development and one of those standards was about the importance of leadership.  When I think of leadership in schools I think about Superintendents, Principals, Assistant Principal, and even coaches like me.   We learned about the importance of creating teacher leaders.
Time and time again we learn of initiatives in school districts where the principals and coaches are pushing for reform.  Sometimes it is successful, and sometimes it is not.  Creating teachers as leaders is one of the ways to support the success of any school program.
All teachers should be a leader is some way or another.  It could be as big as to helping lead change in a building, to being in charge of the schedule of who will bring snacks to the next meeting.  Can you imagine what a school would look like if we had a community of leaders?!  That's really the purpose of a instructional coach.  Yes, we support learning, but if we can light the fire of learning and create leaders in our teachers then that school will be unstoppable.
As I reflect on what I learned today I thought about how I am a leader in my role as an Instructional Technology Coach.  I encourage you to reflect on your leadership role in your building.   How have you been a leader with other teachers?  Students? Schools? Districts?  If you are taking a leadership role, good for you!  If not, look around your school building or district and see if there is a place that you could lead.  Start a book club.  Create a twitter account and encourage others to as well.  Lead discussions at the lunch table.  Start a homework help club during lunch time.  Become a leader and take a positive step forward in your educational community.

Who is a Geek Gal?

Hello and welcome to my blog!  I am  an Instructional Technology Coach in Decatur Public Schools in Central Illinois. I am one of five coaches whose primary responsibility is to work in Elementary schools with teachers to increase engagement in classrooms through the use of technology. I am a geek gal.  As I learn more and more about tech in the classroom I realize that there is tons to learn and share.   The purpose of this blog is to share my experience from what I have read, learned, experienced, and share with the reader.
Since it is spring break I find myself with more time than usual this morning. I spent this time catching up on the blogs that I subscribe to and my twitter feed. It is so important as an educator to stay connected with educators around the area, country and world. Education is changing all the time.  What better way to stay up to date than reading what other people are thinking and doing.  I know that since I have gotten digitally connected, I am constantly thinking and reworking my idea of what the classroom should be.  I say all of this because you can be a Geek Gal, or Guy too.  I challenge you to read more on Twitter, create an account if you don't have one and search for people who interest you. If your not sure where to start, search for something that interests you and follow people who comment on that topic!
Thank you for reading my first blog, and keep checking back for more ideas and things I've discovered and learned.