When I first started the Innovative Learning Program, I was thinking most about how it might help me in thinking about my next steps. I have been a school principal for many years and I was looking for a way to keep myself current. I’ve always been forward thinking in my goals for myself and for my school, so I wanted to see what more I could bring to the work I’m trying to lead at my site. I also have a strong sense of urgency for making positive change happen for the students that we have right now. The part of my job that I like the most is leading learning and I’ve focused my own professional growth over the last several years on our magnet goals which include the enhanced Primary Years Program of the IB and our Communications and Media magnet theme. The IB program is where I feel the most comfortable and knowledgeable, so I was looking forward to getting “a shot in the arm” for technology and media learning. I also saw the program as an opportunity to lean into our new digital reality that came with virtual learning.
With the many new resources we’ve used through the program, I’ve gained an appreciation for the struggle of learning a new technology tool while also trying to learn content knowledge and through it all continue with our day to day work and responsibilities as a teacher or administrator. Just seemingly simple things like creating a logo were really time consuming as well as frustrating at times when I was using tools that were new to me. But I have to say, just like with our students, when we struggle to learn something new there is such a feeling of accomplishment and we build stamina to try even more challenges moving forward. As I’ve learned to be literate in new ways it confirms for me all that we’ve discovered about the brain and how it works during this program. Transliteracy is not just about making sure that we allow ourselves and others to be creative in our choices but also that we push ourselves and our students to attempt new ways of learning which leads to new ways of knowing. To me, that is the connection with the TPACK framework. We share our content knowledge by engaging students with instructional strategies that we know work, and in addition we use technology tools as a vehicle for giving students new experiences and new ways to share their thinking, passions, and talents. I’m leaving the program with a new energy and momentum as the instructional leader for my school and for new opportunities that are still coming for me as an educator.