Technology Education: Am I in a Rut?

By Anonymous -
Let's start off by saying "I love my job." I am an instructional guide, coach, resource, and trouble shooter for many teachers for whom I admire on a daily basis. They have a hard job and recent technology, social media, and culture paradigm shifts have made that job even more challenging. And my job is to assist them in their job. So, my job is cushy next theirs...

But, I find myself in a technology rut. I find that GSuite for Education updates and the latest edtech are blase. I find that following the latest technology ed on twitter is tedious.

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Is it time to reinvent the wheel again? Or to tackle a new challenge? Blog about some new way of infusing technology into the classroom? I watch wonderful technology specialists continue to post good works and grow as leaders. I am envious and congratulatory at the same time. I am in a work rut and want to get out of it. I recently read "4 Ways to Bounce Back from a Work Rut (No Matter How Long You've Been in It)" by Melody J. Wilding. 

She says to:
1. Self evaluate
2. Plan/Take a mini-retreat
3. Focus on one thing at a time
4. Identify decisions I've been avoiding.

1. So I looked at what's working and what is not. I find that I work best if I have a combination of long-term and short term projects and objectives focused around improving instruction. Currently, I have very few work projects. I also find that I am most satisfied when I present to a small group of teachers or enter into a classroom and co-teach/assist with students. My best times as a teacher were interacting with students and I really enjoyed recently connecting with the social studies department on two projects. I need to find opportunities to do that more often.

2. Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming. I believe this topic is about self-care. I don't have a lot of time built up to plan a retreat, but I have planned out a little hiking and a long weekend of that may help. I think I still have work to do on this particular topic. Any advice on this is certainly welcome!

3. As I write this, I am creating a to-do list of potential work projects and will give it my best to focus on each of those individually instead of multitasking and reacting to "troubleshoot technology issues" that arise on a daily as I often have done this year. 

4. Identifying things that I avoid.... Hmm. That's a hard one. I don't honestly think I am avoiding anything particular. I will have to think further on that. 

What I ask of you (good reader) is to help me with my lack of focus and motivation by suggesting solutions or telling me what you have done to combat a similar situation. I am truly interested to see if any other instructional specialists, technology educators, or any educators have experiences that can help. Thank you in advance. 






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