Month: July 2011

Lessons learned from Harry Potter

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I cannot believe that this weekend, so many of us got our final first taste of a new Harry Potter movie. It was really hard for me to bring myself to go out and see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 because that meant it was over. I didn’t go out and see it on opening night. Instead, I had a Harry Potter movie marathon and saw the new movie on Sunday night. I’ve been wallowing in my Harry Potter ending for days now. It’s been part of my life for so long! I could write a million posts on lessons learned from Harry Potter and why it’s so awesome. But instead I’m going to elaborate on three of the most important and meaningful lessons I’ve learned from the series.

Perseverance

The aversion that many have to the Harry Potter series is it’s length. It spans over seven years, for crying out loud! And Harry perseveres through it all. For seven years, he was constantly hit over and over with situations that required so much from him. Through all of his trials, he never gave up. He always managed to hold on to his faith and understanding of what is right. Things didn’t always turn out perfectly. Things sure weren’t easy. But despite all of the challenges Harry faced, he held on to what he truly believed and persevered.

“We must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy.” Dumbledore in the Goblet of Fire 

Dumbledore has so many powerful, thought provoking quotes throughout the books and movies. He’s the wise old owl and he knows what’s up. And I think this quote is probably my favorite from our favorite witty, powerful wizard. And he’s so right — we all have to decide if we are going to take the right path or the easy path. There’s always an easier way out of a situation. As educators, it’s so important that we put forth the time and effort to do what is right. That’s what we signed up for. To do what is right for our students, even if it isn’t the easy thing. Isn’t that what we try to teach our students to do? How can we expect them to do this if we don’t lead by example?

You can’t do it alone!

Would Harry have made it through a single one of the challenges he faced without the help of his friends? I’m thinking no! Harry surrounded himself with smart, brave, trustworthy friends. This didn’t happen by chance, it happened because Harry is a smart dude! We have to surround ourselves with good people that will support us and enrich our lives. Then we can accomplish great things together, just like Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

It’s so sad to know that there’s no new Harry Potter magic to look forward to. Thankfully, I have the books on my shelf and the movies in my DVD collection so I can visit with and feel empowered by my dear friends as often as I’d like.

EdCamp Louisiana

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This past Saturday was the first EdCamp Louisiana and it was amazing! The photo above was taken afterwards of 4 of the 5 organizers – Valerie Burton, Brian Mull, myself, and Paula Naugle. We waited too long to take the picture, so we are missing Carl Gaines.

It really was a wonderful day and so many great conversations took place. There’s nothing better than being around inspiring, passionate educators and it was a bonus that these peeps are local! I led a session on digital storytelling tools, which was really fun. One of my gems of the day was meeting and talking to Tinashe Blanchet — for me she’s one of those people that you just connect with and feel that they are a kindred soul. I adore her – she’s cute and loves all things cute, I mean come on!! She’s doing awesome things in her classroom and shared some great resources, including Canvas, a learning management system that I’m very interested to learn more about. She also shared in a great session on QR Codes, which I definitely plan to dive into this school year.

The most AWESOME thing about EdCamp was getting to meet such great people that are so close by. ISTE is amazing, but when I leave, I’m sad because we disburse throughout the country. Here I realized that we have a concentration of awesomeness in our state and we need to harness that and band together! We need experiences like this more often.

EdCamp Louisiana…holla! Now get involved and go plan your own edcamp!

 

 

 

 

 

 

ISTE11 Reflections

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So I’m a week out from my incredible ISTE11 experience and my head is still spinning. I’m trying to take my experiences and decide how I want to apply them in the coming school year — plus I’m getting ready for EdCamp Louisiana this Saturday AND working on my grad courses. It’s no wonder my head is spinning, right??

ISTE10 was an eye opening experience for me. I was *sort of* of blogging and tweeting, so I knew some names and recognized some faces. That conference really opened up a whole new world for me. I was green in the area of Web 2.0 and that was where I got my roots. I was a sponge and I absorbed so much.

I was looking forward to a completely different experience this year. ISTE11 was all about the people. It was like I was deeply breathing in both excitement and comfort for five straight days. I was able to connect with people I follow, respect, and admire. But this year it wasn’t just me sitting there freaking out about meeting my library idols, it was a chance for me to meet and connect with people that I interact with and learn from constantly. It was refreshing.

I know I sound like a cheese ball, but it was totally awesome. TOTALLY. AWESOME.

I did attend some awesome sessions, learned about some fabulous tools, took away some great new ideas. I even got a FREAKING LIVESCRIBE PEN! But the way I learned at ISTE11 was completely different than how I learned at ISTE10. And for the place where I am professionally right now, it was exactly what I needed.

Now don’t get me wrong, I left with some sweet tools that I plan to use, including Evernote (why did I never try this before? do I use it to replace diigo?) and I’m excited to share Edmoto with some of my teachers. And, did I mention, I now have a Livescribe Pen? 🙂

I think the most important thing that I received from the conference was a renewed sense of passion about what I do (and need to do). And it was much needed affirmation that what I’m doing and my way of thinking is valid. It is my job to be a curator of resources. And an information and research ninja. And the creator of a place where students feel safe and welcome. And I love what I do. And I LOVE my people…you know who you are! ::MUAH::