Interactive white boards have been going into Kilgore High School classrooms over the past week.  Every day a few more classrooms are added to the "updated" list . . .

At first, I got a few emails from panicked teachers worried about what to do.  Now I'm getting emails from teachers telling me what they've already done.  That is pretty impressive considering we haven't even conducted an official training yet.

We'll still do that official training part.  As soon as all of the boards are installed, we'll have a representative from the company come out to do a full walk-through of the product and its capabilities.  We'll follow that up with several trainings throughout the year to make sure you know how to do all of the basic stuff . . . and some of the really fancy stuff, too. 

In the mean time, keep on playing.  It is amazing how much you guys have learned already.  Also hop on over to the web site for the Eno Interactive Board.  You'll find some great tutorials to supplement what you've already learned.  Be sure to check out the webinars.  I highly recommend PVES 001 and PVES 002.

So . . . go ahead and amaze your students and the rest of the staff.  Very impressive.

Kilgore is a great place, right?  We all love the place . . . but I wonder . . . How many people own their own homes in Kilgore?  2,300.  How many rent?  1,501.  How big is Kilgore?  17.9 square miles or 9.868 people. 

Hmmm.  Interesting stuff . . . I guess.  Check out this and more at This We Know.  It is a window into the tons of data collected about communities all over the country. 

• Want to know the town with the lowest unemployment?  Baker, MT
• Want to know the least polluted town?  Gunnison, CO

Now, why would you care about all of this?  Who needs more data like this filling their heads?  Maybe you do.  Think of the great ways you could use this information in the classroom.  Maybe you incorporate this into a project comparing communities.  Maybe kids research all sorts of places and break down the numbers into meaningful information.  Maybe . . . 

Hmmm.  This We Know.  Give it a try.

Teachers new to the vocation or just new to our district met on August 13 and I was lucky enough to be there for the first few minutes.  It really was interesting to sit there and watch the strange mix of emotions and feelings on all of the new faces.  You name the emotion, it was on display on at least one person's face.

I couldn't help but thinking back to my first job in education.  I walked in with the goal of changing the world and the fear that in a few day's time I would be eaten alive by a bunch of 10th grade English students.  Sure, it is kind of fun to reminisce but then I started thinking about the idea of a "new" teacher.

It is a new year.  There are new programs, new initiatives and, yes, new state requirements.  There are new procedures, new . . . yadda, yadda, yadda.  I know, I know.  Now is the time where I'm supposed to talk about re-inventing yourself, starting fresh, etc. 

[Right now, all "experienced" teachers and probably many new teachers are rolling their eyes and saying something about, "Same song, 4 millionth verse."]

As cliche as it may be, there is something to this idea of re-newing ourselves annually.  Give in to it, just a little bit. 

One of our "new" focuses this year will be on interactive learning.  We want to our educational process to be more than just delivering content.  We want the process to be just as much about how students are receiving and expanding on that content.  To that end, I want to focus on the teacher for a moment.

Dr. Alex Couros talks about the idea of  teacher networks.  Listed below is an example of how a "typical" teacher is connected to his/her network of resources.

There is another way, though.  Shift your thinking just a bit and start adding in some additional resources and tools.  Notice that the second model doesn't eliminate any of the traditional "links."  It simply adds and enhances.  Also note that many of the new links are two-way. 

Hmmmm.  Two-way.  Hmmmm.  Interactive. 

Yeah, that's the ticket.  Maybe all of us could stand to re-new ourselves a bit.  Maybe all of us could stand to expand and enhance our Learning Networks.  Maybe all of us, to a certain extent should be "new teachers." 

OK, enough already.  It won't happen overnight; nor is there a magic pill.  Just take it one step at a time.  Use the best tools to help reach your students and we'll have another great year.

Welcome back, "New Teachers."