This is my first year serving as technology instructional facilitator for a medium size school district located in the heart of Wyoming. I left my teaching job as a middle school special education teacher to take this position. Luckily for me, it is in the same school as I had previously taught. I continue to work with the same people as always and have added more to my educational world because I now also work with the elementary schools in the district.
I feel it is my duty to clarify. I did not change from my old job because I was tired, burnt out, exhausted, jaded or sick of the paperwork. (Okay, I lied about the last one.) I loved my job. I worked in special education for twenty years and looked forward to each day. I was content. This is how I knew it was time for a change and the instructional facilitator position was just that opening.
First day on record (although not my first day of duty) November 14, 2006:
I enter the school building ready to tackle a new day. I have a 7:30 a.m. meeting. Things haven't been going that well the last few days, but I figure that instructional facilitator work is somewhat similiar to childbirth. It only hurts for a little while and then you forget about it and go on with the next day. Except there appears to be significant more complications than the real birth thing. The technology I am bringing forth today in the building today after the meeting is Renassaince Responders. The idea has been conceived; I am ready, hopeful and willing. A teacher catches me as I am struggling to open my office door while juggling a backpack, computer, keys, and coffee cup. Would I load software and a scanner on another computer in her room since the main one she had went down? "No problem!" I say with confidence. Two hours and three adaptors later, and one missed meeting later, I cry, "Uncle Jim Bob." This was definitely not going to work. I give a few other lame suggestions that she might try, but I know the score is 0 to 1 in favor of the opponent.
I go back to my room and upload names to Accel test for the responders. It is refused. How can this be? Can it do that? Isn't there a some kind of law against this stuff? The file is not accepted. No, no way, now how. I am on my way to call technical support when I get a call. Grokker on Edgate isn't working, "Could you check on this?" Righty on it. I email and wait for Billie at Edgate to get back with me. Sure enough she does. They have put a password on Grokker now. Hmm...that would have been nice to know. I call back the teacher to report on Grokker, no answer, no message machine, put that on my List of to Do's. Zero of three tasks accomplished so far today. Not bad, it could be worse. Now for Ren...
Email pop-up...needed in room such and such. Polyvision board is down. Need help ASAP. I am on it. It is lunch time before I get out of there. It was fixed fast enough but I enjoy staying in the room working with the teachers and kids. Teachers earn their salaries by the way.
I look at my to do list. Hmm...so many to choose from...Let's see.... "Ring," Phone call from West Side. A group of teachers has just received their new Palm Handhelds. There are difficulties with loading the software..."Be right there..." After it is all said and done, I wasn't much help with the software but beamed a few things back and forth for fun.
Walking back through the main doors, and just entering my room, I get a call from another elementary school. A wireless pod refuses to work for the Neos. It is close, so I walk. The fresh air will do me good. I am starting to get that funeral home palor about me. The light off of computer monitors doesn't help much with the complexion. I restart the computer after gobs of other fiddling around, but the restart seems to have done the trick...for the moment. I wonder how much of this goes down right after I walk out the door and teachers just don't want to tell me.
I go back to my office, ready to finish out the day with Responders. No such luck, note on desk, Bookette names have been uploaded. I will need to get the passwords, user names, instructions, etc. out so the teachers that have been waiting can use them.
Five o'clock and I am just finishing up with Bookette, but realize I have forgotten an important part so will work on it tonight at home.
