Monday, March 30, 2015

Early Bloggery


One of the great teaching gigs I've had was working at The McQuarrie Enrichment Centre. The amazing staff, the most fabulous students EVER, and a job that allowed for creativity and spontaneity made these years unique and unforgettable.

The job offered many varied experiences, but I think my favorite part was teaching Gr. 7 and 8 Area Classes. The students who attended these programs came to McQuarrie one day a week for either a full or half year (depending on numbers and politics), then attended their regular classes at their home school the other 4 days. These Area Class days were some of the most engaging in my career. The students bonded in their one day together and became a supportive, caring community of true friends. They shared many issues and concerns; I adored their passion for engaging in deep discussion about anything and everything.

It was at McQuarrie during these years that my passion for technology took firm hold. In the mid 2000s, social media was just beginning to evolve as a tool which might offer some new opportunities for communication and collaboration in education. I experimented a bit with a classroom website first. I remember learning to code for the first time at CATC Camp in 2001! Yuk - not for me. I decided I would wait until a tool came along that didn't necessitate the use of code! Sure enough along came Dreamweaver a couple of years later with its option for code or design view and it became my favorite software for quite a few years. I used DW for building my first classroom website and hosted it on a server we had at McQuarrie. Hey, and guess what it was called? WATTSUP!! Geez, I wish I still had access to those files - I'd love to peek back at those eariest efforts! Sadly, no such archive. I did classroom websites with every class I taught from that point on and had students of all ages using Dreamweaver and using their new-found skills as authors and editors on our sites.

Blogging came next and the students and I were almost immediately hooked! When I offered blogging as an option to my Area Class students as a means to continue our engaging discussions and stay connected during the 'other' days of the week, it was instantly popular.

Just for fun - here are some links to my earliest McQuarrie Blogs - from 2006 - 2008.
So, I've gone from 'wattsup' in 2005 to 'wattsup next?' in 2015. Great journey so far. And I wonder what's next?

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Changing Gears

I'm heading into my last term of teaching ..... after 35 years.

A few months ago when I told my colleagues about my retirement, I was pretty adamant that they understand my plan to work til the end of June at my usual pace - no winding down, slacking off or daily countdowns for me! For the most part that's the way it's been however, I have come to realize that it won't quite be 'business as usual' for the next couple of months. My mind is increasingly preoccupied with thoughts of what's next - I am definitely feeling the changing of gears.

So, although I've blogged on and off over the years, I've decided that this unique and wondrous time deserves a fresh start. 'wattsup next' is going to be my place to share all these swirling thoughts, ideas, reflections, plans, start-up possibilities and so on.

I'm in the driver's seat, hand on the gear shift and heading out. Won't you join me and see what's up next?