If you’ve been a long-term follower of my blog, first of all, thank you for sticking with me through my inconsistent posting! You’ve seen a lot about educational technology here, but that’s about to change. In December, I transitioned from my role as a high school Instructional Technology Coach to become my division’s new Coordinator of Professional Learning at Central Office.
This is a brand-new position within my school division, and I am thrilled to make it my own! I have so many ideas and can’t wait to see where this new journey takes me. It was a long time coming as over the past 3 years, I have felt a pull towards wanting to work with educators differently and support all aspects of the teaching experience, not just the technology side.
Ironically, when I first became a coach, I dreaded facilitating workshops. I would write out a full script and clutch several pages of notes, referring back to it often, just to get through a session because I was so nervous. Thankfully, it got easier over time. While I still get a few butterflies before presenting, I now embrace the interaction with participants and genuinely love sharing knowledge in this way. One of the greatest compliments I’ve ever received as a presenter came on the last day of this year’s VSTE conference:
I’ve come a long way!
So what exactly will I be doing in this new role? While some aspects are still a work in progress, my primary responsibilities include:
- Developing the training schedule for our new teacher orientation
- Developing the training schedule for pre-service week
- Developing and facilitating training for new teacher mentors (in collaboration with HR)
- Coordinating the division-wide PL Academy day in October (a conference-style event)
- Creating and distributing surveys for the division’s professional learning needs assessment
- Developing a multi-year Division Professional Development Plan
- Supporting division and school leaders in delivering professional development through various formats, including in-person and online sessions
Some of these are already underway, while others will roll out next school year. Adding to the excitement, my direct supervisor is also new to her role—she started just two weeks before me! It has been incredibly valuable to navigate these new waters alongside someone equally committed to building this “department” from the ground up.
How will this transition impact my blog? Hopefully, one of the biggest changes will be more frequent posts! Another reason I sought a change from my coaching position was the stress it brought into my life. Being the primary source of instructional technology support in my building was demanding, and it started to take a toll on my health. Nothing serious, but if I hadn’t made a change, it was heading in that direction. Just two months into this new role, I already feel an improvement, which I hope will allow me more time to write.
The content will shift a bit, too. While educational technology will always hold a special place in my heart, I’ll be expanding my focus to other areas within K–12 education. Additionally, I’m excited to bring back my Weekly Finds series, where I share resources and interesting discoveries from social media.
I’m looking forward to this new chapter and sharing the journey with you all!
Al was used to revise and proofread some of the text in this post.
Ms Priester EDU 