Podcasting day

Over a year ago when we submitted our TLLP application, we planned to do a PD event on blogging for our staff - and finally the big day arrived. In the intervening months however, we saw our knowledge, and that of our colleagues, grow beyond this initial goal. So instead we invited Eric Fullerton to speak to us about podcasting. We thought this would introduce everyone to a new area of technology that could then be integrated into our classrooms. I was so happy with the events of the day. First of all, Eric's presentation was fantastic and the feedback from the participants has been very positive. When I met him a few months ago, I thought he was a great guy who was accomplishing some very interesting things with his large Grade 7/8 class in Mactier. I trusted that he would come over and teach us some new things - and he went way beyond what I could ever have imagined. In fact I am sort of amazed that all of us just assumed that things would work out. Most of our invited participants turned up, the food was great, and Eric's instructional materials for us were simply outstanding. I am in awe of the amount of preparation that he, and other teachers, seem to put into presentations for colleagues. Here he took all that time to make up an exceptional, informative PPT, prepare materials for an introductory lesson, provide us with a list of resources and share his own experiences so that we could learn. One of the teachers, in a moment of appreciation, asked Eric if he was married - in tribute to the amount of time he obviously spent on our behalf! In the world of teaching I so often see people investing this type of effort for personal growth or to share with friends. No consulting fees were paid, although we have thought of a nice present to send to Eric! But it was the effort behind such a professional presentation that struck me as I was thinking about April 30.