I thought about my experiences as a teacher and tried to transform those thoughts into what my “teacher self” would look like as an EdTech. In the classroom I always had positive reinforcement. My classroom was student driven. We were a true team, me acting as a guide on the side. As an EdTech I knew I wanted to learn with teachers and from them. I didn’t want to have all of the answers. I wanted to welcome failure and uncertainty and lead by example. I wanted to genuinely reinforce the smallest accomplishment of any teacher......trying one new thing a day and taking baby steps along the way. As a teacher, I was always prepared and so I began studying team webs and the map of the school I would soon call home. As a teacher, I liked to be organized so I created a new folder in Google Drive and began jotting down all ideas and questions. As a teacher, I always modeled mistakes and lived by the quote of the biggest mistake is the best teacher. This quote gave me comfort and I knew that no matter what happened I would grow stronger and wiser. As a teacher, I preached that "attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference" and so I remained positive and excited. As a teacher, I believed in getting to know my students well and so I went to visit my new school and started getting to know the teachers. I took notes on things they told me so I wouldn’t forget. I knew that knowing them on all levels was important. This transformation in thought became clearer and clearer with each book, art supply, manipulative I gave away. As I watched others "hoard" (for real) my life as a teacher, I took a deep breath and told myself...I can do this. I am a teacher at heart! No one can take that from me and the past 15 years in the classroom has truly prepared me for my next chapter.
Once I had a focus, things became clearer, I became more confident and was ready. I had a vision and an idea of how I would move forward…..and it felt right!