Training!

So I got a new iPod touch this week and I have fallen in LOVE! I had no idea that it would be so much fun, but it is. I downloaded iTunes (all by myself) and uploaded my music and even a few new applications and I was ready to play. Or at least I thought I was!! Until one of my students noticed my new toy.

You know, I like to think of myself as a fairly intelligent human being. In fact, in my school building, I'd say that I am the second "go-to" person when it comes to technology issues. Little did I know, though, that my students had MUCH more knowledge on how to get the MOST out of using my new iPod than I could have ever dreamed of!! The student showed me all sorts of cool things I could do, applications I could download to make my life easier, ways to check my email, how I could text (for free...without a phone), and even ways I could use it in the classroom. Who knew?!??

Anyway, I realized on my way home yesterday how much like trying to teach the Carnegie way without the proper training my iPod situation was. You think everything is going well and you know what you're doing. Students seem to enjoy the lab and their grades are a little better. But you have no idea how much MORE effectively you could teach with Carnegie PD. (Well, at least that was true for me.)

I have talked to many teachers who use Carnegie over the last several years and nine times out of ten the ones who are frustrated with it haven't been trained to use it. If you are teaching with Carnegie and have had NO training (directly from Carnegie), even if you're enjoying it and feel like you're doing a good job, trust me, life would be much easier and you would be teaching much more efficiently if you DID get some training!! (Plus, it's fun.)

I had three different Carnegie Professional Development's before I started using it in the classroom and two more after. Now, that's a bit on the extreme side, but I am telling you from experience, getting the PD straight from the creators of the curriculum and software is a no-brainer! Thanks to the trainings I have attended, I have learned so much about how to introduce Carnegie, set up my classroom and lab, choose groups of students, implement the text effectively, monitor the lab, pace my teaching, authentically assess my students, and the list goes on and on.

All this being said, I realize it isn't easy for some of you (teachers) to get yourself into training. You could look for some regional trainings, attend the National Math Institute this summer in Nashville, TN or if you are using Carnegie district-wide get onto your district PD coordinators and ask why they haven't already scheduled you some Professional Development!!