The 1-1-1 Rule!
Filed Under (Work) by Laura Smith on 06-02-2010
I have been trying a lot of new things this year in my curriculum. Sometimes it goes smoothly and sometimes it feels like my head is going to explode. Honestly, it is hard to completely re-write your ENTIRE curriculum in one year, as it happens. I got some work done last summer, but I’m trying to work on the fly, too, and with my teaching duties, Technology Troubleshooting and 1-1 Laptop Program, plus being the Chair of the Maryland Discovery Educator Network Leadership Council and Treasurer of my Homeowners Association, not to mention Mommy to two young children…whew! No wonder I’m a little stressed!
So I invented this rule for myself, and maybe it will work for you, too. (I’m sure some other wise person has thought of this, but I never heard of it before, so it’s new to me!)
I call it the 1-1-1 Rule. I try to do 1 new thing, with 1 of my classes (or subjects, if you’re a classroom teacher), for 1 week. Don’t try to tell yourself, “I can do more, it’s okay.” No. It may work for a while, but you will burn out quickly.
Some Examples: I wanted to try Wallwisher. Basically, this is a website that lets you create an online “bulletin board,” with virtual sticky notes added by whoever you give permissions to. You can set it to be public, or give your students a password they can use to access it. I decided to try it with 2nd grade as an assessment for our Internet Safety lesson. Because I was able to focus on that one new thing, with that one class, it went very well!
I was also looking to try a backchannel chat during a lesson. This past week, I tried using TodaysMeet with my 6th graders. Today’s Meet lets you create a chat room that users can log on without having to download any software or even sign up for membership. Its simple interface made it perfect for new users. And, after a few minutes of silly “‘Hi,’ ‘hey,’ ‘wassup,’ ‘lolz,’ and so on, we started to get the hang of it.
So, if you have been wanting to try new things, try the 1-1-1 Rule! I guarantee it will reduce your stress level. At least at school. I’m still working on the other stuff. Lolz.
Laura,
I don’t know how you do it all, but am so glad that you make time for us.
Excellent rule! Don’t forget that you are also a blogger
I felt tired for you after reading the first paragraph. I work with a teacher with a similar mentality. She is not very tech savvy, but she tells herself 1 piece of new tech per semester. Over time, she has built a comfortable use of tech at her own pace. Thanks for the sound advice. We all need to remember moderation at times.
P.S. – I didn’t know about Today’s Chat. What a great site. Thanks for that as well.
- @TheNerdyTeacher
Great idea, Laura. I learned long ago that if I want to eat that elephant, I have to do it one bite at a time. Thank you for sharing your balanced revelation with us.
It’s very important to have balance in life. Many educators feel like they need to try everything in order to be the best teacher they can be, but that’s simply not true. Your 1:1:1 idea will hopefully help you stay sane while still experimenting with new technology.
That is a great way to keep things manageable. Good luck getting everything that you have to do done!