I love August

Weird, right? Some teachers get antsy when the last few days of summer are here. Me? I get happy. The change in the air, the need for organization...I like the laziness of summer but everything in me screams order! order! as soon as the thought of school is this close.

This month I taught three classes at tech camp. My biggest class was screencasting--I think due to clever marketing--and everything went smoothly in the class. The 17 or so teachers that attended were all able to download the app and make samples in a half-day session.

The other two sessions really ought to have been full days: WebQuests and wiki-centric classes. With these classes we spent a lot of time looking at exemplars, and then began the building/design process. It is hard in a half day to 1) design something of value and 2) construct it using new tech tools. I set up a wiki page to host the webquests which worked great for the people in the session. But realistically if you do not have a host already and need help getting started (be it a blog, wiki, whatever--there are many free and easy hosts) that can take time. It is VALUABLE time, it is LEARNING time, but it is not exactly building a webquest time. Same thing for wikis. Wikis take hundred of hours to build really good ones. Three hours on a hot August afternoon is like the first lick of an ice cream cone. There's a lot more to go.

It was a great experience, nonetheless. I managed to collaborate for a few hours with the lovely Ms. P and we worked on Cougar Paw wiki stuff.

Next week is my unofficial back-to-school week. I cannot wait. Order!