My year in review this year, takes me a little away from the classroom but surprisingly has not taken me far from education.
After a rather emotional and rollercoaster start to 2016 in the classroom I made the difficult decision to leave the safety of teaching and jump out into the world boots first, to try something else.
I always was someone who liked to try new things, staying in teaching into my 12th year was something of a milestone for myself and it was time to move on, I knew it in my heart.
So I wrote to my board and was approved to stop teaching at the end of term 1. The feelings were very mixed. I had no job...no idea what work I would do...I had no idea of what was next for me....
It wasn't long after my teaching door began to close, that a new door opened for me. Before I had packed up and left the classroom I was fortunate to come into contact with a little company called Bridging the Gap. Bridging the Gap provide IT Pd to ...wouldn't you know it... Schools!
This seemed like a perfect fit for me, and as 2016 rolled on, I found myself really enjoying this new roll, and seeing schools from a different point of view.
My learning in education did not stop with me leaving the classroom but has continued to grow through the professional discussions held day in and day out, around the assessment and analysis of data schools are collecting, Around what to collect, when and why. I enjoy having the ability to help people negotiate the implementation of digital tools in their schools, and help design systems than work for different individuals.
My adventure outside the classroom has only just begun, I wonder what 2017 holds in store.
