Time to learn

It has been awhile since my last written post and I find that each day it becomes harder to take the time to sit down, think, and write. As technology advances in school, I seem to have less time for it and on most days, that is frustrating. You see, I preach to the folks in my office how it is important to spend a part of each day learning something new. I love to be on the cutting edge of new technology resources and yet that is something that doesn't happen without some time management.

I say this in part because I have spent the past day and a half in a SMART Lesson Developer workshop for our district teachers. Last night (Friday) and today (Saturday), 14 teachers have been learning about best practices in developing Notebook files and incorporating the SMARTBoard in their classroom routine. They are talking and sharing and learning new things. Every few minutes you can hear someone say, "Wow" or "That is so much easier!" Teachers, like me, have less time for their own learning as the demands of the classroom increase. We had many more slots for teachers to participate and as the time has passed, the teachers here say they wish more people had taken the time to come.

I want to be creative and think outside of the box to give teachers that time that they so desperately need to play, learn, create, and share. That is difficult for me as I am not a school-level administrator yet at the district it is my job to do just that. How do we find time for such a valuable resource when time is already at a premium? I would love to hear about district and schools who have examined this problem. How do they evaluate the use of time and budget it wisely? How can you get the most benefits (student achievement) with so little? How do you prioritize?

Image from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/robbie73/4244846566/