Getting to know my Full Sail classmates

We've now had our third Wimba session and have been forming groups for our first class. The people in our class seem to be really nice. It's a diverse group, too. I am finding others with similar points-of-view and several with some really excellent experience that goes way beyond anything I've been able to do yet. I wish I could visit some of their schools and observe! I could just take a year off and immerse myself in all of this...but that wouldn't really be practical. Besides, I will want to apply some of the things I've been learning in my classroom this year and see how they work.

I'm really grateful there are such neat people in the class who are so friendly and willing to share their experience and knowledge. I am really isolated in my own school setting. Having this chance to network with my Full Sail classmates is really going to help me this year. I must confess, I've been getting a little burned out after 10 years in our Community Ed program.  I taught the Middle School Expulsion program for 3 semesters and have been doing Even Start/Alternative High School for 8 years. We are in a separate building and don't get a chance to collaborate with teachers at the high school. We hardly get a chance to talk among ourselves as staff. There is no common planning time, so we're lucky to have more than a few words together during any given day. Really, we have each been on our own. I think we could be really dynamic and effective if the program were structured to allow us to collaborate. As it is, we are each just doing the best that we can, isolated in our own classrooms, with a minimum of interaction.

I'm thinking the project I'm going to do for my masters might give me a chance to interact more with other teaching staff, including those at the high school.  We'll see! I certainly hope so. If not, I am encouraged by the friendliness of the people in my on-line class. I have really been needing a chance to network with others, especially those with an interest in integrating technology into the classroom.
 I'm looking forward to getting to know them better during the next year.