I start this week by asking a simply question, what do you do? Or rather what is it that I do. I guess to really validate this attempt of a clarifying blog segment, I should start off with where I got this thought. This weekend I was asked a simply question, or I am supposing the person asking it thought it was simply. Like most times when you meet someone new or you attempt to get to know someone better, we tend to ask mundane questions, those items that we politely need to ask but really truly don’t care. (I am not trying to be egocentric or act with any regards to that.) However I am just stating a point, if someone is going to be our friend or potential friend, what does asking them what they do for a living really matter in the grand scheme of things. Reality is we want to know more about their morals and values and such, not what ice cream is their favorite or what do they do between the hours of 6 am to 5 pm. I am just saying!

But as usual I digress from my original thought, let me take you back. I was having dinner with an acquaintance (along with a group of other acquaintances too) and the conversation politically turned to what each of us did for a living, career, job – however it is you want to label it. Time came to me, I hesitated for a moment. This seemed odd to me, because traditionally I would always give the same answer – “I am a teacher” (always with a slight cringe to my voice) and then the flow of the conversation would move on to someone else. But when the question was asked of me, I paused. This has perplexed me, because my title is technically no longer a teacher, I am according to my business cards, an “Educational Technologist.” I realized to the majority of the world – this means absolutely nothing. But last night, I responded with “I an Educational Technologist.” I am not sure if its because I was dining with people that society has deemed “professionals” or if I was caught off guard and it just flowed out of my mouth. Then something that has never happened – happened, the chatter of the group stopped, and a followup question was asked, “What exactly is that?” Obviously I was surround by individuals NOT in the education field, but in retrospect, do even other educators really know what an Educational Technologist is, I highly doubt it.

After I realized that all eyes and ears were on me, I paused and realized my error. I am calling it an error, because it seems that once I start talking about what I really do, debate ensues. The majority of the world still tends to view education as a drill and repeat exercise. This is also why I find stating I am “teacher” seems so belittling to the profession. I will rant about that latter. As I sat there for a minute sipping on my water, I realized that this like so many other times would definitely start a new conversation at the table. I took a deep breath and began this explanation:

“Well, I am a teacher, however I am more than that. (I realized I think all teachers do this, because reality is we are more than just teachers). I technically no longer have a situated class, however I assist all of the teachers in delivering 21st Century lessons. The school I teach at is a 1:1 school and is 100% digital. I also am responsible for everything techie in regards to Professional Development and Curriculum based.”

 After my small explanation, I felt like I was staring at a group of deers – no really it was like I was trying to explain String Theory or something. I then went on to explain my explanation. Once I concluded, I realized this probably confused them even more, which perplexed me because I was sitting at a table of reasonably intelligent individuals, most had college degrees (some even graduate degrees) and all could be considered highly successful in there fields of expertise, thus this group of women were not dumb by any means; yet I had stumped them all by a few sentences. I then began my long explanation starting with 21st century learning.

Which brings me back to the beginning, what do I do? It seems that even I am not sure. Surely I can say I educate, I theorize, I collaborate, I engage, I do all the things I should do to propell students and teachers into a forward thinking motion. However, what is it that I do? I teach others how to use products that some think are just toys into collaborative, learning devices. This is what I do. Computers, phones, mobile devices are not merely toys, they are tolls. Just like a hammer, it is designed for one thing, however we all use it differently. Some use it the way its meant to be used, some use it as a piece of art (my happens to match the purple tool set I have under my kitchen sink), others morbidly use it for heinous acts. Its all about perception or intent.

So I realized driving home, what do I do? My first thought was, what don’t I do, which a loud chuckle. But then I realized that regardless of my explanation, some individuals all they heard was teacher, others heard techie, other simply heard geek. What it is, or what my intent was, that in explaining to this group of women what 21st Century learning is and why “gadgets” were necessary (as one women questioned), was that the world is changing – there really is no such thing as drill and repeat. (Well there is but there may no longer be a valid place for it). What education is today was not what it was yesterday nor is it what it is going to be tomorrow. As other fields, education is changing, as the world changes.

So what do I do? I am a shift changer (OK I am a scifi geek – deal with it). I help students, teachers, and even parents learn and change with the progression of the world. I create ways for others to absorb, respond, and collaborate to information that is constantly circulated. I work to help others feel that they are progressing in a world no one can technically keep up with. Yes the term that is now used is Educational Technologist, however that term like the term Teacher is so ill defined that it is hard to begin to define it in the first place. As thus I realized this morning on my drive to work, what is it I do? Simple. I am a teacher.

(I will post later about my conversation that also transpired about “oh a teacher”)