The Here and Now

“All that is important is this one moment in movement. Make the moment important, vital, and worth living. Do not let it slip away unnoticed and unused.” 
― Martha Graham

I always strive to find a way to connect my personal life with my professional life in my blog posts. At this point, I feel like my professional life is taking over. I've been so busy with work that my personal life is being neglected. Does anyone else feel this way?

I feel frustrated in the midst of this. I want to be challenging my personal self as much as my professional self. I want to be in my kayak, paddling new rivers and pushing my skills. I want to be riding my mountain bike on technical, downhill trails. I want to be carving turns on my snowboard. I want to be gliding over the water on my kiteboard, giant kite overhead, sun shining down on me.

WOW! All of these things I'm focusing on aren't allowing me to focus on the here and now, ultimately preventing me from enjoying it as much as I should! I'm guilty.

My work is incredibly rewarding and very consuming. I'm developing a solid curriculum in Oral Communication Skills 2 and leading my team of teachers to success. Day in and day out, I'm creating engaging materials for us to use. Why do I find myself dreaming of outdoor adventures nonstop? I should be focusing on the present and enjoying it.

In Webskills, my participants from all over the world are excelling. They've created a productive online learning community. It's an honor and pleasure to interact with these talented educators from all over the world. Why do I find myself dreaming of traveling to the far off and distant places where they live? I should focus on the fact that I have the privilege of using the internet to connect globally with teachers from all over the world.

It's in times like these, when my thoughts are in the future and not the present, that I must remind myself of the importance of being here, NOW. I must enjoy these moments. Focus on them. Embrace them. One day soon, I'll be adventuring, and when that time comes, I must enjoy THAT moment.

My life is a blessing. Each and every aspect of it. From my work to my family, to all of the outdoor sports that I so treasure. I'm one lucky gal. I must remember that and enjoy each moment for what IT is.

Isn't this one of life's biggest challenges? Being in the here and now.

We mustn't forget that we are exactly where we should be each and every moment. I pledge to start focusing on the here. Now. Won't you join me?

In Full Swing

“I move like the wind. Don’t hold your breath, because you’ll only slow me down.
”

― Jarod Kintz

In full swing, moving forward in full force, accomplishing many things. This is me. This is my students. This is life right now.

It's amazing how much we can accomplish in such a short time. The term has been in full swing for almost five weeks. The pace at which we've been moving is amazing. Amazingly fast. So fast that when we think back for a moment, it's a wonder how we've achieved so much, but we have.

I think about the students in my Oral Communication Skills class, and how just five short weeks ago, they were hesitant speakers of English. Last Friday, they were having conversations about complex topics, using new vocabulary, supporting each other, and speaking with increased confidence. I've been working hard to make this a reality. One of the biggest contributors to this was the work they did on their recent projects and presentations. I had them plan an adventure trip and present the trip to the class. More details about this project can be found on the Webquest that I created. Check it out and enjoy!

Speaking of projects and language learning, I recently conducted a two hour workshop with teachers on Project Based Learning (PBL), which is a communicative approach to language teaching and learning. I'm an advocate for PBL. It's an approach to teaching that promotes interaction, increases student motivation and learner autonomy, and allows learners to highlight their strengths. To learn more about PBL and the workshop I conducted visit my PPT Presentation.

Participants in my online Webskills course will be learning more about PBL in this upcoming week. I know they were very busy last week, as they've been during all weeks of the course. They've learned about online tools for both speaking/listening and reading/writing skills, written a technology enhanced lesson plan, learned how to write objectives in the ABCD format, created blogs and Delicious pages of their own, all the while working on their action research plan for the final project. I know how accomplished they feel because I get to read about it in their weekly blog updates, where they reflect about all they've been learning in my course and how it applies to their teaching context. How lucky am I that I get to share in all of their achievements?!?!

To say that I've been in full swing, moving in full force, accomplishing many things, feels like an understatement. The last five weeks have been incredible for both myself and my students. Together, we continue to learn. We are in motion, moving forward, and growing with every step along the way.