I started off the morning by going to bed - yep, couldn't fall asleep, finally fell asleep at around 12:30am. Woke up a 2:30, went back to bed, and then my alarm went off at 5:30. I was out the door by 6:20am - had to hit Wal-Mart for a few necessities (Diet Mt. Dew, anyone?) before I got to the train. Then.... I waited 25 minutes for the train because I just missed the 6:40 train and had to wait for the 7:05. Upon boarding the train I was hit in the head by an automatic door. Taking the 7:05 train put me in D.C. by 7:50. That's okay, I had to walk to C-SPAN, right? :Yeah, well, C-SPAN is approximately... right across the street from Union Station (about 2 blocks).
Once I got to work, I hung out in the hallway for approximately... 20-30 minutes, hiding because I was there an hour early.
I finally went in and one of the men in charge of the entire operation (aka Brian Lamb, founder and CEO) showed me around - the directors of C-SPAN walk around all the time greeting everyone and joking with employees. We got a tour, got our ID badges, met a lot of the employees, etc. Typical first day kind of stuff.
After lunch (at Union Station) we had time to work on our projects. We have four collaborative projects to work on throughout our time here:
1. Preview new Library of Congress piece produced by C-SPAN and analyze for teacher use
2. Develop presentation for Educator Conference in 2 weeks
3. Find clips related to the Constitution to add to Constitution Clips library
4. Analyze 2004/08 Electoral College maps for improvements to 2012 map
We also have the opportunity to develop individual projects, but more about that later.
It was SO WONDERFUL to be given time to simply sit and work on creating teacher/student resources. I made it safely onto the train home, successfully pulled Mark's truck into the garage, and then watched Falling Skies with Mark & Kay.
Day 2
I didn't leave until 7:15 today, catching the 7:35 train so I didn't get into the city until 8:30 - much more reasonable!
This morning I got to work and we just went to our desks and got to work! It's such a strange feeling, and I know that will get repetitive, but it really is a strange feeling. We had a team meeting at 10:00. At this point I learned that my work will be slightly challenging in that education in Iowa is moving in a different direction than that of either of my colleagues (California and Virginia). We also had the opportunity to look through teacher suggestions from all across the nation on different C-SPAN education topics and I found that all across the nation teachers are still SOOOOOOO focused on facts and "Google Curriculum". I'm trying to decide to what extent I push the envelope with these people at our educator conference later this summer. I don't know that that's really my place as a fellow, but I do feel like, as an educator, it is my job to remind my fellow educators of our changing times (Think Tony Wagner's Global Achievement Gap). Input on this problem would be greatly appreciated.
Embarrassing item today? Falling *UP* (yep, up) the steps in the middle of Union Station at lunch!
That's all for now. I will post again soon about the individual projects I will be working on - incorporating a lot of 2.0 and PBL!
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