I went for a walk today. I set my phone for 15 minutes and promised to just go exploring and put away my phone in my pocket. When I heard the "playtime" music alarm go off - I turned around - set the timer again and walked home. Computers and Phones and all our other devices are powerful tools but they can take over all our time if we let them.
Just before I crossed the street back by my own home again - I saw this beautiful butterfly. So I decided it was okay to pause and use my phone as a tool to capture that moment in time - then I put it back into my pocket again. We can miss so much if we only stare at the screen!
I'm going to try and track this week how often I use my phone. I want to see how much time I take staring at the screen. Mostly I want to see how much of that time, when I reflect on it, is usefully using it as a tool and how much seems just wasted.
Along my walk, I saw many things and I started thinking about amazing art projects that we can do this year. Our brains need time - just to think - I think.
This Summer Art Mission has taught me a lot. When I look at the data over the past three months - the graph shows 641 unique visitors to our website and 1,118 page views. Not bad, but I think most of those visitors and viewers were adults. That makes sense because our students are not carrying around iPhones - their parents are! So I learned I need to Launch this type of mission differently if I try it again next year. I need to recognize I have two audiences - Parents and Students. I need to do more promoting on the front end of the mission - so students are excited about the possibilities and ask their parents to support that excitement.
I also know to be maybe more realistic with my goal setting. I love setting "Gaudy Goals" as our Principals - Mrs Tobin and Ms. Sikich - encouraged us to do last year. But while I wanted to draw - EVERDAY - I can honestly say that I did draw MOST days and that's pretty awesome too.
Just before I crossed the street back by my own home again - I saw this beautiful butterfly. So I decided it was okay to pause and use my phone as a tool to capture that moment in time - then I put it back into my pocket again. We can miss so much if we only stare at the screen!
I'm going to try and track this week how often I use my phone. I want to see how much time I take staring at the screen. Mostly I want to see how much of that time, when I reflect on it, is usefully using it as a tool and how much seems just wasted.
Along my walk, I saw many things and I started thinking about amazing art projects that we can do this year. Our brains need time - just to think - I think.
This Summer Art Mission has taught me a lot. When I look at the data over the past three months - the graph shows 641 unique visitors to our website and 1,118 page views. Not bad, but I think most of those visitors and viewers were adults. That makes sense because our students are not carrying around iPhones - their parents are! So I learned I need to Launch this type of mission differently if I try it again next year. I need to recognize I have two audiences - Parents and Students. I need to do more promoting on the front end of the mission - so students are excited about the possibilities and ask their parents to support that excitement.
I also know to be maybe more realistic with my goal setting. I love setting "Gaudy Goals" as our Principals - Mrs Tobin and Ms. Sikich - encouraged us to do last year. But while I wanted to draw - EVERDAY - I can honestly say that I did draw MOST days and that's pretty awesome too.