Maximizing Potential

It is almost ready!  Our school's new Maker Lab.  I admit that I was drooling when I saw the plans for it in a faculty meeting last spring.  New chairs, new computers, new robotics equipment, new paint, new space!  What's not to love?

The only problem is, I am old.  Old maybe isn't the right word, but I am certainly attached to some ideas and practices that may not be compatible with all this new thinking.  Sure, I like to innovate and try new things.  Yes, I want to enhance my curriculum with meaningful and modern experiences.  But my hunch is that isn't enough.  

In order to maximize the potential of this new lab, I need to be open to new ways of doing things.  I need to be always learning.  I need to experiment and sometimes fail.  I need some exert guidance.  I need to find colleagues who can help.  I need to research.  I need to try.

Sir Peter Blake sums this up nicely.  "New technology is common, new thinking is rare." Along with the new chairs, paint, machines and software, I need new thinking about the goals, expectations and implementation of all my lessons.  It is both exciting and terrifying to contemplate.  But easier to imagine when one is in such a beautiful new space!