Pernille Ripp's "One Great Idea Promise"

I'm not a huge blog reader, I'm a little "attention challenged" and I usually just read what happens to catch my eye while perusing Twitter; but Pernille Ripp's blog IS one that I read quite often.  

I've never met Ms. Ripp but I feel like if I did...we would be great teacher buddies!  Many times her writing makes me slow down and think.  Recently she wrote a blog post about Periscope, the live streaming app.  (Go ahead, click it and check out Periscope for a minute...I'll wait.) 

I just discovered Periscope a few weeks ago and as a self-described tech NERD...I fell in love with it!  My mind immediately began working!  I was imagining all these great ways to use Periscope in my 3rd grade class this year!  I was all ready to live-stream everything from an art lesson to homework help!  Then I saw Pernille's blog post...click HERE.  Now, don't get me wrong...I still have great plans to use Periscope with my class; but like she always does, Pernille made me stop and think a minute.  (Which is always a good thing, as I tend to jump into things with both feet when sometimes one little step is more in order!)

Pernille says, "Let's think for a moment..."

Yes...please.  Let's do that.  After reading that post, another of her posts catches my attention.  "The One Great Idea Promise".  Pick ONE idea, she says.  And once you've picked that ONE idea (only ONE?? my brain screams!)...run with it! Embrace it! Love it! Nurture it!  Make it your focus.  Other ideas can come join the party, but keep that ONE idea at the forefront all the time.  

Here's my ONE idea...

As I've just told you, I am:

#1 a tech nerd!  I LOVE discovering new ways to incorporate tech in my classroom.  Both for me, as the teacher and for my 3rd graders.

#2  a little bit "attention challenged", especially when it comes to tech.  I'm like that kid in the toy store..."Ooooo, a new barbie, but wait...there's a unicorn puzzle!  No, an art set! Yes, that's what I want; but wait, there's a..."  You get the picture.

So, I'm following Mrs. Ripp's advice...here's my ONE idea that I'm going to love and nurture and say to myself everyday:

I don't think this idea is actually what she had in mind when she wrote her blog post...I think she meant more of an idea that relates to curriculum or the 4Cs or something like that.  But since I know how I can get, I'm choosing this idea for ME.  I'm pledging to really evaluate and reflect on which tools I bring into the classroom this year.  When I discover some new, shiny tech tool; I'm going to ask myself..."How is this better than what I already use?"  I'm going to take it a step further and ask myself this question when I use something I've been using for a while now..."How is this better?"  I'm going to try to get the "most bang for my buck" so to speak.  If the tool I'm using, or want to use is NOT better than another; I'm ditching it.  If the amount of time it takes me (or my 3rd graders) to learn to use the tool outweighs the desired results, I'm ditching it.  If the tool is so narrow in focus that it only fulfills one small need, I'm ditching it. I'm going to try my best to NOT get drawn in by the bells and whistles and glitter.  
By combining what I've learned from BOTH of Pernille's posts that I've mentioned here, I'm going to really think about HOW to use Periscope in my class to get the MOST impact and I'm going to constantly ask myself..."How is this better?"