"Tabletop Role-Playing Games in the Classroom" is now in print!

In August 2023 -- a year after launching Kentucky Educators for Role-Playing Games -- I began writing a book.  It was born from a pragmatic perspective; I had spend a lot of time and energy curating resources and stories for KyEdRPG, so why not package it for an outside audience?  But as I began, I had no idea if it would ever be published, much less seen by more than a handful of friends.  

Six months later in February 2024, the first complete draft of my manuscript was ready, but more importantly, I found a publisher in McFarland as part of their "Studies in Gaming" series.  I am so thankful that Matthew Wilhelm Kapell (series editor) and Layla Milholen (executive editor) gave me such early affirmation, and helped guide my book to publication.  Friends, educators, and rollers of the dice, I give you: Tabletop Role-Playing Games in the Classroom: Infusing Gameplay into K-12 Instruction!

When I received my author's copies a few weeks ago, I did an "unboxing" video, and perhaps befitting the holiday season we are in, I was once again full of gratitude and thanks.  

My Acknowledgment section is long and full of names, but in this blog entry I'll add one more:  Kalli Colley, a Regional Innovation Specialist with the Kentucky Department of Education.  The first of our Kentucky "Dungeons & Desks" series (which continues!) was in March of this year, well past the point where my manuscript was locked in for copy editing.   Therefore, I was unable to include her in the Acknowledgements, so I'll make that up here.  It's been a joy co-facilitating sessions with Kalli, leading and learning with attendees from Kentucky and beyond about TTRPGs in education.  I'm thankful for her expertise!

And by reading this, thank you.  Over a decade ago, Edtech Elixirs began, and it's the practice of writing thousands of words over 200+ blog entries that gave me the confidence to tackle something as audacious as a book. I hope that Tabletop Role-Playing Games in the Classroom is also something you can consider worthy of your time to read -- and inspires you to try some joyful instruction in your own learning spaces.

I'll end with helpful links and information for how you can order your copy:

More info about the book

Print ISBN Number:  9781476697550

eBook ISBN Number:  9781476657905

Direct from Publisher

Amazon (print, ebook)

Barnes & Noble (ebook)

Books-a-Million

I highly recommend special ordering the book via its print ISBN number at your favorite local brick-and-mortar independent bookstore (mine is Carmichael's!).  If you use my Bookshop portal, 10% of sales go to support independent bookstores, and I also earn a small percentage. 

BOOK RELEASE ANNOUNCEMENT: Three titles -- including my own!

I've been fortunate to have my writing published over the years, starting of course with this blog, and continuing with other wonderful institutions.  I've also been quoted in a few books over the years as well (such as here and here). Recently, however, I've been a contributing writer to a few titles:

• In Dr. Karin Hess's Applying Depth of Knowledge and Cognitive Rigor (Teachers College Press, March 2025), I provided one of its "Stories From the Field" where I discuss my collaboration with Lexie Bewley-Gilley of Bullitt Central High School (Bullitt County Public Schools).  We took Lexie's tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) social studies activity and found ways to deepen its DOK.
• In a collection edited by Dr. Barbara J. Smith, I wrote a guest chapter about my journey with Kentucky Educators for Role-Playing Games.  I am humbled to join contributions from such educational luminaries like Rick Wormeli and Doug Reeves!  Look for Urgent Care for Educators: Situating Responsibility as a Way for Educators to Transform School Cultures (Brill) when it releases in July.

I didn't plan on the release schedule above to be a ramp-up of sorts -- or a thematic refrain on the topic of TTRPGs in schools -- but serendipitously, that's what it now appears to be. I'm excited to announce that my first education book will be published by McFarland, with a tentative release date of late 2025!

For more on the design of the cover art, click here.

Tabletop Role-Playing Games in the Classroom: Infusing Gameplay into K-12 Instruction will be part of McFarland's "Studies in Gaming" series.  For more details about the book's content, you can visit here.  To keep up to date on release information, including when the pre-order link goes live, please sign up here.

I will have plenty of thanks for many people that helped me get to this point of my educational journey where a published book was possible -- my Acknowledgements section will be lengthy! -- but for now, I'll just say that I'm humbled to have this opportunity to share my passion on how TTRPGs can positively impact student learning.

Note 4/15/25:  With the release of the official cover art, I've updated this post accordingly!

A New Role at OVEC

Back in late August 2022 -- in what seems just an eyeblink ago -- I joined the Ohio Valley Educational Cooperative (OVEC) as part of the grant-funded "Deeper Learning Team."  It's been a journey full of opportunities for learning, partnerships on innovative projects, and celebrations of the innovative teaching in the Bluegrass.  Alas, the grant ends on September 30, 2024, and with it, my Deeper Learning Design Specialist position.

But I am incredibly fortunate that our CEO Jason Adkins, along with OVEC's Board, saw the value of the work many of my grant-funded colleagues achieved, and found it in their budget to create several new positions.  So I'm very pleased to share that on the first of October, I will become OVEC's Digital Learning Consultant!

I strongly believe in OVEC's mission of "empowering educators so students thrive," and have grown to know many amazing colleagues.  To be able to work here is a joy and a privilege.  Besides continuing to be a thought partner and facilitate professional development, I am also thankful to still share the stories of innovative educators of our area, through this blog and my social media.  

I'll end the entry with a link to my newly launched OVEC Digital Learning Consultant website.  (It's also reachable via its shortcut ovec.org/digitallearning.)  If you're looking to schedule a conversation on how I can support you, or register for the latest PDs I'm leading, please give it a visit!   

Ten Years of Edtech Elixirs

Welcome, and thank you for checking out my blog!  I have been involved in education since 2005, but never seriously tried to blog before.  My "About Me" profile sums up my educational background succinctly, but I will add that becoming the first District Technology Integration Coach of Shelby County is definitely the motivation to begin blogging now. Therefore, I am committed to making meaningful and ongoing posts, but most importantly, making my blog a useful resource for others.

That's how I started my first Edtech Elixirs blog entry exactly ten years ago, on August 1, 2014.  It was a time of transition.  I had thought I would be a classroom teacher forever, but an opportunity beckoned in another county and I began a district position that summer.  I had the humblest of ambitions for the blog.  It would be a place for me to collect resources for Shelby County Public Schools staff, perhaps opine here and there on education, and frankly, save time: when I thought a tool or strategy might help someone, I could simply drop a link to the appropriate blog entry in an email and click send.

But to my endless astonishment and appreciation, the audience for Edtech Elixirs kept growing and growing outside of Shelby, continuing into my newest job with OVEC that started in 2022.  Along the way, I have blogged about some educational highs (like getting mentioned in Star Wars Insider!) and some lows (like when thousands of Kentucky educators got sent home in the middle of a conference to begin sheltering in place).  It also has led to other writing opportunities.  I've had my entries republished (thank you Aurora Institute's Laurie Gagnon and Eliot Levine!), but Edtech Elixirs has also opened doors to writing original articles (again, thanks to Laurie and Eliot, as well as Kristen Vogt from Next Generation Learning Challenges, and others).

Some milestones from 2024 to share:

• I published my 200th blog entry on February 24, 2024 ("KyEdRPG Spotlight: Chad Collins and 'The Academy'").  (The entry you are currently reading is number 205.) However, I'm apparently slowing way down; I wrote my first 100 blog entries by 2016!
• As this entry goes live, the blog is at 298,193 lifetime views. To put that in perspective, I hit 100,000 views in 2017 and 200,000 views last year.  
• Combined with my YouTube Channel, I crossed over a half million overall views in March 2024.

Lest anyone feel this entry is merely for vanity and bravado, I want to make my two purposes clear. I won't deny I'm proud (and surprised!) to still be writing Edtech Elixirs after a decade, and want to celebrate that fact, but capturing some of the numbers above is just a chance at statistical reflection; years ago, I was shocked when I hit a thousand views, and never thought writing even a hundred entries was possible.  It's been an amazing, humbling journey!  That leads to the second (and main) purpose of this entry, which is to give thanks. When I hit "Publish" for the first time ten years ago, I never could have dreamed this journey would still be continuing in 2024 -- and it is a journey only possible because of YOU.  Every reader out there who ever took a few minutes to read my words, or shared/reposted a blog entry, I cannot express enough gratitude.   

There are some announcements I'll be excited to share very soon on what's next on my horizon.  For now, I'll simply repeat my thanks for all the edtech tools I've been able to play with, for all the learning partners I've made, for all the fascinating books I've read, for all the people I've had the good fortune to meet and be able to celebrate their stories, and once again, for all the readers.  Here's to the next decade, in which I hope to remain "meaningful," "ongoing," and above all, "useful."  Stay tuned!

The Year of 2022 in (Blog) Review

 Happy holidays!  Before 2022 ends, I was feeling reflective and wanted to briefly share some personal highlights of the year through the lens of Edtech Elixirs.  

• Back in November 2021, I attended and led a session at EDspaces in Pittsburgh, PA.  It's a great conference and support resource for those looking to renovate or build new school settings. Adapting that session into an article eventually became a published piece for EDspaces Essentials online magazine this year ("Article in EDspaces Essentials magazine!" April 20).
• I had a pretty big professional change in 2022.  After over eight years at Shelby County Public Schools as a Digital Learning Coordinator, I took a new job as Deeper Learning Design Specialist at the Ohio Valley Educational Cooperative in August ("A New Chapter," August 16).  I'm happy with the opportunities to expand who I can help and how I can help others, as well as learn from them.  I'm also very grateful to be a part of my new team and employer.
• This year, I launched two websites: my personal site ("Launch of my new website!" July 17) as well as Kentucky Educators for Role Playing Games ("KyEdRPG, Part One: Site Launch Announcement!" September 10).
• The most popular entry of the year in terms of views? That would be "KyEdRPG, Part Three: Westward Expansion, d20 Style" (September 20), with 726 views as of today.  
• In terms of free edtech tools that I profiled this year, I think Verso is probably the one with the most positive potential for day to day instruction ("Verso," April 2).  However, the edtech story of the year is easily ChatGPT, one of the first clear examples of how artificial intelligence will make a huge difference in education in our near future ("How AI Will Save Education," December 21).
• Last but not least, I'm proud to be closing in on two milestones for my blog.  This entry is my 185th since starting Edtech Elixirs in August 2014, which means it's highly likely I will reach 200 next year.  Additionally, I'm just shy of 200,000 views overall for the blog, and at the current rate I'll easily top that number by February 2023.

As always, I appreciate your readership and your shares of my blog over the years.  May all your New Year's resolutions for 2023 come true!

A New Chapter

In July of 2014, I stepped out of my high school classroom at Oldham County and into a newly created district position that was both exciting and terrifying.  As the first Technology Integration Coach for Shelby County Public Schools, I fully felt the weight of the task -- to help launch a technology 1:1 initiative for seven thousand students and hundreds of staff.  Over the years, the position and responsibilities changed (as did the title to Digital Learning Coordinator!), and my educational journey at Shelby has taken me far and wide.  Project-based learning, personalized learning, competency-based education, blended learning best practices -- all this and more has been infused into my educational DNA along the way.  I've been very fortunate to grow my pedagogy in such an innovative district.  My colleagues have become co-learners, friends, and an extended family.

And now, a new chapter of my educational journey is about to begin.

Late last July, I accepted my next challenge.  This Monday (8/22/22), I'll be starting a new position as a Deeper Learning Design Specialist at the Ohio Valley Educational Cooperative (OVEC).  I'll be joining the just launched Deeper Learning Team (with Lacey Eckels and Rachel Albright) that's led by the legendary Carmen Coleman.  Beyond the DLT itself, I'm also looking forward to working with the many other fantastic educators at OVEC, including the new incoming CEO Jason Adkins.  Lastly, I am excited to collaborate with the Deeper Learning Teams from the other seven regional co-ops around Kentucky.

What is Deeper Learning? It is a broad concept, and one that I will undoubtedly blog more about in the future, but this "elevator pitch" definition is a great introduction:

Our mission. Great things happening in Kentucky. #KYDL #thrive #transfer pic.twitter.com/njkJhynOu2

— Robb Smith (@DrSmithKAEC) August 11, 2022

I am eager to spread, support, and celebrate the Deeper Learning innovation throughout OVEC's fifteen districts and 150,000+ students -- which includes Shelby as a member!

On August 1, 2014, I published the first post for this blog, initially started as a way to share information and innovation with Shelby staff.  At the end of the entry, I used the words "humbled" and "thankful."  Those are definitely the words that come to mind now.  I am thankful for the opportunity to work at OVEC, humbled to be chosen among many deserving applicants.  But I am also so, so humbled by the teachers, staff and students of Shelby County Public Schools, who are amazing people and are doing amazing things.  You have inspired me to grow, and stretch, and dream.  I am thankful for all that you have personally done for my own learning journey, but even more importantly, I am full of gratitude to have been a part of your innovative, impactful team of educators for eight wonderful years.

Thank you for 100,000 views!

Earlier this month, Edtech Elixirs turned three years old.  (There is still some birthday cake if you want to come by.)  When I published my first entry, I had no idea how many entries I would write, and frankly whether people would actually read them.  In October 2016, I wrote about publishing my hundredth blog entry.   I was shocked when I reviewed the then-current readership of Edtech Elixirs and my social media reach at the time. 37,000 blog views. Over 1400 followers on Twitter. 55,000 views on my YouTube Channel.

I am always flattered when my tweeting or blogging garners attention. Since that October blog entry, I was asked by Classcraft to do a guest blog on gaming in the classroom, and I was the first subject to be interviewed for a series on edtech leaders.  Earlier this year I launched my Edtech Elixirs Facebook Page, to cross-promote this blog as well as "micro-blog" or Facebook Live on educational and technology topics I find interesting; the Likes and Follow I receive there are always pleasant surprises.

And now to the present. I noticed earlier this week that Edtech Elixirs cleared 100,000 views.  That means in just the last ten months the blog's total views have nearly tripled.  And yes, my social media numbers has bumped up as well in Twitter (currently just shy of 1700 followers) and YouTube (now over 77,000 views and 86 subscribers).

The numbers and the milestone viewership crossing is incredibly empowering.  You hope, especially when education is in your blood, that you make a difference.  While viewership numbers and followers aren't definitive in and of itself, it affirms for me that SOMEONE is out there reading my words.  I certainly hope I've given an insight or two. Or at least a chuckle.

To everyone that has ever read a blog entry or tweet, or watched one of my videos, THANK YOU.  If you ever retweeted, or shared a blog entry or video, I thank you double.  You have no idea how full of gratitude my heart feels for every eyeball and eardrum out there.

Ironically, my "100th Entry" blog entry got its own popular share of views, and I think one of the reasons is the "top ten views" list I compiled.  So I'll end with my top ten most popular Edtech Elixir blog entries as of today.  (It is interesting comparing this list to the top ten in my October 2016 entry. Ten months ago, only two of my entries had cleared 1000 views.  Now, almost three dozen blog entries are honored by that distinction.)

1. Lenovo Yoga: Fixing your Audio for HDMI Connection (2/5/15, with 7738 views).  In October 2016 this was by far the most popular entry, and it still easily holds the number one spot.  As I said last time: "Apparently, between this and my entry on adjusting the microphone, many people are Googling for help on their Lenovo Yoga."
2. Recap (9/13/16 with 2054 views).   A formative tool that has rapidly evolved since when I did my original entry; while students making video responses are still part of its functionality, "Recap 2.0" is now re-engineered to be more focused on fostering question making and engaging student discussion. Recap's frequent tweets about my blog entry definitely helped increase its views. 
3. Makerspaces (12/1/15 with 1959 views).  Rocketing up from #9 on last year's list, I suspect the combination of sage makerspace advice, a link to a Google Doc with helpful resources, and a enlightening interview with Heidi Nelt (the 2016 KASL School Librarian of the Year) has contributed to its popularity.
4. Wizer (2/4/16 with 1850 views).  This "blended worksheet" tool can be a very useful way to formatively assess.  A link on their website to Edtech Elixirs has probably added to the entry's hits.
5. Middle School Chromebooks and the Surprise of Schoology (1/20/16 with 1784 views).   This was published in the middle of Shelby's 1:1 rollout, where I took stock of the positive impact of Chromebooks and Schoology (the impact being a "surprise" so early into our implementation). I appreciate third grade teacher Nick Cottrell's video on how Schoology was improving his classroom, even before Shelby's elementary schools were fully 1:1.  I imagine "Chromebooks," "Schoology" and "1:1" hit several different search engine inquiries that may have led them to my entry.
6. Quizalize (6/21/16 with 1780 views).  Another formative tool with some game-based aspects, but I like the way you can assign "subtopics" to questions in order to determine student strengths and weaknesses.  I've mentioned this tool several times when doing presentations on game-based learning, which likely drove some eyes to the entry.
7. Why Chromebooks? (8/22/15, with 1778 views).  Previously #4, but still an often clicked entry.  As I said before: "Probably popular if found when people Google 'Why Should I Buy a Chromebook?'  I lay out some reasons why a Chromebook is a solid device, and how it fits with our district's philosophy and overall academic plan."
8. How I Spent My Summer Vacation 2015 (8/7/15 with 1751 views).  Previously #5.  Why is it still popular?  From October 2016: "Perhaps because I talked about EdcampKY, Mooresville (NC) and our own district personalized PD in one entry?" 
9. Hour of Code 2015 (12/10/15 with 1670 views).  Although I've done a more recent entry on our district's Hour of Code, this one has perhaps lived longer and therefore gotten more clicks.
10. Edtech Share Fair 2016 (3/29/16 with 1629 views).  2017 was particularly exciting for our Edtech Share Fair; not only did we have students present for the first time, but KSBA did two articles for its Kentucky School Advocate magazine (here and here).  Nevertheless, like the entry above, the entry on Edtech Share Fair 2016 has likely just been around longer and gathered more views.

Once again, THANK YOU!  I appreciate everyone that stops by Edtech Elixirs, and hope to continue offering valuable information and insights.

My One Hundredth Blog Entry!

A little over two years ago, I started a journey into the unknown at Shelby County Public Schools.  I left teaching in a high school classroom in order to pursue a passion of mine -- educational technology -- and for a leadership opportunity to positively affect a large number of students and teachers on a scale I couldn't imagine previously, in a position that was brand new to the district.  Not counting some false starts before, it was also the first time I seriously attempted to professionally blog.  In my first entry for Edtech Elixirs (dated August 1, 2014), I wrote that I was "committed to making meaningful and ongoing posts, but most importantly, making my blog a useful resource for others."

Others will have to judge if my posts are useful or meaningful.   However, as I write this entry -- the one hundredth post since I started Edtech Elixirs -- I can at least affirm that the posts have been "ongoing" in ways that I couldn't imagine in 2014.  My output has slowed down this school year, but my overall average is nearly a blog entry a week.  And I was worried I would run out of things to share and say!

Let's stop this entry cold so I can recognize and thank you, the readers.  Numbers aren't everything, but they certainly point out that many of you stop by my various social media sites.  Back in June of 2015, I wrote an entry summarizing the reach of Edtech Elixirs to that point.  At that time, I had cleared 10,000 total views when the blog was not quite a year old, much to my astonishment.  As of this writing, I am a few clicks shy of clearing 37,000.   In the same blog entry, I discussed my social media stats, and again, it's hard to believe what a difference nearly 16 months makes.  I'll just point out two examples.  I had nearly 800 Followers on Twitter and over 3,300 tweets in June 2015.  I now have 1,466 Followers and 5,119 tweets.  On my Watsonedtech YouTube channel in June 2015, I had just over 6,000 views, the highest number going to Adjusting your Lenovo Yoga Microphone (1709) and How to Use Plickers (Part One) (2364).  Sixteen months later, the channel has 55,489 total views with 18,238 views on the "Adjusting..." video and 22,292 views for "Plickers."

But back to the blog.  Here are my top 10 most popular entries of all time (ranked by number of individual direct views as of today).

1. Lenovo Yoga: Fixing your Audio for HDMI Connection (2/5/15, with 5257 views).  Back in June 2015, this was only the third most popular entry with 417 views.  Now it is by far the most clicked.  Apparently, between this and my entry on adjusting the microphone, many people are Googling for help on their Lenovo Yoga.
2. The Power of Positive Social Media #StartsWithUs (10/16/14, with 1040 views).  Started with a hashtag and clothespins in a St. Louis school, I shared this powerful story of how social media can be utilized to make a positive difference.  One of my favorite entries.
3. Rose/Bud/Thorn and Design Thinking (4/29/15, with 976 views).  A great reflective strategy for students that I found and shared, along with a short overview of what Design Thinking is.
4. Why Chromebooks? (8/22/15, with 685 views).  Probably popular if found when people Google "Why Should I Buy a Chromebook?"  I lay out some reasons why a Chromebook is a solid device, and how it fits with our district's philosophy and overall academic plan.
5. How I Spent My Summer Vacation 2015 (8/7/15 with 683 views).  Only a few clicks shy of fourth place,  I am perplexed how this made the top 5, much less the top 20 or 50.  Perhaps because I talked about EdcampKY, Mooresville (NC) and our own district personalized PD in one entry?  Maybe it's a Google-able mother lode.
6. Flubaroo, Doctopus and Goobric (5/27/15 with 566 views).   Three highly useful Google tools you can creatively integrate into student assessment and learning.
7. Game-Based Learning and Classcraft (1/12/15 with 534 views).  A primer on game-based learning and gamification in the classroom, an overview of Classcraft, and an interview with Collins High School teacher Tim Oltman.  A bit overstuffed, but like #5, its popularity may come from showing up in different types of Google searches.
8. PBL and Eusessments (7/1/15 with 467 views).  Is "assessment" a bad word? How does PBL work, and can lead to "good products" that truly demonstrate student understanding?
9. Makerspaces (12/1/15 with 419 views).  Besides an explanation of what a makerspace is, it contains a link to a Google Doc occasionally updated by myself and our district librarians; it is full of various makerspace resources.  In addition, the entry has an interview with Heidi Nelt, who recently was named the 2016 KASL School Librarian of the Year!
10. Garlic Necklace, Not a Silver Bullet (5/14/15 with 381 views).   There is no such thing as one device that fits all needs...and that's a good thing.  I discuss a possible alternative way of thinking about and integrating technology in a classroom, school or district.

I want to again thank Shelby County for giving me this opportunity to help teachers and students, and for every reader that has ever clicked on one of my blog entries, tweets or videos!
     

Digital Learning Coordinator announcement

Hello, my faithful Edtech Elixirs readers!  Hope you are enjoying your summer. Today I have a short entry for an announcement. While I originally planned to wait until next month to share the following information, it recently was published in the news . . . The Sentinel-News, that is.  (Click here for the article.) So, because it's now public record, I can talk about it in my blog.

As of July 1, I will officially be promoted to the new position of Digital Learning Coordinator.  Along with participating in district initiatives and projects, I will manage and train our (now two!) Digital Learning Coaches (the renamed position formerly known as "Technology Integration Coach").   The article incorrectly states that I will be reporting to our new Network Engineer, but I will actually be under John Leeper, the former principal of Collins High School and our new Director of Innovation.

I am honored to be given an increased opportunity to demonstrate leadership in the district, and I'm thrilled to continue working in a school system as dynamic and forward-thinking as Shelby County Public Schools!

1000+ views, and hello Clear Creek!

Back in elementary again!  Today is my first day at Clear Creek.  After school today is the weekly "Learning Workshop," where I will say hello to the staff, introduce my resources and contact information, and briefly introduce them to the Plickers tool I discussed in the previous post.   Clear Creek staff, please check my home page for the calendar that will help you keep track of what PD events I have scheduled, along with times and places. I am currently scheduled to stay at Clear Creek until the first week of November.

Today I settled into my new embedded workspace.  Walking through the halls today and peeking in some classrooms, I've already seen students interacting with the SMART Boards.  So good to see edtech is already well in place!  I'm loving the large lobby area in front of the library; it's an open place with tables that are conducive to informal meetings and collaboration sessions.

Question of the day: what is the Clear Creek mascot?  I will do a deep investigative report and find out.  I see a horse in a logo....

Last but not least, THANK YOU for all of the Edtech Elixirs readers out there who helped me climb to a milestone of over 1000 views.  I have written 22 entries since August 1, so for a blog just past two months old, it's a statistic I'm proud of.  More than meeting a milestone, however, I hope the entries have useful information for you and are perhaps a tad entertaining.

Here's to 2500 hits by winter break!

Hello and Welcome!

Welcome, and thank you for checking out my blog!  I have been involved in education since 2005, but never seriously tried to blog before.  My "About Me" profile sums up my educational background succinctly, but I will add that becoming the first District Technology Integration Coach of Shelby County is definitely the motivation to begin blogging now. Therefore, I am committed to making meaningful and ongoing posts, but most importantly, making my blog a useful resource for others.

One of the hardest things you have to do when creating a blog is naming it.  So I ruminated and brainstormed for quite a while before coming up with Edtech Elixirs.  It represents several things:

• My love of Joseph Campbell.  I am fascinated with many ideas of Campbell's, and one of his most famous is his belief of the "monomyth" -- a pattern that cuts across cultures thousands of miles and years apart, the Hero's Journey that many mythical characters have been through, and a wonderful metaphor for our own journey through life.  The goal of the Hero's Journey is some kind of "saving experience" or "gift," often called the Elixir.  While it may not actually be a magic potion in the story, the key point is that it has transformative qualities that changes the hero.  So here, I'm making a metaphorical comparison to the heroic journey of a teacher in a classroom, looking for a transformative experience in the form of our present day magic -- technology!  Through my blog posts, I hope to address: What are edtech tools that can transform my teaching and enable me to do things in ways I could not do before?  What are ways that technology can make my classroom more engaging and effective? And last but certainly not least, how will technology positively impact the learning of my students?
• There is no one magic tool.  I used the plural "elixirs" very intentionally.  Firstly, I obviously hope to introduce and discuss many different apps, devices, and Web 2.0 sites throughout my future blog posts.  Secondly, elixirs can sometimes be elusive, and we must be wary of any device, site, app, etc. that overpromises a "one size fits all" solution.  There are (and should be) many different ways to incorporate technology in your classroom, and in fact, technology is but one tool you should use to further the learning of students. Indeed, speaking of tools, always remember...
• Technology is only a tool.  There is a deeper truth about the Hero's Journey.  While the hero may think the Elixir (Excalibur, the Holy Grail, Odysseus's return to Ithaca) is the true purpose of the trip, it is not.  As often said to the point of cliche, the journey itself is more important.  The discoveries you make, the change you become (or the "becoming" of the students you empower around you!) during your educational journey is much more enduring than the fact that you used, say, TodaysMeet in a lesson. Teachers should focus on certain tools to enact certain effects -- intentionality is always key in successful teaching -- but never lose sight of the greater academic goals and the "why?" of your unit and lesson.  Using edtech only for edtech's sake will not win points or facilitate critical thinking.  You are not a "techer" but a teacher.

As I wrap up my introductory blog post, let me say specifically to the Shelby County educators whose rank I have now joined -- I'm humbled to become part of your district, excited to be part of your edtech journey, and thankful in advance for how much your suggestions and expertise will enrich my journey as well.