Today is a Pro-D day in our district, but because I did a week-long Orff workshop in the summer, I get an in-lieu day, which means I am sitting on my couch watching Olympic hockey. Later this afternoon, I have the privilege of going with my eldest son (a senior in high school) to the Envision Jazz Festival. His senior jazz band is performing, and he has a trombone solo. Does listening to your kid perform at a major jazz festival count as Pro-D? lol

But, in all seriousness….

I am doing some professional development today. I am checking out a bunch of music education blogs. Last night, my boyfriend introduced me to RSS feeds and how to use an RSS reader. I’ve been busily adding music education blogs to my reader, excited with all of the great resources I’ve been finding.

Being a music teacher is an amazing job, but it can get a bit lonely at times. I am the only music teacher at my school, and I don’t have anyone to ‘talk shop’ with in the staff room at lunch. Occasionally,  all of the music teachers in the district do get together, but that only happens a few times per year. That’s why I am so excited about all of the music education blogs I’ve been discovering: it gives me the opportunity to see what other teachers are doing and keeps me inspired in my own practice.

The next piece of my technological professional development is to explore the world of Twitter. I know some of my classroom colleagues use Twitter a lot, and tout the professional benefits of it. I’m looking forward to discovering other music educators through this medium and sharing ideas and inspiration.