Extending and Enriching a Career Through Writing BY MARK GURA ing a retired educator can be a chal- lenge. While I don't miss the daily sult-and-tie or rush hour traffic, I still feel the need to remain involved in iy field ~ educational technology. | was aware of that desire from Day 1 of my retizement. found a new ‘outlet, however, that allows me to help my colleagues and has sgiven me a great deal . Of satisfaction ~ I've become a writer Shortly before 1 left the NYC schoo! system 10 years ago, wrote and pub- lished Making Literacy Magic Happen, any frst book for teachers. I've kept at it and most recently, one of my publishers, the International Society for Technology in Education, has released Teaching Literacy in the Digital Age: Inspiration for All Levels and Literacies (Of the dozen education books I've written, this one presented the biggest challenge. Not simply because its subject, the important Intersection of literacy instruction and tech- nology, has evolved into a broad area, but because this book is a compendium of prac- tices, a collection of insights from some of the ‘most talented colleagues with whom I've had the privilege to collaborate. But it’s one thing to talk about the material, quite another to help 17 people who are not professional writ- rs put their thoughts on paper in a coherent manner that is illuminating and inspiring. Treached out to as many colleagues as pos- sible who might contribute a chapter, and | Mark Gura, writer ‘accepted proposals on subjects that struck me as illustrating something important about ‘combining technology with literacy instruc- tion. [also wanted easy-to-Implement,effec- tive practices that involve the use of free or commonly available digital resources. [settled into the long process of conferring with each author as they formulated and then ‘I don’t miss rush hour traffic, but I need to remain involved in my field.’ ‘wrote his or her chapter. To do this, I drew ‘upon my experience at the Department of Education as well asthe skills 've acquired in retirement. Many months later, all the coach- ing, mentoring and editing resulted in the book, a satisfying experience to say the least. ‘what I did for so many years for the DoE, ‘hich was to motivate and guide educators in producing professional development con- tent and curriculum. I remember that I wanted them to not just develop instructional materi- wanted them to design materials that would move our colleagues to try new things ‘given the new technological possibilities and to see their jobs in that bright, new light. For ‘me, writing has been the perfect vehicle to continue and extend my commitment to the field. I's one | highly recommend to my col- leagues and fellow CSA members everywhere, I: ‘many ways, the process took me back to Mark Gura was the Director of ofthe Office of Instructional Technology from 1997 to 2004, ‘when he retired from the NYC school system. Visit Mr. Gura’s blog at www.markgura blogspot.com