Thursday, December 18, 2008

Coming of Age

When it comes to technology, I certainly don't think that I'm in the Dark Ages. But I know that I don't have the latest and greatest in my personal collection.

I have yet to become attached to an iPod. I have the basic cell phone, having upgraded to a flip phone only in the past year or so. Heck, we don't even have a working VCR or DVD player hooked up to a television in our home. I suppose if I wanted, I could watch a movie on our laptop, but for the most part the laptop remains stuck on the Internet, displaying deals on eBay and Craigslist or scrolling the various forums that our family religiously reads.

Part of my job is to introduce my fellow educators to technology, to help them see how they can enhance their instruction and make their own jobs of teaching middle schoolers just a little bit easier. I've done workshops on Web 2.0, introducing blogs and wikis. I've provided times for one-on-one training to work on Blackboard and search engines and other school and district applications. I've even demonstrated using cool new equipment with students, how the visual presenters and the student response systems can enchance teaching and learning.

But even with all the knowledge of these applications and technology and even with access to such (and even with a little disposable income with which to purchase some cool new toys), I haven't found myself coming of age yet in the world of technology.

I'm not a Luddite by any means, but I'm resisting the daily pull and impact of sitting at a computer to blog and create a wiki, avoiding putting in the time to learn real strategies for implementing a new program or integrating a new piece of equipment in my own instruction or daily life.

So today I'm making a concerted effort to do a little more meaningful technology integration. Today I'm blogging.

No comments: