Reflection #1 - C & I 579 Spring 2012

My attitude towards technology in general, and specifically Web 2.0 technologies, has drastically changed.  Before this course I did not utilize any types of technology, social media, or other Web 2.0 technologies.  Not only did I not utilize these applications, but I didn’t even know they existed or how to use them.  My attitude began to change during the development of my PLN.  The first thing that I did was set up a twitter account.  I did this not so much to tweet my own thoughts, (which I sometimes believe are inconsequential) but rather to follow 10 other educators.  I began to read the comments and blogs of other educators and realized that they face the same daily issues that I face.  Although I have never met these educators, I feel connected to them by the experiences we share. I read their reflections and solutions to these daily issues and applied what I read to my daily tasks.  The greatest part of this was being able to read about other successes and being able to implement their ideas in my school.

Before this I had been fruitlessly searching journal articles and books for new ideas to implement in the programs that I lead.  I also often felt isolated and disconnected from other educators that do the same job that I do.  Being able to read the words of other educators and apply the concepts they wrote about immediately changed my attitude towards information sharing.  Simply being able to read the words of other educators that face the same issue has made me feel more connected to both other educators and the educational world in general. I’m forced to think of all the time I spent searching and reading referred journal articles to find solutions to the daily educational issues that I faced. (only to come up with theoretical, not practice solutions). This was a time-consuming and frustrating process, one that often left me wishing that I hadn’t spent my time searching and reading. I had actually given up on finding useful information from this process because it was so time consuming. 

Now I can open Tweetdeck, read 4-5 blog entries in 10 minutes or less, and apply what I read immediately.  This has dramatically changed the way that I find and use information. This change has made me a more effective administrator because I no longer have to come up with my own solutions to problems, but rather, have uninterrupted access to others solutions and thoughts.  I also don’t have to spend precious time finding and reading journal articles. I wish that I would have utilized these technologies when I was a classroom teacher because the amount of information and ideas available at my fingertips is enormous.  Many administrators that manage professional development for teachers speak of increasing the size of your teaching “toolbox.”  Social media and Web 2.0 multiplies the size of everyone’s “toolbox” many times.

I have learned that I can access valuable information in the tweets and blogs of other connected educators.  I value their willingness to share their thoughts and take the time out of their daily tasks to reflect and write about issues that concern them.  I have also learned that it is important to be connected to other educators in order to provide students with the best, most up-to-date learning experience.  This connected is easily accomplished through the use of twitter, blogs, linkedin, and other social media. 

I have also learned the value of sitting down to write my own thoughts and feelings.  Writing my own blog posts and tweeting information on a regular basis allows me to organize my thoughts and be a more effective, organized administrator.  I still have trouble finding the time to sit down and clear my head and write, but when I do I feel very effective and connected.

I think that current educators have a responsibility to stay up to date on current educational movements and connect with other educators.  Social media and Web 2.0 technology has made this responsibility a reality that is easily accessible to all.  I am going to continue to monitor other educational blogs and write my own posts.  I am also going to work to get other educators I work with connected to easily accessible information that will make them more effective.