So what does all of this mean? I have spent the last several hours immersed in this new network of educators. I feel drained and overwhelmed. There is so much out there. So much information, so many tools, so many people to communicate with. I am wondering if I shouldn’t simply crawl back in my classroom and teach the old fashioned way. I remember teaching under a tree to fifty kids in Mozambique, what am I doing Twittering with strangers.

I am of course playing devils advocate, because many teachers feel this way. Getting teachers to change their habits or styles of teaching is nearly impossible. I feel it is important to start slow and remind teachers that they simply need to start slow and take their time. I feel fairly comfortable with my tech abilities, but I still feel a bit overwhelmed after this first day.

We cannot or should not become super-connected 21st century teachers overnight. But as we make this journey together here is some information I have found to get you thinking. I want to start with this quote from Mr. W’s Great Blogging Thing:

He says, “If you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevance even less…”

I think this is a good place to start. Our classrooms, our students, our world is changing, and as teachers we are here to prepare kids to face a world many of us our refusing to understand. That not only seems silly, but selfish. We owe it our students to be a step ahead of them at all times and guide them through this information superhighway.

In closing, I will leave you to read this post and think about the questions he is raising. How would you answer these questions?

1. Please rate your skill set for the following tools as a basic user, average user, or advanced user:
Basic User: Can use the program in its simplest form
Average User: Can use the program and can give examples of ways to use the program in the classroom for teaching and learning.
Advanced User: Can give an example of using the program in the classroom as part of the learning process. Has or is willing to teach others how to use it.

Word
Excel
PowerPoint
Publisher

2. What e-mail programs are you familiar with (Outlook, Thunderbird, Firstclass, Groupwise) and what do you see as the positive and negative aspects of using e-mail?
3. Being able to look up information and resources on the web is an important skill. Explain how you go about looking up information on the web. How do you verify that the information you found is trustworthy and of use to you?
4. What is your philosophy regarding the filtering of internet sites?
5. Do you read any blogs? If so, which ones?
6. Do you have an RSS reader? If so, what do you subscribe to?
7. Do you belong to any online communities?
8. Tell me a story of something you learned from your network?
9. Tell me how you think the future you are preparing children for will be different?
What is your favorite gadget and why?
10. How often do others come to you for guidance in using technology?
11. Describe the last new technology that you used and how you used it — and how you learned it?
12. Describe the last thing you learned related to your work, that you didn’t learn in a classroom or from a book, and describe how you learned it.
Just some food for thought…