What have you changed your mind about? Why?

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From the blog, Language Hat, I read this:
Edge.org has published their Annual Question (which they ask a bunch of smart people), and this year it’s "What have you changed your mind about? Why?"

The answers, coming from "some of the most interesting thinkers of our world," are thought-provoking. For example, Douglas Rushkoff, a media analyst, wrote that he thought the internet would change people. Instead, he writes, "Sadly, cyberspace has become just another place to do business."

I will be spending a lot of time on this site.

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Making that list

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I am not a big list maker. But on this first day of the new year, I think a list is in order.
Trying to define and re-define my job (instructional tech coordinator) at our 1:1 school this year has been challenging. However, having the time to read, research, play with new tools, and work with teachers has been a gift. I want to continue that.
And I now have some specific goals and a direction.

January:

  • Meet with each department to discuss their concerns and see how I can help. Often those full faculty meetings don’t meet individual needs. I hope to develop an instructional tech committee with reps from each department. We’ll meet regularly to share successes (and failures). Having a spokesperson from each department spreads the wealth of knowledge and energy.
  • Finalize speaking date with Gardner Campbell. He has agreed to talk to our teachers about what’s happening in higher ed. (And what he is doing is thoughtful, powerful stuff. )
  • Organize a parent workshop to explain what we are doing in class as well as offer some hands-on opportunities to set up an RSS feed, etc. A Tech Fest kind of thing?
  • Get those fourth-graders to respond to their Voice Threads over here
  • Attend EduCon!

February:

  • Organize a professional development opportunity for the faculty following Matt’s lead.
  • Set up some Skype calls with our foreign language teachers and teachers here.
  • Propose an elective class for our upper school students inspired by this
  • Register for this!

It’s a start.

This Sharing Thing

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Google has made it much easier to find relevant, valuable information through its Google Reader and the Share with Friends component.
I’ve started sharing, and I’m getting lots of good stuff. Plus I pull my shared items into my blog for easy access.
I’ve also realized that we are, in many cases, sharing the same things! That speaks volumes, really. The best stuff is seen as the best stuff by many. On the other hand, I don’t need to have the same blog/article/podcast saved in 14 different places!
So now I’m trying to figure out if just keeping the article in a friend’s shared file is good enough. Will I be able to find it when I want it?
What do you think?

An Old Friend

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Chris probably doesn’t consider himself an old friend of mine, as he has moved on. But I remember his early blogging days on CompleteRunning.com, when we were a handful of runners, supporting each other’s attempts at improving health and fitness. He was always there with the right words when I wanted to quit. (I’m still at it, Chris).
His site now focuses on business and social media.
You might be interested in reading a recent post about Twitter, where he gives suggestions for managing and ways NOT to manage all this information (oddly enough, I found him again through Sue Water’s post here). He also blogs about social networking, and his ideas are worth reading as they apply to our students, as well.
Great to find you again, Brogan!