Fear

I was part of the first generation of computers in school.  I learned basic and logo on apple IIC's in elementary school  Now today there are computers everywhere.  I have never been afraid of technology and computers because as a youth I was raised on them.  Some of my older peers are terrified of the technology, waxing philosophic of the years of mimeograph machine.  I taught first grade for 6 years before become the tech teacher and when I was there my one grade partner was in her early 60's and probably the greatest teacher with whom I have ever worked with.  She used her computer for basic paint and Appleworks.  After the first year where I showed her the possibilities of online lesson plans, grade books, research, etc...  She is now doing almost everything online and asking questions.  The reason she was able to do this is because she saw the possibilities and was not afraid.  I try to demystify as much as I can and try to show the possibilities without being a used car salesman and pushing technology down their throats.  Not understanding technology cna make it seem like voodoo but at one point TV, radio, cars, etc...  where scary and now they are just commonplace.  Once people realize this the fear should dissipate.

Technology is a great gift, it is a gift that takes work to understand.

The adventure begins

At the start of my 2nd year as a computer teacher in Philadelphia I finally felt like I started to understand what I was doing with technology and the internet.  That was until a great teacher in my district got me into her ning and into twitter.  This opened up a whole new world to me.  I was fairly comfortable with the internet and thought I knew plenty, but I was wrong.  There were so many educators out there sharing links and information and I immediately became intrigued to see what else was there. The plethora of sites got my attention and I started to bookmark pages for later and send some to a wiki for my fellow educators to use.  I figured the next logical step is to start a blog to share what I learn, to discuss topics of interest to me and educators and to strengthen my writing and presenting skills.

Please send me critiques, critisms, complements, and anything else that will make this blog, and myself, better.