Take-off!

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Security does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it.  Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than exposure.” 

~Helen Keller

Over the last couple of weeks I have been preparing to take off on my journey into Web 2.0.  Preparing for this trip has been overwhelming, with many details to attend to.  When I am feeling overwhelmed about the challenges to come I think back to how far I have come in the short amount of time since this course began.  I am following Twitter (even sending out some feeble "test tweets"), I have created a google reader account that has revolutionized the way I manage incoming information online.  I am starting to understand and appreciate why Richardson (2010) refers to this as "The Daily Me" (p.73).  I subscribe to a number of blogs and have been pushed to overcome my fear of publishing on a blog that some people might read (gasp!).  All of this, of course, has generated an overwhelming amount of links to follow, posts to read, videos to view and podcasts to listen to, but I am taking it one thing at a time.  

After much back and forth and comparisons Blogger has become my "airline" of choice for my journey.  Truthfully, I initially set up my blog on Wordpress but in the end found blogger to be more straightforward for the rookie travel writer.  

Last year I had the privilege of attending a workshop with Dr. Judi Harris on the subject of TPCK (technological pedagogical content knowledge).  It was at this session that I gained some insight into my focus for my masters program as a whole, but some questions arose in my mind that are particularly applicable to the technologies I will be learning about throughout this course.  Dr. Harris spoke about a development strategy for the effective integration of burgeoning technologies when considering the curriculum standards we are trying to accomplish and pedagogical knowledge.  All of this takes place within the context of your school and your students, always considering limitations and alternatives.  This development strategy "draws upon the literature about teachers’ planning practices to suggest an activity-based, curriculum-keyed approach to planning instruction that incorporates systematic and judicious selection of technologies and teaching/learning strategies" (p. 101).  

In short, I know that it is easy to get lost in the flash and wonder of the potentials of web 2.0 tools (they are just so cool!) but it is critical for me to view their use in relation to the bigger picture.  Technology is a tool, and must be used as such.  As educators considering a new technology we must constantly be asking ourselves whether or not it is feasible or appropriate for these students, for this particular curriculum outcome at this time and, if not, consider other approaches.  It is with this framework in mind that I buckle up and prepare for take-off.  And, of course, how will I know when I have arrived?  


I have a feeling this will be more about the journey than the destination.

This about sums up how I feel right now:

Photo by Harry Alverson

References

Harris, J., & Hofer, M. (2009). Instructional planning activity types as vehicles for curriculum-based TP ACK development. In C. D. Maddux, (Ed.). Research highlights in technology and teacher education 2009 (pp. 99-108). Chesapeake, VA: Society for Information Technology in Teacher Education (SITE). Retrieved from http://activitytypes.wmwikis.net/file/view/HarrisHofer-TPACKActivityTypes.pdf on September 20, 2010.  

Richardson, W. (2010).  Blogs, wikis, podcasts and other powerful web tools for classrooms.  Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.