Reflection Week 2

I cannot believe I have only been working on this technology for two weeks! I have learned more in the last two weeks, than in the last three months online. Having a controlled gateway of information to focus on has really helped me make good use of my time spent on the internet so far. I have learned that my techie trouble shooting skills are not too rusty. I can and still enjoy learning about technology by trial and error. The most interesting part of this week is the rate in which I scaled the spectrum of the internet with one tool. Twitter, used as a professional personal learning network tool, provides unique opportunities. I enjoy the Instant Messaging style with the ability to Read Later. It is actually like the original AOL Instant Messaging on AOL back in the late 80s. But I guess you couldn’t or rather I didn’t think of using the texting slang or the links to different sites. Twitter has been a wonderful progression for me. I went from knowing people in my age group with similar tech abilities who knew me personally already, to having a diverse group of individuals who bring a variety of philosophies and tech tools to the mix. I have been given guided access to the information that is available. I feel that now I have some tour guides to help me get around, based on what type of things I am interested in looking at on the internet. This is certainly different from how I was using Twitter a few months ago, and most interestingly is more complex (I believe) than the general public usage. Does this mean, we as teachers, are starting to catch up on the learning curve of technology? Could I really have a fighting chance of understanding exactly what my middle schoolers will be talking about next fall? I think I need to keep striving for depth and diversity as I try to make use of technology. If I was able to change my use of just one tool on the internet in a week with exponential results, I have so many more opportunities to explore!