I was reared being taught that you should "be a good example"...."practice what you preach"....etc. With that being said....I feel as though I should be the shining example of technology use that my positional title at work implies that I am...."Istructional Technology Coordinator"...I try to stay current on the latest programs...sites....trends....but, you know....collaborative tools are hard to use by yourself. ;)
In the online course that I am participating....the general course concerns are Web 2.0 tools. Well....I got a clue right up front, that though I may be aware of most if not all of these tools...I had really not experienced using them. I still haven't exactly identified a reason to use some of the ones that have been introduced...but at any rate, I use Twitter and Facebook....Google docs and presentations.....but beyond that I really hadn't gotten too deeply involved. I have a wiki with about 6 or 7 people approved to edit....but, no one has even tried to edit (go figure??). I have a blog now...with 4 followers (Thanks, it's times like this when you know who your truest and deepest friends are....those that will sign up to read your stuff and be so kind as to comment and share). So...I suppose my current quandary is around the following thoughts...how do you model something that no one else is using or perhaps has access to use? How can I perfect the use of these tools just playing with them and not getting a full idea of all of the nuances involved?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Well, my thoughts on this matter are pretty simple: I don't think we should use something just because it's there. On the other hand, I DO think that we should test out what we can and try to apply it. There was a time when I had no idea what Google Docs WAS and now it's a resource I can't live without. Our school uses Google Calendar to keep our school's events up to date. We use photocasts to keep our community informed about what's going on in our school. Other tools have not yet been utilized as fully.
ReplyDeleteThe things that really catch on will rise to the top...like Twitter, Facebook, Google's many tools, RSS feeds...the rest, I think it's okay to sit back and see if they live up to the hype.
The current hot trends for our school? iPod Touch units and Document Cameras.