I have been enjoying the weekly reflections that are
creating these posts and am very appreciative of the feedback received and the
time taken by colleagues to check-in each week. Brandon (@AlwaysPrepped) has
checked in and asked if I would write a blog for his site using this theme and
with a technology angle. The timing could not have been better as my last week
had a number of technology moments and served as a great reminder of the
potential for so much more learning.
George
Couros (@gcouros) started the Leadership 2.0 initiative through Twitter with a
stated purpose to create something similar to a Massive Open Online Course
(MOOC) for leadership, He asked colleagues to help provide some of the nine
sessions that will be taking place over nine consecutive weeks. Mine is coming
up in two Tuesdays with the theme of “Understanding and Responding to the
Larger Societal Context”. I’d love
to hear from colleagues about their views as I prepare my session. This open,
online course is free to anyone who cares to participate and I have found the
exchanges to be fascinating and the follow-up to be quite informative. I’m not
sure I fully understand (or even remotely understand) the technology behind
these Blackboard Collaborate sessions but I am amazed by the capacity they
provide, as people from around the world gather to share their views. I have
not met most of the facilitators of the sessions but feel like I know lots
about them from participating.
With the amount of travelling I do,
I am always looking for ways to stay connected with family, friends, and
clients. I enjoy using Skype and iChat to link up and consider them (generally)
to be better than the phone of days gone by. As my oldest granddaughter approached
her third birthday, I know we will communicate more using this technology. The
downside usually happens with some less than satisfactory hotel Internet
service (and that’s a column on its own) resulting in a return to the phone
connection.
I also took advantage of iChat to
connect with a school in Winnipeg while I was in San Francisco and then back
home in Gibsons. We were able to lay out some good plans and then also
discovered some flaws with the process, which we will address in time for me to
present a session to the entire staff from the comforts of my home office.
While I will always prefer the “in person” contact, I have found this approach
to be helpful in laying some groundwork for subsequent work when I arrive.
My final technology connection
happened as I spent an extended period of time with my co-author Chris Weber
(@Chi_educate) working through a couple of chapters on our next book. I remain
in awe of the potential of the tools that allow us to share ideas, graphics,
and tools while in the development process. Chris and I may not be in the same
room until after the book draft has been completed and that is certainly a 2012
way of creating a book.
I’m certainly no technophile and am
likely more hesitant than most to get the new tools once they are released. I
still enjoy the look on students’ faces when I tell them about a significant
historical moment I experienced while listening to my transistor radio. Their
complete amusement at my description of the small rectangular box I held to my
ear while shifting directions to get better reception is a good reminder of the
changes that have happened during my career as an educator. I look forward to
becoming more technologically literate and am thankful for colleagues who have
taken the leap first and are willing to share with reforming Luddites like
myself.
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