Today's Trek to Technology

This whole experience is a bit intimidating. Me a reporter? Of my own learning sure, but who's interested in my learning? Just give me a survey. Check. Check. Yep, learned that, too. Check. Done. You can't imagine the flee response that is welling up inside me right now just imagining the readers thoughts. "Keep it simple, stupid." Those are my thoughts. I'm grossly aware of my need as an educator in the 21 century to embrace technology and utilize it in every form, context, and environment allowable. I'm behind. Not because of anything I've done. It's just the nature of the industry. It is forever advancing at paces that world-record holders would find challenging to compete. So I'm behind. What's most important now is not that I can check "Yes" or "No" in response to survey items, but that I'm competent in the arena of technology uses to differentiate instruction for the "wide range of preferences, skills, and abilities" that sit within my classroom each day. (Wahl and Duffield. 2005. Using technolgy to meet the meeds of diverse learners, 1) Where do I begin? That's where the Technology Application Inventory and the Teacher Survey from SETDA will help me. Here, I can feel technologically competent because of the proficiencies I do demonstrate and have the confidence to step out and build upon my currently limited knowledge base. Truth is I am competant in the basics. I can type, file save, e-mail, google search, and use on-line services i.e. banking, shopping... An early English writer once said, "Success comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it." I will busy myself in turning those "no's" to "yes's" and before long, I'll be in the mentor seat - showing others the amazing uses of technology that will have a long-lasting, positive impact on learners. One foreseen hindrance is the district's vision in technology. Their vision will earmark training, availablity of personnel to help, and resources. Those contraints will certainly influence the rate at which I'm able to fully utilize technology in the classroom.