I blogged in 1987...

I am constantly amazed at where we are now in 2015 with social media and technology - specifically in the classroom.  When I began with technology, it seemed like technology was just beginning...

In 1987, I graduated from E.C. Glass High School where I took keyboarding and computer programming.  I learned to type on an electronic typewriter.  Yes, you insert the paper sheet by sheet and when you made a mistake you had to use correction tape or start again.  At home, I typed my papers on a manual typewriter when necessary but mostly wrote the papers by hand.

Then off to college at Freed-Hardeman with a computer.  I stored all of my data and work on these disks at some point and time during my college and graduate work.  

When I began teaching, I was one of the first teachers in Tennessee to be awarded a 21st Century classroom.  This included 6 computers, a teacher stand with a laser disc and a printer.  I was on cloud 9 - not only did I get the equipment but I got to go to training so I would know how to use all the equipment.  Oh and the station came with a VHS player too!

During my masters and doctoral degrees,  I used the card catalog and drove to the University of Memphis library each Saturday to complete research on microfilm and microfiche.

After all of this, I began to work at an university just when social media and phones began to completely take over and become the norm.  So when I say I blogged in 1987, I mean I journaled about my teaching experiences, wrote letters to my friends about what I was doing, and asked the newspaper to cover the special events in my classroom.  AND when things were really exciting I called teacher friends on the phone from my apartment or a pay phone.

It is 2015, I am blogging, Instagram-ing, snap chatting, face booking, texting, periscoping, QR coding, and tweeting.  I'm learning.  I'm growing.  Now, I'm working on sharing.

This desire to grow through sharing has been inspired by 3 professionals that I regularly 'read'.  George Couros who believes that sharing is the responsibility of each instructional leader - if we don't share then how do we grow as professionals?  Donna Boucher who compulsively shares math resources on her blog and through twitter - these are good ideas and she supports others who have good ideas.  Alice Keeler who speaks about using technology in the classroom, with the students and for the students  - when she speaks it is easy to understand.   

I am thankful for my tech journey.  I am thankful for professionals like Couros, Keeler and Boucher who pave the way through the social media and technology maze.  I am thankful to seek, to know and thereby grow.  See you at the edge!