Fear And Introduction

Can the world sustain its current number of bloggers, or will the world implode?  I fear.  I fear for us all.  Personally, I’m just following orders.  I was ordered to create this thing.  And maybe it’s senseless to create an introduction to something no one (go ahead, check out how many followers I have) will read, but I’m hoping to gain a sense of progress with this Frankenstienian beast I’m creating.

Of course, there’s the first question of anonymity.  Should people know who I am, or should I hide behind a cloak of hypertext markups, onion routers, and wikileaks protections as I daftly expose all the hidden evils of our current education system?  (Or the evils *evil font* THE STATE *evil font* is perpetrating on our teachers?)  I mean,  I’ve heard our State Superintendent is up to no good, but he’s not going after bloggers the way these guys are.  So, you know my name.

I’m starting this blog for a technology class.  I bet they’re hoping I get all tech schnavvy and all.  Oh I will be.  I’ll be incorporating many of the NET standards NET standards for teachers that I read about in activity 1.3.  (I hope my professor notices that flawless transition into topics I’m actually supposed to write about… flawless…)  Truth be told, I think I already meet them all at some capacity.  I “use technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, etc…”  I “incorporate digital tools and resources” in my lessons.  I use technology to communicate to parents and the community.  I model respectful and appropriate ways to use technology – including copyright laws… laws that I’ve seen teachers take a more or less cavalier approach to following in the past.  (My scholastic experience was filled with copied papers marked, “Do Not Copy.”)

I guess the NETS fall into the category of “Practicing, But Could Be Doing More.”  There’s plenty that falls into that category… studying for tests, prayer and Bible reading, calling Great-Aunt Ethel…

My school does a good job of encouraging and supporting teachers when it comes to technology.  That’s not to say there are no barriers.  I’m typing this during prep using MS Word because the internet is down.  (Apparently it’s a “state problem.”  I’m not sure what the means, but I think it means I’ll be in trouble next class…)  As is pointed out numerous other places – technology can let you down, especially if you don’t understand it.  Furthermore, we’ve got a ton of academic standards to cover before the standardized test.  I don’t know if I’ll have time to teach students to use movie making software, then film and edit, and finally present with the increased pressure coming from the state to focus on tests.  We’ll cross that bridge eventually, social studies hasn’t seen the testing pressure that math and LA has.

So, we’ve got this Biblical command to “Fear Not.”  I don’t fear technology, not even after reading Isaac Asimov.  Robot uprising, yes.  Technology no.  I may get annoyed by it, but I won’t fear it.  The Bible also has many commands about worrying, and I think that might be a better interpretation of some of the “Fear Not” commands.  Don’t worry about it, let God handle it.  I’m not going to worry about the technology failing, or my own personal ignorance about a program.  As long as I’m not using fear as a pretext for inaction, it’s out of my hands.

I’m looking forward to this class.  I’m looking forward to keeping this blog.  Maybe I’ll get some ideas about incorporating technology into my classroom more efficiently.  That’s what I’m hoping for at least.  If not, maybe it will allow me to clarify my own muddied thoughts.  Like Anna Kamienska said, “I write in order to comprehend, not express myself.”