I wasn\u2019t really planning to get into this technology \u201cthing.\u201d When I received this new job I discovered technology was part of my portfolio. I tried to give it away. Other parts of my portfolio were siphoned off to members of the Leadership Team (eg. French Languages, French Immersion), but I ended up \u201cstuck\u201d with it. The Deputy Superintendent said something about it needing my vision. I wasn\u2019t really sure what that meant since I\u2019m not an early adopter, a geek or anything bearing any resemblance to a digital native.\u00a0 I\u2019m the parent that hasn\u2019t had a functional T.V. in our home for over twenty years. Yes, our four boys have grown up without the distraction of television. Ours has been a household of print. Books. Books. And more books. And rather than being glued to a screen of any sort we\u2019ve opted for walking, biking, hiking, and running out in the fresh air. Truly, anything with technology of any substance has not been a significant part of my world. That could be a bit of a blessing in disguise.<\/p>\n
So here I am, learning to tweet, blog, and send messages on my blackberry in the middle of meetings.\u00a0 Now I usually take my laptop with me wherever I go (although its much too heavy for my liking). I\u2019m in the middle of my own immersion plan. I\u2019m buried in reading other districts’ technology plans, trying to get grounded in what 21st<\/sup> century learning really<\/em> means and experimenting with social media tools. I ask stupid questions of my ICT Helping Teachers (What\u2019s a pingback?) and beg them not to teach me one more thing (\u201cElisa, have you listened to a podcast yet?\u201d). I understand what it means to be digitally overwhelmed.<\/p>\n