Some people who know me insist that I have lost my mind. They tend to have this notion that my life is hectic and that I take on too much causing myself stress. Sometimes I agree with them! Balancing a family life which includes three young children who are beginning to become involved in various activities, a teaching career and the "extras" that I have taken on in my role as an eductaor, and attempting to finish up my CAS does have me overextended at times. My personality does not deal well with complacency, therefore I have this expectation that educators should always be attempting to improve their teaching. Hence, I seem to be continually taking classes. When I began my degree in Literacy, my main focus was the incorporation of literacy in content areas.

A few semesters ago, I stumbled onto an elective course whose focus was the use of technology in the classroom. Wow, what an eye opener! My introduction to the world of Web 2.0 left me with a thirst for more knowledge in this area. I will be the first to admit that I am not yet an expert in this area, however I do feel that I am at least competent. In the beginning many of these tools seemed overwhelming to me. For example, setting up an RSS feed! How could any normal person actually manage all of the information coming at them with this device? It did take me some time to be able to adapt to this manner of receiving and sorting through information, but now this has become an indispensable tool, providing me with some of my most useful resources that I have implemented in the classroom. The exclusion of Web 2.0 in some sectors of public education is a mystery to me, as I feel that the benefits far exceeds the issues surrounding their use (i.e safety concerns). Advocating for the inclusion of Web 2.0 in the classroom should be a priority for teachers, who have the ability to make a profound impact on their students.

I have been following blogs by experts in the field , such as Will Richardson's blog on technology http://weblogg-ed.com/ which provide not only great resources, but a great example of the potential power of a blog , however as I enter the world of blogging, my thoughts of how can I do justice to blogging are rampant. My discovery of http://successfulteaching.blogspot.com/ by Pat Hensley has provided me with hope that, with time, my blog will provide insight for others. Her blog is inviting and includes useful resources as well as experiences that she is dealing with as a blogger (see her post on someone else stealing her blog posts and using them as their own). I find myself able to connect with her as an educator who is still close to the trenches that the majority of us find ourselves in. So, now all I have to do if figure out all of the bells and whistles that go along with blogging. I think I am on my way....