Wiki's, E-books, and Blogs, oh my!  I know I am not in Kansas anymore, Toto! 

I love technology.  Right now, I could reach out and touch an iPad, a Kindle Fire HD, Chromebook, mini laptop computer, a document camera, a flipcam, iPhone, or my desktop computer.  I use technology in so many publishing aspects of my work yet had not considered the communication possibilities each tool offers.  It seems so obvious now.  I feel like the scarecrow that just got a brain!  As long as the device has internet access, I have the ability to reach out to others through a blog.

I am the Director of Curriculum and Instruction for Seymour Community Schools in Indiana.  I have been an administrator for 25 years.  If I have learned one thing, it is the fact that communication is key to success.  Once particular communication strategies have been successful for us, we tend to stick with them. Sometimes adhering to such habits can freeze us in time...like the tin man.  Joining this class and having the opportunity to "oil" my process, has started my wheels turning.  I currently publish a newsletter monthly to all staff.   This publication is called, The Beacon, I use it to communicate information to all staff members about standards, best practices, district policies, and initiatives. I scan the documents and post them on a Moodle page.   After building my first blog, I realized the Moodle posting is one way communication.  If I just have the courage to build a blog and use it as my communication structure, I can establish ongoing, two-way communication with staff about standards, strategies, and pedagogy.  In the past, if folks had questions about items in The Beacon or wanted to share information on the effectiveness of a particular strategy they tried, staff members were unable to do so. The collaboration potential of this tool meets a great number of needs for my corporation.

When I first read our week one overview and saw all of these things listed, I felt like I was being tossed and turned in a tornado.  I had never done many of these things before and found myself on some unsteady ground.  In building the blog, I learned that the process is very easy to follow.  It is user friendly from both the user and creator point of view.  The directions for building a blog can most certainly be shared with others.   I've looked behind the blog curtain and like what I see.  Here I was scared of the new land I'd discovered only to realize I had the brain, courage, and flexibility I needed all along.  Click, Click, Click....