What If?

What If? is something I have been contemplating ever since I started on this journey immersing myself in social media, navigating my thirst for life long learning down a very specific path….. one that enables me, a quiet, humble, introvert, to collaborate, share, express myself and hopefully influence others along the way.
What if?
Specifically, what if my employer had not given me three incredible devices (iPhone, iPad, MacBook Air) to use 24/7, 12 months of the year? What if I did not have a TIS (Technology Integration Specialist) or what I consider to be a personal mentor to ask for help about anything, any day at anytime??!! I truly ask myself this frequently. I am very privileged, and I do not take that for granted. It is my duty, my obligation and my desire to do something with this grand privilege, to educate myself, work to engage others, and hopefully influence change in my school community and beyond.

Why 3 devices? Each I use for a slightly different purpose, and of course uses blend and overlap across devices. As an administrator, my phone has a primary purpose; to use in response to an emergency. I have it with me at all times. Luckily, emergencies are infrequent; its second purpose is for me to maintain efficient communication with my staff as well as with the administrative team. It is also quite handy to record daily events and needs through videos and photographs. If something on the playground or parking lot looks like a safety issue, I can take a picture and send it off to the facilities department. If a student is teaching a jump rope chant in Spanish to a friend at recess I can record it and show the Spanish teacher and make her proud!
I tend to use my iPad as a “movable desk.” I record bus and activity attendance on it; I take it with me on class observations so I can keep up with email as I move through the day, or so I can look something up quickly if a question is posed to me in the hallway. My iPad is also the most comfortable tool to keep up with twitter or read my subscribed blogs on Flipboard. I also play with the various apps all of the students use in the different subjects.

My MacBook Air, on the other hand, is my “moveable office.” My filing system, calendar, notes, organized twitter favorites, to do lists……. everything. Some of these things can be accessed on my iPhone and iPad as well, but I navigate toward the ease of my “MacBook office.”
As I write this I realize what a “novice techie” I really am. I have all of these devices that can do so many things, and I still use them minimally. Meaning I use them ALL OF THE TIME, but not in the capacity that I could or should. I do take baby steps, I always try, and I rarely give up, but I still need to push myself a bit more to get out of my comfort zone and explore new things. It is not only my obligation to use these devices to facilitate my daily responsibilities; I must 1) understand more thoroughly how the teachers and students are using their technology tools inside the classroom and 2) model professional engagement in social media in order to encourage use within my school community.
How did I get hooked on social media for professional advancement? How did I improve? And how will I continue to improve – because I do have a long way to go.

The answer is an easy one. I have a mentor willing, patient, caring and available to lead me down the path I choose to follow. I am not told where to go or what to do, but I am guided depending on my queries. My curiosity, my responsibilities, and my desire to grow professionally lead the way. My mentor has guided me in many different ways, but as the learner I must take the lead, and I always have. My queries vary.

Initially I drafted a list of all the different types of social media I was interested in and explained that my sole objective was to grow professionally and interact with the world beyond my school campus. The list was rather long and included: twitter, blogging, facebook, google+, wikis, google docs……google reader, social bookmarking. My mentor first helped me to prioritize that list, some things came right off, others were put into a specific order….. and one by one I moved forward with her help. In regards to social media my mentor has helped me:
·            Find and subscribe to educational blogs via google reader·            Create my own blog as well as a community blog·            Enter the twitter universe: find tweeps, increase followers, participate in chats,  understand hashtags,   create lists, add picture collages to tweets·            Use Delicious to bookmark sites·            Use Ifft to organize information·            Create a google doc survey and utilize other google docs·            Imbed audio and video into blogs·            Create QR Codes to communicate information·            Become familiar with Evernote  as a record keeping, note taking, recording tool·            Become familiar with Pinterest·            Understand the process of rolling out iPads and Mac Book Airs to faculty and students in an efficient and safe manner.

Through these queries and my own navigation I have participated in a web 2.0 course as well as an 8 week leadership collaborative. Yet, I still realize that I have only scratched the surface, and I expect much more of myself.

I can push myself all the harder, because I know, thanks to my school that I have the tools and support that I need to move forward. I am recognizing my privilege. I know that there are many folks out there that are much further along than I, even though they do not have as many tools or so much hands-on support. I am truly grateful and thus must keep moving down, up, and around this learning path.

 So, what if I had not received the support of my patient, caring, and knowledgeable mentor?
·            My tools would be used some of the time and not all of the time.·            My progress would be as slow as a turtle and not as consistent as a dolphin gliding through the water·            My curiosity could manifest itself in frustration
·            My blogs would be mundane and boring·            My attempts to organize all my discoveries would be a jumbled up mess instead of a categorized list, creative wordle, or labeled Evernote “stack.”
However, most importantly, what if I did not have my mentor at my side? I would not have a friend, colleague, educator, “person,” to share the success, challenges and joys of our lives as educators with or without technology!!