Another Journey Begins

Yesterday I found some old pictures of my children and marvelled at the changes they have gone through in less than a decade. I found myself in a reflective mood and began questioning what things were most important to me; it didn't take me long to conclude my family is number one in my heart. Yet, even though it was a Friday and I was off, I was working on a project for my Ed870AR class that had me looking for pictures to support a powerpoint I am working on to explore effective Indigenous Pedadagogy instead of being with them. Don't get me wrong, I have no regrets for pursuing the Master's Degree, but I am realizing it is a real sacrifice to dedicate the hours to research and writing for course work.

I was away from home this past week because of our annual teachers' convention and I was able to attend sessions that had a direct link to the project I am working on. I am exploring ways that an in-school administrator can support on-line learners and so I attended sessions on Tuesday, October 14, put on by the staff of Edcentre.ca, an online school that offers Saskatchewan High School credits. At one point they shared their successes with us and I was surprised that they only had two student names (I knew they were missing another one) from our school. This year, because I have drawn attention to the program and its availability to students in the community I serve, we have registered close to 20 students. I guess in one sense, even though the project is not complete, I can already claim a success; the fact is the program is now better known here than it was and I have given local students an opportunity to earn credits in an alternative way that they had not considered before.

I have to say that the more I look at technology and the changes that come with it, the more I am realizing that even though I consider myself a progressive thinker who is open to change, the more I am realizing just how far behind most educators are when it comes to working with the technology. My exposure to technology has influenced my thinking and the way I work or want to work into the future; I am now exploring wikis and how they can fit into my work,and to support course work requirements to journal I am looking at blogging as a solution to keeping track of my own thoughts and writing. I am already wondering if I can blog retroactively? Is it possible to go back to what I have written and add it to this blog with the date I originally wrote it? If you read this and have an answer, let me know.