Sprucing Up My Knowledge

One of the things that I’ve touted about myself has been my knowledge about social media and it’s uses/implications in education. While I have been looked at as the “expert” in my departments, I’ve rarely taken the time to engage in professional development about the topics. Everything that I’ve been learning has been from personal use of the tools & technologies. I’m currently teaching a upper-level undergraduate & graduate class on educational technology in education, and this has forced me to continue keeping up with the changes in not only technology, but also education. Instead of telling faculty what they should be doing, I have had the opportunity to “walk the walk.” I’m lesson planning, grading, and communicating with students. That last one was something I never imagined doing – communicating with students. My role has always been in the realm of faculty development, so it was natural for me to work with faculty, instructors, lecturers… whatever you want to call the subject matter expert. But working with students has always been “out of my purview.” Interestingly enough, my experience over the last 12 weeks has changed that mentality – for the better.I’ve also started reading a book that I highly recommend to anyone who has or wants to start a blog. Bloggers Boot Camp: Learning How to Build, Write, and Run a Successful Blog (White, C. & Biggs, J.), has given me quite a few tools and bits of knowledge that I didn’t have before. The book is directed more towards business blogs, reviewing products, etc., and less to do with personal, family blogs. But the information is helpful nonetheless. I’m about half-way done with the book and can’t wait to finish it. It’s a pretty easy read, also.In both cases, I’m working on self-motivated professional development. Maybe this will not only prompt me to blog more, but have more motivation all around.