My chance to be a model

Quick story: the wife and I planned a trip to Italy a few summers ago. We were struggling to book a hotel room in Florence, and finally, after hotel #6 told us they too were booked, we asked what was happening in Florence that weekend.

"A model convention," we were told. "Many famous models will be here that weekend."

My wife maintains I've never been more excited to visit a city.

Needless to say, I found a hotel room. Not needless to say, when we got there, we discovered there were indeed many famous models roaming about: male models.

Sigh.

My point with all of this? Well ... I'm not sure. But the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS-T) and Performance Indicators for Teachers, which highlights what teachers should know and be able to do, includes the third indicator, which is (drumroll please): Modeling Digital-Age Work and Learning. You can see the full list of indicators here: http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf

So, these people want me to be a model. It's my big chance!

Okay, so it's not that kind of model. And it's probably just as well. High heels make my feet hurt.

Anyway, on to my focus for this blog: the first part of T3:

a. demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations

My goal, as described in earlier blogs, is to use wikis for a variety of activities, including beginning-of-the-year tasks, where students will "introduce" themselves to their classmates and me. These opening activities are very important to me, as they provide the foundation to the class and set the tone for students: they allow students to see that I care about them as individuals, and that we all, while different in many areas, have commonalities. I firmly believe that my lack of classroom management issues, and a number of students have told me how they enjoyed knowing I cared about what they cared about.

So, the wikis are a chance for me to use new technology with my students. However, there's a snag: I'm not fluent in how to use wikis. This bothers me. Greatly. 'Cause I'm the type of guy who does not, at any point, like to appear ignorant. The good news with this, though, is that when I am clueless, I ask questions. I search for answers.

Luckily, there's info out there. Lots of it. Like this one video that somebody found and posted on his blog: http://jimstechtactics.blogspot.com/

I'm going to need help to demonstrate fluency with wikis, and this video, along with other sources (fellow Mason teachers, and some students themselves) will help me learn and then model this information to students. I will say this, though: while I do want to be fluent with wikis, I really don't mind showing my ignorance to students with this. But I'll blog more about that next week.

Now, if you don't mind, I need to rest my feet. Silly Jimmy Choos!