I pulled this off of Dr. Mishra's site, http://punya.educ.msu.edu/2010/02/11/exciting-new-possibility-an-invitation/
"...we know that we are living in exponential times. Clearly the status quo will not do. Most of what we know (and teach) is becoming dangerously irrelevant. We need new ideas, new research, new tools, new institutional structures, and new pedagogies that fit this new “conceptual world” we are living in."
This brings great anxiety to me. Again, I'm feeling that pressure to catch up with the times. Why do I keep coming back to that? Why can't I just recognize that my role is to jump right in with both feet and get going, get going with whatever technology I want to try and as I play around think about new ideas, new tools, new pedagogies...it's that simple...but really, it's not! Ugh!!!! I have to retrain my brain. I have to trust myself, I have to take risks, I have to become vulnerable and willing to step into the unknown. I think these are all the same things I tell my teacher researchers to do while doing their action research projects! It's not easy, but it transforms the way we think. It is worth it. But...I need support, just like my teacher researchers need the community we create that gathers periodically to provide probing questions, encouragement, new points of view, reassurance.... how is this created in the digital age? Social networking? But...what about the need to be with actual humans...all breathing the same air, tuning in to body language, providing a comforting pat on the back, a smile, a round of applause....what does this look like in the digital age? Does this have to change? I've been taking a class using Elluminate...we can see each other with our video cams, we can post a smiley face, or even hands clapping for a round of applause... it's not the same!
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