Falling Down the Rabbit Hole: An Introduction

I'm in my eighth year of teaching at a high school of about 2,000 students in suburban Chicago. When I started teaching in 2009, technology in my classroom consisted of using those old-school projectors with transparency sheets (in fairness, the year I started, they were phasing in LCD projectors in all the room--it was great!). 

Our LRC had a few labs with desktop computers, but trying to schedule lab space (especially during those "prime times" of the year when EVERYONE is writing papers) was an absolute pain. We had restrictions (understandably so) for how many days in a row we could be in the labs, and, therefore, they were really only used for work time on papers. To us, Google was simply a search engine, Twitter was in its infancy, and communicating with parents and students via email was unreliable and disorganized (plus, having to see some of the students' personal email addresses was cringe-worthy. Looking at you, MeOwXXX6295@aim.com). 

I can't emphasize enough how thankful I am that the first eight years of my teaching have happened during arguably the fastest technology growth sport in the history of education. Since that first year of teaching, I've gotten to learn about and explore tools and devices that have transformed my classroom, but I feel like I've only seen the tip of the iceberg. 

I compare this journey into technology in education to Alice falling down the rabbit hole on her way to Wonderland. She makes a voluntary (albeit spontaneous) decision to go on an adventure to the unknown, where she faces challenges and decisions, emerging confident, yet newly curious, about the world. 

Technology in the 21st Century classroom leads me on a similar trip down the hole. So many times I've learned about a new web tool, and I know I need to dive in and try it, taking a risk (that does sometimes turn out to be a flop!). I've had the opportunity to pilot different devices in my classroom, including iPads and Chromebooks, and, as intimidating as they might be, I know I need to jump right in and learn along the way. 

I love it. 

In this blog, I look forward to chronicling my adventure to "techland," sharing about how I've used tools over the years, continuing to refine them. I want to document new strategies I try out, sharing my successes and failures. I hope you enjoy traveling on this journey with me!