The First Day #eci831

This is it - I am creating a blog...did I say that out loud? Not really - I typed in on a screen.

At 37 years old, I have effectively managed to live my life thus far as an ostrich when it comes to embracing social media.  I have not cared that my students have been talking about things that I couldn't understand because I have pitied their lack of understanding of how to connect with real live human beings in a room instead of "people" (words) on a screen.  Blog you say???  I thought that the idea of journaling (how I saw blogging) online was crazy...heck I barely wrote my thoughts in a book for fear someone might find them later and realize just how nuts I was!!! LOL

Along came ECI 831 and I thought to myself, "Maybe it's time to figure out how this all works!?!?!"  I participated in the first class and found myself having to google terms like "ping back" and "hashtag" just to know what the heck people were talking about.  20 mins in, I felt over my head and very old and I yearned for the ability to allow that ostrich reflex to kick in...instead I texted my niece and told her that it was time for her to repay aunty for all of the proofreading of papers that I'd done.  I needed an inservice on all things social media so that I could figure out what I was doing without an aneurism!

So, as I have confessed, I have started this journey fairly ignorant and somewhat resistant to the road that I am about to travel.  I know that I will grow tremendously through this class and I believe that it will be good for me to replace my current misconceptions about social media with knowledge about its usefulness.  I will continue to believe that real life interaction is most often more meaningful than anything that can be done online, however, I have to move into this world in which I live...both for myself and my students.