Introduction and Reflection on Things 1 and 2

Hi all,

My name is Stephanie Christensen and I teach fifth through eighth grade instrumental music. I'm writing this blog as part of an online learning course offered through Wayne County RESA called 23 Things. Although the words "music" and "technology" appear in the title of my blog, I teach band, quite possibly the least "tech-y" subject imaginable. If an instrument is considered to be "technology," then we're still not that far from the first person who blew into a conch shell and got what may or may not have been an appealing sound. And I'm not complaining about this--I love music and love teaching it. I love that it's a slow process in an increasingly fast world. I love that it's based in community--that each part matters and that we as a group can achieve something beyond what any of us could do individually. I love that what we do is a link back to hundreds of years of tradition, human endeavor, and joy.

(On good days. Of course, you have to have a sense of humor about it all, and you may wonder if the sound of a beginner on a saxophone was around in Bach's day if he'd have chosen an entirely alternate occupation.)

Yet the world we live in is full of technology, and contemplating the possibilities for future change is mind-boggling. It's also an exercise in humility--the world seems like such a large place, even though it is a much more accessible one due to the technological advances that, once amazing, are now so easy to take for granted. I don't think I will ever be able to keep up with the leading edge of change, but I was beginning to feel that I knew less than I should as someone under 30. In other words, I'm too young to check out and settle happily for my current level of knowledge, so my primary interest in taking this course is to educate myself. I'm really not sure how much of what I learn here will be directly applicable to my classroom, given the subject I teach and the resources my students have available to them, but I hope in better understanding web 2.0, I'll be better able to understand the ever-evolving world that they are growing up in.

(And in the interest of full disclosure, I will admit: 2 SB-CEUs for something I can do on my own time that I'm interested in--perfect!)

An interesting question was posed in the prompt: do I write differently knowing this is an exceptionally public forum? Well, yes. I feel a certain caution, knowing that anyone anywhere can read what I've written not to reveal too many personal details or even opinions I wouldn't want to become common knowledge. This won't be a diary by any stretch of the imagination. Yet at the same time I think we're becoming more "online" whether we want to or not--our reputations are expanding quickly into cyberspace. My mom called recently and said my neighbor liked my haircut. This wouldn't be notable except I haven't seen this neighbor in at least ten years. Someone had taken my picture over the weekend, and through an untraceable series of people, had sent the picture to her son, who was not even at the event. Interestingly enough, I haven't seen the picture myself, nor am I sure exactly who it originated with. So from this standpoint, I like the idea of blogging since I'm the direct source.

I'm not usually concise (nor is this an example), but I think I've about exhausted my thoughts for now and am ready to move on to the next Thing.