WorkFlow

I think the GTD workflow idea is common sense.  What I took away from the lesson is a set of words to describe the process.  My problems with the workflow process is that I can't keep a consistent method.  My inbox changes too often, lost my paper planner, had a PDA when that was the rage but it was out of date in months.  MS Outlook is fine but it is easily transportable between work and home.  All the times that I have had an inbox system that worked it took a lot of effort to get myself to stick with it until it became habit.  Then it disappeared for whatever reason.

Things have been stable enough until recently, until starting the MAET program, that I have been able to keep organized in my head.  I have an android smart phone now which has lists and links to my google calendar automatically.  However, as I mentioned I have a difficult time getting myself to start using a system.

I liked the tips about not prioritizing the inbox as its being filled.  I also like the idea of just doing the item if it will take less than two minutes.  I am a grade A procrastinator and these things tend to clog up my process.  They can also lead to lots of anxiety for me when my list get to be too long and seemingly unmanageable.

Social Networking

To me Facebook has always been a small source of amusement.  I rarely post anything.  When
I have I didn't get many responses.  My profile picture is over two years old and I have little interest in changing it.  I've never invested any real time into thinking about it.  I think my feelings about Facebook stem from my personality in general.  I prefer to keep a small group of friends who I am very close to as opposed to others who have tons of friends.  Moreover, I would rather talk with someone face to face where I can read their body language and hear their voice inflection.  When I write an email I am probably overly deliberate about choosing my words and scrutinizing each for a possible shift in the tone which I do not intend.  Probably most important to me is that I really don't think everybody needs an update on my "status" at regular intervals. 

Steve Lawatsch is crying cuz his fav plant died today.

I know that I personally don't post anything to my Facebook profile that I wouldn't want my students to see and I also don't friend students.  There have been too many stories about someone else posting something provocative and because it is a NETwork not a direct line through each person, the provocative content ends up damaging a reputation or worse.  What about the other social networking sites?

After making it through the ridiculous array of precautionary features on LinkedIn and the MACUL Space page. I can see how these sites might provide more than what Facebook does for me.  They obviously allow you to be a part of a group of people with a similar experience.  There is some illusion of being safer there than with Facebook as it feels more professional.  I don't expect to hear about someones wild bar night accompanied by pictures on the MACUL Space.  I am curious if school administrators would see the same potential safety if Ning et al. were used instead by teachers to communicate with other teachers in the same school, or even for class use.  Is Ning reallly that much safer than Facebook, or am I just deceiving myself?  Is the real difference that I can make myself the center of the network and thereby have the ultimate power? 

Moving Myself to Web 2.0

In only a week, my understanding of the most relevant technology on the web has increased significantly.  I've given consideration to the collaborative power of cloud computing, particularly as my wife and I edited the same document simultaneously with Google Docs.  While I still have some misgivings about blogging in general I can see how it can provide a valuable way to present and discuss ideas.  Even as I write this I anticipate what dialogue may be opened.  Coming from a world in which content as always been driven and dictated by a single author as the "expert" on a subject, the fact that I even have reason to consider what may take place as a result of anything I post is empowering.  The empowering factor is not that I am in control of what is or isn't posted on the Internet but rather that as a mathematics teacher I choose to structure my class in a style that parallels what I see a blog as having the potential to do.  Putting an idea on the table for consideration and then watching my students discuss and argue their ideas as they form concepts is the ultimate empowering experience for those students that choose to be involved in it.  I still mold the direction of the conversation as "the expert" to be sure it doesn't diverge too far.

Also paralleled is the same transition I underwent as a beginning teacher who thought my job was to profess knowledge to kids so that they got it and demonstrated it later.  i.e. show kids how to do it and them have them practice it a bunch until they "got it".  This is very much the model for a traditional web page, where the author is the expert and holds all power.  What that person decides is what goes.  Add a comments section and the web page is now an interactive classroom where people can talk about their ideas.  Now allow all students to ask interesting questions, share their ideas and discuss them and we have reached a blogging level where anyone can drive the discussion in any way they might want. 

Fascinating stuff this technology.