Thinking in a New Way

February 2nd, 2009.

That was the day I wrote the first post on this blog. And I haven't missed a single day since. Sometime very soon (like in a day or so) we'll hit 250 posts. I never thought this blog would take off in quite the way it has, nor did I think it would become such a fundamental part of my professional life. I've really come to see blogging itself as a form of professional development. I never would have considered that on Feb 1st, 2009.

I've found myself constantly challenged (in the positive way) by readers and commenters on all sorts of subjects related both to the broad philosophical and political implications of educational technology as well as the day-to-day issues of running a paperless classroom. This discussion has led to further exploration of education itself as well as technology. And I think it remains very important that we don't forget the 'education' part of 'educational technology'.

And I've been learning constantly. Three months ago, I was a Twitter newb. Last Thursday, I actually gave a Latin test entirely on Twitter. Things change. They change fast. To paraphrase my response to a Tweet not long ago: the most important thing you can have in a paperless classroom is fearlessness.

Thanks to all of the regular readers of this blog. If you have not subscribed, please do; it's easy and it's a good boost to my ego (!).

In return, I will continue, in the spirit of that first post way back in the Winter, to blog about education AND technology.

"Because it's not just about saving paper. It's about thinking in a new way."

Teach Paperless Now!

TeachPaperless is now a healthy 19 days old! This is post number 67.

I just wanted to thank all of the people throughout the paperless classroom and educational technology community who have helped make this blog so successful here in its early days.

We've had thousands of page views, hundreds of emails, and dozens of comments over these last two and a half weeks and I have to admit to being a little bit overwhelmed.

But I believe that the community that is carrying on discussion here, as well as (hopefully) carrying the discussions on into the 'real' world, is a community that cares about the future of education and is a community that is fearless in being willing to experiment, change, and challenge each of our own preconceptions in these unsure yet pivotal times.

Know your history, be aware of your present surroundings, and go into the new frontiers: Teach Paperless Now!