Me + Tech = Social Worker 2.0!

I'm proud of me!  I've had a busy few months immersing myself in technology that could possibly benefit my students.  Although I didn't instantly fall in love 💓 with every new tech tool I explored, I did find a few things that seem very valuable to me now.  I also had the chance to learn about the tech my colleagues may be using, so now I feel I better understand the lingo and no longer feel like a tech foreigner trying to decipher a mysterious language!  I no longer have mild palpitations as a result of being baffled when I overhear other teachers having conversations involving 'SeeSaw,' 'creating a QR code,' or 'coding for STEM.' 😄

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I have experienced some changes that I did not expect.  It's still amazing to me that I check Twitter every day.  I've only Tweeted from time to time, but I have gotten a lot out of reading my Twitter feed because I have been able to follow a great selection of professional resources that provide me with helpful ideas and/or inspirational thoughts to keep me positive.  This experience with Twitter also came with a greater lesson for me.  I had totally judged Twitter before even trying it, and I am a little embarrassed to admit that I was prejudiced against it.  In the future, I will try to suspend my judgements until I have the opportunity to try a new technology.

I found an online technology resource that fills a need I've had for years!  Thinglink has become a tool that I really like because I can finally make a library of emotion pictures that has built-in cues which highlight the specific parts of the person's expression that contribute to the emotion.  This is a teaching tool I've tried to make with other resources and failed.  Thinglink not only accomplishes my goal, it is so easy to use that I can get a lot of benefit after spending only a little time with the tool.  So cool!

I would not even begin to call myself a tech expert, but I do feel good about pushing myself outside of my comfort zone.  I often tell students that is how we grow.  Now I'm talking the talk, and walking the walk too.

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Although I feel slightly more caught-up with tech than I did before, I don't feel like this process is over.  I have to keep pushing myself to stay abreast of the newest tech because my students will always be interested in the new stuff.  I may be somewhat current today, but things keep evolving and I don't want to fall too far behind again!

I used to be a great school social worker, and I only used a little tech like an occasional YouTube video or a MindYeti exercise.  Now I have incorporated more tech into my social work practice, and I have become Social Worker 2.0!  Still a great social worker, now updated for the current needs of students and using tools that make my life easier and that are easy for kids to relate to 😄