Three years ago, I gave the Keynote speech at a local teaching conference in Kuwait. The goal of my speech was to encourage educators, like me, to move from their comfort zone and embrace the use of technology. I had realized that my “fixed mindset” about being a digital immigrant, was holding me back from experiencing all the useful technology available in my personal and professional life. Basically, if all else fails, watch a youtube video to learn how to do something. So now, at aged 61, I am learning about the maker movement, document sharing apps, flipped learning, digital badges, Twitter PLNs, and just about anything else that has the potential to upend and reform the current state of education.

My interactions with students and educators were the reasons for my change of heart. In my role as Director of a Foundation Year program, I meet students who have given up on learning. I began studying how to engage students in their learning and encourage them to extend the amount of time they spend outside of class practicing or exploring what they learned. In addition, as Director of the program, I coach and mentor faculty who struggled to find ways to motivate students to learn the college readiness skills necessary to be successful in the university’s undergraduate program. I began by following edtech Twitter accounts and participating in online PLNs. And Voila! I became an advocate for technology in the classroom.

Once I made the switch, there was no turning back.

Stay tuned! My learning journey will be the subject of the next few posts.