I'm trying to come up with a clever title, but I can't think of one...

I'm not a blogger. Honestly, when I think of people who are "bloggers," I typically think about these type of people: 

  

I've written professionally as a journalist for nearly four years, so I've honestly had a bad taste in my mouth about bloggers. Why? Because every once in a while, I get a call from some crazy person who said they heard this outrageous story and that we were fake news for not covering it. When I would ask where they saw that information, they would refer me to a blog, written by yet another crazy person. 

Somehow, for these select people, a post from a random guy was more credible than me, an award-winning journalist who devoted 60 hours a week doing interviews and sitting through boring meetings to get a small sliver of information. 

So yeah, there's some animosity. But, because college is all about learning new things (and I'm paying $30,000 to learn from really smart people), I'll come into this with an open mind.  

A couple observations from today. 

1. The things you can do with Google BLEW. MY. MIND!!!!

2. I knew Wikipedia was great all along -- today just proved it.

3. That room we were in was too small for 40+ people. I miss room 104 Hawthorne with the snack cupboard. Change is hard for me. But, I digress ...

For me, today's class was very eye-opening. When I worked as a substitute teacher, I was playing a constant game of wack-a-mole trying to get the kids to put away their phones. Yes, it likely had something to do with the fact that I was a sub, but I couldn't get those kids to put away their phone if their lives depended on it. I really liked that approach we learned from Jeff, asking them "Is something wrong?" If nothing else, it will guilt trip a kid to put the phone away.

As far as Google is concerned, I loved the different features we learned about today. As a former journalist, the newspaper option was fantastic. I also loved the idea for different perspectives from different countries. Game changer, for sure. I could definitely see myself using that for classes one day.

Also, WHERE WAS THIS STUFF WHEN I WAS IN UNDERGRAD!?!?!?! Kids these days have things so easy...

Now for my favorite part of the day: WIKIPEDIA

I have embraced Wikipedia since its beginnings. It's easy to read, simple, and it has information on almost everything. I'd like to give a shout out to Wikipedia for helping me through undergrad. However, now it's nice to know I can back it up with evidence using the "talk" tab. That was such an awesome thing to look at, and a great way for kids to find good sources. Yes, you might still find some errors and trolls who try to put fake information, but that can also be a learning opportunity for students.

Also, only eight people work at Wikipedia How crazy is that?

I've always wanted to set up something where English teachers could share reviews about young adult literature books and how to use it in the classroom. Maybe this is a good medium to do that in? Your thoughts?

In conclusion, blogging is OK, and tech is awesome. I am really enjoying this class so far. Personal note: just before I finished writing this, Bryce Harper won the Home Run Derby. I don't like the guy, but that was a heck of a performance. Mariners will still win the World Series this year, though.

#TrueToTheBlue

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