As an educator, I find myself looking to the end of a calendar year in June. This year, I had the realization that I should look at December as the end of my year and January as a time to reflect and make new resolutions for my professional career.  I figure that doing this would rejuvenate me for the second half of the school year.

One of my first resolutions is to become a more committed blogger. But you might ask, “Why?” Blogs are a great medium for thought out reflections. I use Facebook and Twitter to share (and sometimes overshare), but those posts don’t typically offer the depth that a blog can. As I sat on my couch over the holidays, I picked up the latest copy of  Wired Magazine. In last months issue, Clive Thompson wrote about the importance of the short take and long take of news. Clive put it simply, “We talk a lot, then we dive deep.” My Twitter feed is my short take, an incremental collection of ideas, resources, and tidbits. My blog, however, is a way to take those parts and create more of a 50,000 foot view. But the best part of blogging happens after I publish. The commenting from my audience, the trackbacks, and the Google Analytics all providing abundant data from my subscribers.

At this point, some of you are wondering what I am getting at. I have been given a wonderful opportunity to become a guest blogger for www.edreformer.com as part of their DigitalEd column. EdReformer is “a community of advocates, entrepreneurs, educators, policy makers, philanthropists and investors seeking to promote excellence and equity in education through innovatation.  EdRefomer serves as a catalyst for innovation in education by encouraging and  promoting public and private investment in new learning tools, schools, and platforms.” This gives me great incentive to become a more involved blogger. I am not blogging for the sake of blogging, but as a means to share my thoughts and ideas about the impact of online learning, technology integration in the classroom, and instructional innovation for educators in today’s harsh economic environment.

As an educator in North Carolina, I strive to create relevant professional development to integrate technology  in the K-12 environment. My job is an amazing one. I have the privilege of scouring the web for resources that teachers can use to improve instruction and streamline their day to day work. In other words, I get to share only the best (and usually free) resources with teachers. My day to day job, at the North Carolina Teacher Academy, allows me to  research best practices in education and  create implementation plans through professional development. The Teacher Academy is funded by North Carolina legislation in an effort to provide high quality professional development for K-12 teachers across NC. In addition to face to face instruction, I also facilitate online professional development with the fine folks at LEARN NC,  a program of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Education. LEARN NC provides lesson plans, professional development, and innovative web resources to support teachers, build community, and improve K-12 education in North Carolina. My focus at LEARN NC is to  primarily work with their Carolina Online Teacher certification program to help create a stronger community of online educators.

As I head into 2011, I hope to learn more about the barriers that teachers face in online learning and continue to develop a network of professionals interested in driving education forward. I am excited about this new opportunity to connect with new readers and learn as much from you as you do from me.

Happy 2011!