Thank You Kitty!
Jul 16th, 2007 by Cathy Nelson
Many of you will not know, but I developed a “virtual” friendship of sorts with a fellow librarian who found me on the Internet, either through blogging or the Yahoo Groups for librarians working on National Board. I think it speaks volumes that I cannot really say where our friendship took root, but it has blossomed into a great virtual friendship. I have to thank her today because she has credited me (among others) for her growth in using blogs, and she has just launched a brand new blog designed at increasing her own self-education as well as a desire to inspire and teach others about the power and potential of technology in the classroom. I am a strong believer that we library media specialists have the greatest potential for being that “catalyst” for authentic technology integration in the K12 environment. Her blog is “Stirring Up the Dust” so named because she is “an elementary school media specialist traveling down the road marked by technological pioneers, and by following in their footsteps, …may we stir up the dust from the way things ‘used to be.’ ”
I certainly do not consider myself a technology pioneer or even an expert at any one single thing. Here is her public thank you to me! I hope you all know I am BLUSHING from head to toe!
I also need to thank Catherine Nelson for her inspiration. I stumbled across Cathy on the internet and began an email friendship. She has given me advice as I have worked toward National Board Certification and continues to educate me through her TechnoTuesday Blog. She inspired me to use blogs in my media center, write more grants, read more blogs, and put myself out there making presentations. As I follow in her footsteps, I add more links to my bloglines, make plans to attend more conferences, and truly grow technologically each day.
If you are a school media specialist or someone who likes to connect with other web 2.0 educators, I hope you’ll subscribe to her blog and maybe even make a comment or two. I did (both!) Kitty, I may ask you to return the favor as well, since you seem to be ahead of me on the curve on using wikis.
Wow, my name in a blog other than my own! I really feel like I have arrived:) Thanks for the encouragement, publicity, and push to keep learning beyond my comfort zone.