I made myself a badge, since I was just that inspired by #badgechatK12.
Well, I suppose the time has come to admit that I was wrong. Pull up a chair, make a cup of your hot beverage of choice (FLAMIN' HOT CHOCOLATE! JUST BURN IT!), and listen to this one, general public, because sincere public apologies over the Internet are a rare treat.
When I took my Education 504 class during my master's program 4.5 years ago, I was introduced to Twitter. In fact, there was a whole class session devoted to teaching my classmates and me to use Twitter. The instructors showed all of us how Twitter could be utilized as a great networking tool, as a quick and useful way to interact with other professionals and exchange educational resources with other teachers from around the world. Later that day, my classmates and I were required to write a reflective blog entry about using Twitter, and I came up with this.
Back then, I professed my annoyance with the fact that the name of everything related to Twitter contained a horrible bird pun. Back in 2010, my only prior experience with Twitter was using it with my sister. We had made accounts that we never intended to seriously use; had made crazy, fictional personas for our accounts; and had made our fictional characters/personas argue back and forth about nothing. Why? Because it was summer, we were 18 and 21 years old, and we had nothing to do one afternoon. Back in 2010, I had a hard time understanding why other people enjoyed Twitter so much and used it professionally, even after using it during class with my instructors.
This past Sunday, everything changed. My entire world (or, at least, the small part of it that consists of my thoughts about Twitter) was turned upside down. I updated my professional Twitter account for the first time in a while, and I then did something monumental: I participated in my very first Twitter live chat! As soon as the chat started and I submitted my first tweet, I knew I was hooked.
The best part about education-related chats is the fact that one can simply jump right into the conversation. Participants are friendly and open-minded, and the conversations are so engaging. I felt very welcomed by the other teacher/administrator participants, and the love and passion that each participant had for his/her career really showed. I enjoyed sharing ideas and interacting with other professionals on #geniushour (Sunday) and #badgechatK12 (Monday). Both chats introduced me to new ideas and really got me thinking about the practices and procedures at my work place. I even had an opportunity to show off my MS Paint talents on #badgechatK12:
So here it is, Twitter, here is my official apology that was four years in the making: I'm sorry.
I'm sorry for thinking you were useless. I'm sorry that it took me this long to understand your value; you're actually rather addictive. I'm sorry that I have been teaching for this long without knowing what a great professional development tool you are. I'm sorry for dismissing you before really giving you a chance. I was 21 years old back then and clearly so naive. I am much older and wiser now! (Don't let my love of cartoons and pretty colors fool you!)
With all that said, though, I'm not entirely sorry for what I said in 2010. I'm not sorry about laughing at Twitter's terrible bird puns. I'm not sorry for cringing when I hear references to the "Hootsuite". It doesn't make sense, though; owls hoot. Owls don't tweet. If you're going to call it a "Hootsuite," then "tweets" should be called "hoots" and the "Hootsuite" should be the place all the "hoots" go to "chillax" together. What would "hoot" "chillaxing" look like? That's an entry for another day!
Twitter, take the apology and run with it; that's probably the best one you're getting from me until I figure out this whole "Hootsuite" ordeal.
In the meantime, follow my professional self on Twitter, since that actually means something now.
No comments:
Post a Comment