The Key to collaboration: Web 2.0

In some of my previous postings I have written about my job and how I have felt ineffective at times. Since the end of last year, my principal has been on a self- improvement kick. I am all for evaluation and self-improvement. How else will you grow as a person and a professional? At the end of last school year when he started with some of this self improvement talk he was basically holding a mirror to my face and I absolutely did not like what I saw. I basically "yes-ed" him with every suggestion he made but I didn't know if I wanted to invest the time and energy to improving and have it fall on deaf ears. I felt like things were different when I met with my administration throughout the end of last school year and this summer. My administration was extremely receptive to my ideas. We were all on the same page. We were all saying the same things. I made the decision that I wanted to change and be better personally and professionally than I have ever been.

I had the opportunity to take 2 graduate classes this summer. One had to do with Web 2.0 while the other was about planning tomorrow's library. One of the Web 2.0 skills I learned was Podcasting. Every year at our opening Faculty meeting we go around and share what we did over the summer. I decided to present mine via podcast. As my turn was approaching, my heart began to pound. I played the podcast and people listened. I was a little unhappy that the background music seemed a little soft. Either my colleagues didn't notice or they were too nice to tell me. They all applauded and some people said it was cute. That wasn't the adjective I was looking for but I took it as a compliment and considered it a success.

Right after the activity, we stopped for a coffee break. Once I went out into the foyer for the coffee break I was positive it was a success. Two different teachers approached me and wanted to know if I trained people to do what I did with the podcast. I told them yes and also told them about some of the other trainings I was planning for the coming school year. They both assured me that they would be interested in attending. What was most exciting was that one of the teachers is new this year and she is part of a department that I have had little collaboration with in my previous 7 years of working at my school. All this headway from one little 5 minute podcast. I was absolutely on cloud 9 for the rest of the day. I can genuinely say that I can't wait to start this school year. Hopefully I won't get burnt out by November as in past years. I think it will be the best year ever.