Crandall’s Blog

  I began the summer going to the NECC conference in San Antonio, Texas.  I’ve been to National Conferences many times, but never one focused on Technology.  I was lucky to attend with seven other colleagues and though we had a very good time, the learning was beyond my expectations.  Because we were so caught up in the topic, the conversations invariably turned to technology.  I learned so much! I was introduced to Cha Cha that week – what a fun tool! I use it all the time. 

   My cohorts in crime also convinced me to join a social journal called Plurk.  It’s like Twitter  (though I could never get into Twitter) but more.  I resisted for awhile but jumped in a few weeks ago.  There is a network of people I follow – people who might share what they are doing at that moment or the plans they have for the day.  The more you Plurk, the more you build ‘Karma’ that supposedly will get you more bells and whistles as it grows.  I don’t do it for the Karma (though it’s fun to tease/compare with my cohorts).  The big thing for me has been the unbelievable resources they share.  Plurks are real time posts and on July 30, when the earthquake hit Los Angeles, I found out from a fellow Plurker from LA, within one minute of it hitting!  Wasn’t even on TV yet!   Amazing.  I spend a lot of time reading posts and not as much posting myself.  There have been a couple Plurkers that I no longer follow…their plurks were fluff and not of interest.  Many of the plurkers I follow are professional technology folks so there isn’t much I can offer – but I sure have benefited from their knowledge!!  It’s fun and the people are from all over the world.  The perspective, information, quotes, valuable websites and sometimes even pictures are overwhelming!  This has become a valuable “Personal Learning Network”  for me (as Sheryl Nussbaum Beach advocates we all have!).  With the exception of my very knowledgeable (and willing to teach me) colleagues, these Plurkers have become my daily dose of learning!