So I’m at the NYSCATE(NYS Association for Computers and Technologies in Education) conference in Rochester and I’m making all kinds of connections. First, I’m connecting with my colleagues from Gowanda, hearing what they think in extended conversations that we seldom have time to have at home. Second, I’m connecting with my future Randolph colleagues who are at the conference. Third, I’m connecting ideas to those I arrived with and arriving at some new conclusions that all focus on my responsibilities and commitment as a leader in this whole technology destination.
Fourth is this weird kind of cool connection that I’ve not had much chance to experience–with other bloggers and readers. I sort of have an identity out here. Not a big presence, but a couple of people. Maybe it’s my fifteen minutes of fame when I meet people who say they know me because of G-Town Talks. It’s not so cool that they know me as the blogger who quit blogging for the most part, but hey, I’m working on it. True examples: An educator approached me last night to tell me she reads my blog and loves it. At lunch today in small talk at our table, a woman asked, “what is your name?” and knew me through the blog. And the presenter I’ve been following through the conference, Peter Reilly, is a fellow LeaderTalk contributor. That was the coolest connection of all because I realized at his first presentation that I’ve been reading him and without ever having a face to face conversation, knew we shared some thinking. My knowledge of his thinking (through reading his posts) gave him real credibility with me. Instant cool connection and easy conversation. I’m diggin’ this blog gig again and most of all, remembering how much I learn through the connections.