ClassroomSalon

My grand push to introduce the faculty to ClassroomSalon has begun.

My first thought at the end of this day--I should have given myself more time.  But I work well under pressure.  As long as the most dire voices predicting two snow days this week are wrong, I'm on track to meet with everyone in a pretty timely manner.

For anyone not familiar, this is a social, collaborative text drive tool.  The administrator is able to post a text document, and users can annotate the text (think highlighter and sticky notes) and respond to questions.  I like to call them essay questions.  I should probably find a new term, but no one has given me a hard time about that yet.

Reactions are mixed.  I think some folks are sort of at the "smile and nod" phase.  Not really seeing value, and not really buying in, but not resisting.  Its along the lines of "this is something that I've been asked to do, so I'll do it."  That to me says I didn't connect.  But my basic MO is that sometimes you have to let folks play with it first before trying to connect again.

Some teachers really like it.  Some are feeling a little overwhelmed.  Some are leary.

I think taking a tool and showing it equally to everyone, even with a staff this small, if you don't hit that entire gambit of reactions, something is seriously wrong.

So I am optimistic and enthusiastic. 

And, I'm pleased to say, some teachers I think are starting to see that making connections can be a powerful thing.  Some folks who may not really thing having a social text tool to share with their colleagues in the building is all that and a bag of chips, gave a slightly more enthused response to the notion of using something like this with other teachers, in other schools or even other countries, that have more curriculum in common.