Reflections on MACUL

I had a great time at MACUL. I have to admit, I was a little apprehensive about going, not because I am fearful of technology (quite the opposite, actually, I enjoy learning about new tech tools), but more because of the networking aspect. I don't consider myself a shy person in general, but I also do not consider myself particularly outgoing, especially when it comes to "selling" myself. I really dislike that term, it makes me feel cheap. I get the whole idea of making professional connections, but the idea of marketing myself makes me feel, for lack of a better word, "icky."

In spite of my reluctance, perhaps based on my years of trying to get by as an employee in the business world, I found at MACUL that, for the most part, nobody there was trying to buy or sell me anything. This is part of the reason why I went into teaching. I am not a business person. As I go forward in the teaching profession, I really need to find a better way to think about how I am presenting myself as I begin to apply for jobs. I just want to be "me," but, how do I "present" that?

I think part of what makes this difficult for me is the technical aspect. Before you actually even meet a potential employer, you present a version of yourself in digital format - an e-mail or a resume sent electronically, or both. Social media like facebook and twitter add a new dimension, but it is still a flat representation of who YOU really are. Now someone can look at a profile and get a "picture" of you (read: two-dimensional idea based on what you look like and say) to form an opinion about YOU before YOU even meet them. And this opinion will, more often than not, be the one that determines whether you meet your potential employer in person.

So, I guess that's why it is good to go to these "networking" things. You get to meet ACTUAL people, and that's pretty cool. What I discovered is that teachers are not business people, and that is a good thing, for me anyway. But I still need to find a job...

Anyhow, the best part about MACUL was getting to spend a day learning and sharing with my MAC colleagues. I felt like it was a nice culmination to the tech class. It made everything we learned relevant to our future careers as teachers. That's the most we can ask for in a class, and what we're shooting for in our own classes, right? I'd say that's some good modeling right there. How does that sound? :-D

Look for a future post in which I share details on CONTENT I learned at MACUL...