How/Do Educators Project Professionalism through Technology? A Case for "Posting"

The author of this position paper makes an argument for re:visioning and claiming professionalism through choices educators make about using (or not using) social networking tools. Her intent is to provoke thought about in/action and e-posting in continually evolving educational contexts. Once upon time, in former life as classroom teacher, I was what Bates (as cited in Bates and Sangra, 2011) described as Lone Ranger (a term inspired by invoking nostalgic main character of old Hollywood 'cowboy' films): dedicated educator who works on her own and who puts a great deal of time and effort into experimenting with technology for teaching (p. 138). Before many years had passed, while still working as classroom teacher, I came to feel I was not (completely) alone and so settled into and became comfortable with an early adopter role. Not as independent or avant-garde as Lone Rangers, early adopters are most often those educators who approach Information Communications Technology (ICT) with certain degree of enthusiasm and interest - and usually before technological innovation in question becomes mainstream or adopted by majority of members in given educational context. Throughout first decade of my professional, working life, my role as an early adopter felt relatively manageable and, at times, even exciting. As my career(s) in education progressed, I changed work environments and educational contexts, working in both administrative and academic positions. During second decade of my career, I transitioned from classroom to work at Ministry of Education and then in academia. In these contexts, institutional support of technology became more normative, and so, although my interest level remained high, I became more and more of consumer of technology (end-user might be another familiar term) and less and less of an early adopter. During this period of time, Internet use exploded, I learned to blog (a 3-year adventure long since abandoned), and I became reasonably proficient (but by no means an expert) with various en vogue coursemanagement software platforms. Now, into my third decade as professional educator, I find myself mainstream user of variety of e-tools, master of none, and my calls to campus Helpdesk become evermore frequent. I have smart phone, first-generation tablet (purchased just over year ago, it is almost obsolete), home computer, work computer, nine tabs open in my Web browser as I prepare penultimate version of this article, and recurring tendonitis in both wrists. I do have an account on DKG Network; I do not have Facebook page; I am finally learning to tweet, and on daily basis, I officially feel like late adopter. Bref, something happened along way to my (lack of) e-learning. In their examination of individual inhibitors - i.e., things that get in way of people working with and through technology - Birch and Burnett (2009) reported that the literature proposes that later and nonadopters of educational technology may be less adventurous, more risk averse, less comfortable with change, less intrinsically motivated and less likely try new and novel ideas (p. 122). I find myself wondering... is this me? I am pretty sure I am intrinsically motivated, and I love learning. I admit to disliking change but find myself constantly changing anyway. Although I have never bungee-jumped, I have chosen to become highly proficient bilingual (to extent that I work in my second language each day); I am working on learning third language, and I spend time in unfamiliar cultural contexts. I am passionate about ideas, and I consider myself, intellectually at least, postmodern risk taker of sorts. So is there something more complex at play in how and when I and others use - or choose not to engage with - various technologies? Over course of past year, I have become e-connected through social media tool that markets itself as networking tool for professionals. …