Get out the tools and begin!

This is the first time I have done any blogging and it is no coincidence that this blog creation coinsides with an assignment given in my first masters class as I begin Graduate school. I decided to know this blog 'Cultivate a Mind' for a least two reasons. First, I view education as similar to gardening in various ways. The students minds are like the garden and a teacher or fellow student helps to plant a seed in that garden as knowledge is shared. Whether the knowledge is learned and put into practice depends on the work done by the learner, much like the gardner that must weed, water, thin, and harvest. The second reason the blog has it's name is that it reflects my own learning in general and my experiences this past week. Being out of school (as a student) for 5 years, I feel I have let the garden of my mind get grown over with mental weeds that need to be uprooted so my mind can be nourished and learning can happen. I felt this happening while sitting in classes this week and joining in the discussion of what technology is and what theory of learning I believe and practice in my teaching. While learning brings challenge, I look forward the process of cultivating my mind and being able to help cultivate the minds of my students by employing the knowledge and experience of graduate school.