New Communication Technology: Education and Motherhood

I have spent several hours today reading over information from several links (provided by my professor, Dr. Luck) about new communication technology for one of my grad school courses in my Educational Leadership program. As I read about VoIP, podcasts, blogs, instant messaging, social networking sites, and Second Life; I was left feeling not so tech savy and a little out-of-date. I was also left to reflect on how all this new and ever-changing and expanding technology will impact my future as a school administrator and as a mother of three small children. Technology is obviously going to become a predominant part of the educational landscape. As a future school administrator, I will no doubt have to spend time researching each of these forms of communication technology. I will have to weigh the benefits against the possible downfalls, in order to create policies for productive and safe technology use at my school by both teachers and students.
As a parent, I will also have to monitor my own children's use of these forms of technology. I will admit that the prospect of this task leaves me feeling frightened and overwhelmed. Technology has the potential to open so many doors of possibility to our children, but it also has the potential to open the doors to dangerous information and people.
Knowledge always represents power. In the case of technology, I will strive to keep myself informed, my teachers and students informed, and my children informed of the benefits, perils, and responsibilities of technology use.