According to Wikipedia, "'Danger, Will Robinson!' is an English catch phrase from the classic 1960s American television series Lost in Space."  Often times the word alert makes us think of a warning of imminent danger.  Today, however, let's focus on an alert of another sort, Google Alerts, offering a special service to millions, helping us  stay on top of topics of interest.

1. Go to http://www.google.com/alerts

2. Set up your alert(s) by completing the fields on the right side of the page including search terms (your topic), type (news, blogs, webs, comprehensive, video, groups), how often (as-it-happens, once a day, or once a week), and your email address.

Try setting up a Google Alert, and maybe the next time you see an alert in your mailbox, you won’t think, “Danger Will Robinson!”

Where do you go every day and mingle with stalkers, pedophiles, pornographers, scammers, con artists, and thieves?  We don’t often think about this when we make a familiar trek to the Internet for information, for entertainment, or to communicate with friends and business associates.  It’s easy to forget that when we step into that realm of Web 2.0 where we have the opportunity to publish and share personal or professional thoughts, we’re also hanging out with folks with whom we wouldn’t want to share a seat on the bus.

In the midst of our daily activities at school, it is sometimes difficult to project what the next day, week, or month may hold.  We become so intimately involved in the moment that we cannot see the rest of the path down which we head.  Last week's blog looked at the memories of a first year teacher to help us recall how we started and why we headed along this path.  Today we will hear from a teacher who offers her thoughts at retirement about 30 years of service in education. 

As you listen, take time to reflect on your own career and future in education.  We draw conclusions every day from our experiences in and out of the classroom.  Think about whether these experiences positive or not may help us as we plan for the future. Through reflection we evaluate our conclusions, actions, and work so that we may better ourselves personally and professionally.  We are engaged in a pursuit that has incredible value and involves enormous accountability. We are helping to shape those who will create the future.

Autumn and the beginning of school make me think of how lucky we are to be able to start fresh every year.  Starting fresh is the topic for my first podcast in a series Following In Their Footsteps: Educators' Journeys.  This podcast comes from an interview with a new teacher at the end of her first year.  Listen and remember what you learned during your first year.  Hopefully this teacher’s insight and enthusiasm will help to refresh in all of us the vision and mission that brought us to a career in educat