System.out.println("Hello World!");

If you're here, I assume you're a part of my Computer Science Curriculum and Instruction (C&I) class at the University of Manitoba. If not, then congratulations for finding this hopeful, tiny, dirty gem on the vastness of the Internet.

This blog - I hope - will be something I can use practically to update my own progress as I understand the complex beast that is the teaching profession. As well, this is a place I can keep students, peers, and you updated about what is going on right now as I go down the road towards becoming a professional educator.

So lets start with that: what I'm doing right now, related to education.

This year is my final year of university. It's kind of fun saying that. But don't let that fool you. At the moment of writing this myself and my classmates are already knee-deep in assignments, essays, and presentations to keep us quite busy, where the possibility of graduation is the last thing in our minds. But we love it.

Here at the University of Manitoba, we organize senior years education undergraduates (soon-to-be high school teachers) into groups called "Cohorts". It just so happens, last year, I was thrown into Cohort D (the D stands for... whatever you want it to stand for). Luckily for us, we all get along like family: a weird, dysfunctional, lovable family. It's makes the stress that comes along with this profession pretty manageable.

So at the moment we're all taking theoretical courses on literacy and the administration of education, along with our C&I courses (i.e. teaching computer science). It's the former why I created this blog in the first place. The Chalk Dust is a part of my Computer Science C&I assignment to get us all acquainted with "Web 2.0" technology.

Doesn't "Web 2.0" sound fancy? It really isn't though. If you check your Facebook (and you do), then your a part of the "Web 2.0" movement. Basically any website that allows you to interact with it, and exchange information in real-time (i.e. AJAX) is considered "Web 2.0". Pretty cool, isn't it?

Well look at me, rambling on my first blog post. Sure doesn't make the future bright for The Chalk Dust... or does it? Expect a few more posts this week, including a podcast if I can get some equipment together. Don't expect video though: T.V. killed the radio star.