Took the plunge...now what?

Google Apps for Education is where I started.  I had asked the principal for permission to get the students an email address and she supported me. She simply reminded me that I would have to devise a proper plan to help monitor what the students did online and get parent permission.  I had been to a GAFE summit a few weeks prior to my request so over the Xmas break, I looked into signing up my school. The process seemed easy and the 13$ for a domain was entirely reasonable (I have spent more at the dollar store for my students). Then came the plunge.  Once back at school, I mentioned my plan of getting Google Apps for Education to my principal. Again, full support! (She isn't the most tech savvy principal so I am not sure if she really understood.) I went off to my classroom and signed us up! It was so easy.  I sat there staring at the screen with a smile. Had someone walked by, they may have thought I was taking a selfie. Then it hit. Panic. What if my School Board found out what I did? What was I supposed to say if they asked?  How do I do this? Needless to say, I had a million questions going through my head.  Some good. Some worrisome. Some terrifying. I stepped away from my computer and forced the whirlwind of questions into some hidden place in my brain hoping to keep everything contained. Teaching all afternoon ensured nothing really seeped out, but the moment I was done the panic and the fear came back.  I had to talk to someone about what I had done.  I went to my phone and was about to tweet what I had done, but the SB follows some of my friends on Twitter.   Below was the direct message I sent my friend, colleague and fellow plunger.

Jenn Lacroix @JennLacroix

Guess what I did today? Signed my school up for Google Apps for Education My principal said someone has to take the lead and it's not the SB

Whew! Finally someone knew what I had done. I anxiously waited for her reply and she did not disappoint.  She had a million questions of her own, but the one thing she said that eased my mind of all worry and doubt was "If you've done it, I'm following your lead!" I still didn't have all the answers but I was no longer alone. I had connected. And my mind had been put at ease by a few type written words on a screen.