Woohoo! I'm done! I must say that this has been one of the most time consuming courses that I have taken. However, it has also been one of the most rewarding. Throughout the past few weeks, I have spent more time on the computer than I ever remember. Even on vacation, I'd come up from the beach and hop on the computer for a few hours to explore all of the different "things"! Before this course, I considered myself pretty computer literate. Of course, now I realize that I really only could navigate the internet, word and excel with easy. Little did I know how much was out there. I now realize all that I have been missing.
I have always been a proponent of technology in the classroom, however my view of technology has been extremely limited. Terri B. has always talked of the need to teach students using much of the technology that they are familiar with. I can now say I have a better understanding of what she was talking about. To me, integrating technology was using the graphing calculator, websites and SmartBoard lessons. I can now envision using blogs and wikis to communicate with students, parents and colleagues. I know that podcasts, screencasts, and videos could and should be used to enhance students' learning. I understand that social networking is not just Facebook or Myspace. There are many networking sites that can benefit both my teaching and students' learning. While I don't have a classroom to utilize my new learning, I am excited about using what I have learned to teach parents. While working on some of the "things," I began to regret my focus on a parent blog. However, the more I explored sites and resources, I realized that the blog is the perfect way to teach and communicate with parents by embedding all of the other learning from this course
In thinking about plans for the future, I am going to keep my blog name and start from scratch with a blog for parents. I will share important information about content and strategies through the use of videos, podcast, widgets and screencasts. I also plan on using some of the sites such as Diigo and networking sites to get additional information to add to my blog.
Outside of the classroom, I'm not sure that my plans will change that much. Once the school year starts, my time on the computer is spent mostly on school work, so outside of the classroom, I will be using the resources shared to prepare for my work. I will however use Diigo to help organize my personal websites and will be finding out more about YouTube as I "play" more with my flip camera!
While I have learned so much, I know that there is still so much out there that I don't know about. First of all, I know that I'm a learner who if I don't use it, I'll lose it. Therefore, I plan on utilizing these resources in my work day. I am also hopeful that you will leave your blog up so that I can refer back to all of the lessons and resources that you shared with us. Finally, I'm hoping to share and collaborate with others from this course. While I planned to check out peoples' blogs on a regular basis, it just didn't happen. I'm excited to learn what others learned from this course. One of the threads that came across loud and clear with Web 2.0 is the idea of collaboration and sharing.
As I stated in the beginning of this post, this was an overwhelming course. I, like the other participants, spent hours playing and exploring. While it took a long time, it was time well spent. Also, I have never been one to enjoy writing reflections. However, I found that the reflections in this course made me really think about not only what I learned, but how I could use it in my work day. With each reflection, my plans kept evolving. These reflections were so worth while!
Finally, I'd like to thank you, Joan and Maureen, for creating and facilitating this course. I can't imagine the time and effort spent to create the course and make it applicable for all of us. On top of that, I appreciate the fact that you read each of the blogs and commented on them. You really had to be "on" each day of the summer. I can honestly say that I can't remember a course that I have worked harder at, learned, or enjoyed more. Thank you for all you did to make this course a success!
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