Final Post

1) List of things I learned about:
-Access
-Alex
-Picasa
-YouTube
-Twitter
-Skype
-Blogger
-Comments4Kids
-Comments4Teachers
-Delicious
-GoogleDocs
-GoogleForms
GoogleEarth
-Podcasts
-How to make a video
-iTunesU
-PLN

WOOOOWWWWWW! This is so exciting that I learned about all of these tools, but then again it is kind of sad that I could have been a certified teacher and would not have known about any of these. How will I use them in my teaching? The possibilities are truly endless. I was bored out of my mind in elementary, middle, high, and college schooling, and I refuse to put my children through this same thing. Can I change educational schooling on my own? NO! Can I change it in my classroom? Absolutely!

2) OF course there are always things that could have improved my learning capacity, but I am so satisfied with what I learned in this class. I would have liked to use more interaction and collaboration with my students and my teacher instead of hybrid, but regardless, I learned a ton.

3)The only topic I found useless was GoogleEarth. The actual project itself was a waste of time, in my opinion, but the process of saving to a site and then to my hardrive and then to my blog, etc. was a good learning process. Making the tour was time consuming and rather pointless.

4)I am 60/40 on the excitement issue. There were times that I literally got excited when I would look at my finished product of a project, post, or comment. I would also get excited when we were introduced to tech savvy teachers and classrooms through Skype and commenting. It truly is an excitement to know that there are teachers out there who are trying to change the schooling system by bringing it up to date.

5)Negative. In order to complete this course you simply had to read directions, follow them, and THINK FOR YOURSELF!I think this latter aspect is what most students found the most difficult Many courses and professors do not require you to think outside of the box.

6)The only times I would find myself being bored is when we were required to make 3 or 4 blog posts in one week. Like most students, I would wait until the weekend to do mine, and it is extremely boring to read and type for hours on end. While the assignments were always interesting, it is inevitable to stay entertained by that many posts.

7)The only change I would make is blog posts. Instead of having 3 or 4 due by Sunday night, I would maybe have two due by Wednesday and two due by Sunday. The majority of students are procrastinators, and this feels like an overload, even though it is our fault. Also, 86 GoogleEarth project!

8)I am gonna go with a good-great tech literacy level. I am beyond proud of myself for the things I have learned and accomplished. I feel much more ready to become an educator. I feel now that I can complete basically any tech project.

9)This thought makes me nervous. I have learned so much in this course, and I know I will not forget it, but I know technology is always changing and I do not want to miss out on all the new stuff. I think the most obvious answer to this dilemma is to keep up my PLN. I am connected with tech savvy people from all over the world, and I believe they can keep me up to date.