Friday, August 28, 2009

Whew! I made it!

Prior to participating in this class, I thought I was fairly tech savvy. I took digital pictures and uploaded them to the web, I made digital videos and shared them with others, I used Skype, made a Facebook page, kept a blog. But, I didn't use a lot of those things with my students. There were too many technological hurdles - old computers, stressed servers, lack of materials, lack of time. Throughout this course, I learned about many things that I CAN use with my students that circumvent some of those barriers.

I think the Thing I am most excited about is Thing 22. I created a wiki and I can think of some easy ways to use it with students. I am hoping that as the school year begins and my plate becomes full, I will still have the excitement and committment to editing and expanding the wiki.

I am also super excited about video podcasts. I did a quick one with my daughter - she is an excellent student - with just a few pointers. I can totally see doing this with my students and adding their video booktalks and presentations to the wiki I made.

I hope to keep up with new innovations by checking in with with the feeds on my Bloglines account, checking in with the wikis I discovered, reading the blogs of the participants in this course - everyone is going to keep those up, right? - and hopefully, participating in more opportunities like this class!

I feel I have a better sense of the opportunities for reaching students with technology than I ever did before.

2 comments:

RESA 23Things said...

We're so glad that even with all your prior experience, you were able to come at the information in this course from a different angle. Your enthusiasm is contagious. Congratulations on your successful completion of 23 Things.

Andromeda Jazmon said...

I am just reading up on your blog since we are both Cybils judges. (What FUN!!) I did the 23 Things this past fall too. Love your wiki & all your enthusiasm in the library! It sounds like we have a lot in common.