Looking back on my Learning Through Technology Journey

One thing that I want to say is WOW. I have gained so many resources and so much knowledge over the past 2 months. To start I now understand that I am a digital immigrant and that my kids and the children I teach are digital natives.

Image by Meer via Flickr

It will always be a bit more difficult for me to learn and use technology the way they do. But this is a challenge I embrace.

Having developed my PLN (see prior post), I now have the ability to keep up with and learn new resources. Just today I read about online binders posted on the Free Technology for Teachers Blog. So not only have a learned new tools, but I have learned how to learn on my own. That is the most vital thing we can teach our students; to teach themselves. Check out the 100 Best Blogs for Teachers.

One of the most important things I have learned in this course (this is one of my first courses towards a Masters of Education) is how to find and read the GLEs online. Obviously it is critical to know what you are expected to teach in order to be an effective certified teacher. In addition, I love the wiki on Bloom’s Taxonomy that Professor Chamberlain showed us. This has really helped me get my hands around the concept of higher order thinking. I plan to use these websites continuously until the information gets embedded in my brain.

In the classroom, I plan to use the following tools and more:

Image via Wikipedia

Voicethread for digit story telling. I think that digit story telling is a valuable tool for all ages. It is so simple, yet opens a world of creativity.

Podcasting using Audacity and maybe using music from Garageband. I will remember to have students create fictional characters to protect their identities. I think this is a fun way to study weather and numerous other subjects by asking students to be reporters.

Video Conferencing using Skype or possibly Flash Meeting. This is a fantastic way to invite guest speakers that would not ordinarily be able to travel to the classroom.

Webquests using goggle sites. I love being able to define the way the students will use the Internet throughout their study or project. By defining the links the students can use we can make sure we have looked at the 5 w’s of website evaluation. This alleviates our fears of students navigating to inappropriate sites while researching. Perfect.

Some of the other instructional resources we have learned about that I plan to use are Wordle, Custom Guide, Study Island, Quizlet, Quiettube, Edu Glogster, Diigo and our homemade Smoothboards. It’s all so exciting!! I have used Excel for years, but Professor Chamberlain’s demonstration of analyzing test data and interventions is a use I never would have thought of on my own.

The time management tool I am using as a result of this class is iGoogle homepage.

Image by Matrixizationized via Flickr

Here I have my weather, news (I am still trying to determine which news is the best to read), my calendar on google (linked to my outlook calendar – the google calendar will allow me to incorporate other people’s/activities schedules if necessary), my tasks (I need to write everything down – in fact this blog is going to be a great resource for me to go back to!), Facebook, Twitter, Google Reader (this gives a quick blurb and link to all the blogs and RSS feeds – honestly I can’t possibly read all of it, I have 258 unread blogs right now – but I can scroll through and read the ones that grab my attention and star the ones I know I want to be able to find again). And I have added a vocabulary gadget. I see a new word with definition and picture on every refresh. That has been interesting and fun, but I haven't remembered all the words! The best part of this is I can use any computer to get my stuff! Before I had to use my own laptop to check my calendar and tasks. I have not yet entered the iphone/blackberry stage..although it seems about time...

Like I said in the beginning, WOW. It makes me need to take a deep breath! I guess I have just dived in.

Thank you Professor Chamberlain and Classmates. I have enjoyed learning with all of you and look forward to keeping in touch through our PLN!

Personal Learning Network (PLN)

Image by cobannon via Flickr

The acronym PLN was introduced to me during our course Learning through Technology. Prior to taking this class I had never heard the term. I had heard of Twitter, but really had no experience or knowledge about it. In addition, I had heard of Blogs, but never really "followed" a blog and certainly never posted one!!

I am amazed at the vast resources for information available to us today. In the beginning stages of developing a PLN, I now have human resources available too. I feel following my classmates on Twitter has built a greater sense of connectedness. Having a network of people who share similar professional interests a click away is a valuable asset. Information sharing can be as simple as one exchange I saw this week, "help does anyone know how to unlock a cell phone" to as complex as introducing new technologies or at least new to some of us. I like Professor Chamberlain's suggestion to assume something is new to others too.

I realize at the early stage of being a PLN participant, I don't have a vast amount of experience to share. Another classmate discusses this in her blog as well. I think over time I will become a more valuable piece of the puzzle. For now, I am trying to share things I have discovered. After seeing others posts, I have learned its not such a great idea to post..ordinary/mundane details of life. I have decided to "unfollow" some already.

As far as who to follow; I am following a few blogs. I have discovered a lot of great resources there. And I am following a few more individuals on Twitter. My strategy is so far to take it slow. I can easily be overwhelmed with all the information coming at me instantaneously!! As I gain experience, I think adding more individuals to follow will come naturally over the course of normal exploration and learning.