At first glance module one seemed difficult, my first thought was “how am I going to get through this module with all this information?” I recall joking with a classmate that this was certainly going to put me into premature labor. Having accomplished, creating my first blog, a delicious account, reading and learning about Web 2.0 application and creating my very first video tutorial, I feel secure. I really enjoyed module one of the syllabus, things weren’t as difficult after all. Who would have thought? I remember writing in my first blog that I am no “technology guru” but I must admit the experience has boosted my confidence. This experience has thought me a lot and I must say I am a little more open minded about the use of technology not only for my own personal growth, but in my classroom and in sharing with my students.
In Reflecting on creating the Skype tutorial, it was on researching for my video that I realized the various ways I could include this in my everyday living as a teacher, for example as a way to bring busy parents into the classroom, collaborate with other teachers, Share travel experiences, Professional development, Share students’ work with parents, conference with parents, connect special needs students among many others. I recall in 2008 being interviewed by an entire panel of administrators for a teaching position in Sastkataswan Canada using Skype. I remember the thinking how things had changed no longer did need to be physically present in an office for an interview but using technology I was nicely dressed in my living room in front of my computer with a headset and a webcam. I was happy to have had the opportunity to teach my colleagues about Skype and to learn from their presentations as well.
I was quite impressed with some of the work by my colleagues. I find myself going through their presentations and exploring more. For example I thought of a photo story to tell my journey of pregnancy through the birth of my daughter and have actually started to create my story. While I am still learning, I feel more confident as I am more comfortable with the concepts. As I continue to explore these applications I am certain that these are ideas and tools that I will certainly use in my class.
In general, I loved the sequence of the lessons in module one, it was made clear from the beginning on the direction of the module and each step was meaningful and relevant. Personally, having so little technology experience, I would have preferred to have had Dr. W teach me how to create the video before doing one myself, in essence I had to teach myself in order to teach the others. I know I must have called four classmates on how and where to find a sensible application to create my tutorial. A time guide/maximum/minimum also would have been great to ensure a level playing field on creating the tutorial, this would avoid some being way too long where others are far too short; maybe next year….overall I enjoyed every minute of exploring web 2.0
