As I continue to journey through this ever changing world of technology I must reflect on my experiences. I decided to make this week’s post a short one . This course has been a wonderful experience, I have learned so much. It is said that “Nothing which has entered into our experience is ever lost.~ and that “Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely.~(Auguste Rodin) I certainly plan to use every bit of information gained from this course not only as a means of professional growth but as ammunition to engage my students.
I started the course with an idea of what we would be doing and was extremely terrified about failing as I am no technology guru. It is now the end of the course and I am proud of myself; I did well. There are, of course, many areas of technology that still elude me, but I’ve definitely gained ground. This gain in proficiency has helped me become less fearful of using technology in the classroom. Our facilitator Dr. Watwood has taught us that technology isn’t going anywhere and so we might as well get with the program.
By no means were we spoon fed in this course; the weekly blogs had us researching and reading on whatever the topic was; and although quite time consuming at times, the experience prove to be very informative and helped me significantly as a professional. The lessons on Web 2.0 tools and me learning to create a web tutorial was amazing. I feel much more confident now that I can use these tools to promote learning and to help students that are struggling. I may never be a tech guru, but it’s great to feel at least competent.
What would I change?
I think although I am now more aware of the various Web 2.0 tools available it would have helped me more to do more “application based “activities - after all, if we are going to be administrators we should not only be equipped to judge teachers on what they are or are not doing, but also to give meaningful suggestions and possible relevant trainings. I thought the course would have been more of me learning to utilize more computer programs and getting more hands on in terms of actually using the computer and learning more about it.
The blogs gave insights into what was and is happening in terms of technology, the horizon report for me was a real eye opener in terms of what is to come. Although we had the “option”, I would have loved to see a lot more video and voice post being utilized; a suggestion would be probably make it a requirement to create at least two of each for the duration of the course. One of our first assignments was to create a delicious account; surprisingly we didn't do much with that at all. I would have loved to see it used more and to see colleagues sharing more of the sites the visited and found interesting. To be honest I bookmarked twice using delicious, I guess I found it easier to use “my favorites”
In closing I want to say thank you Dr Watwood for giving us insights as to what is out there in terms of technology, you have certainly heighten my curiosity with regards to technology and has boost my confidence in its use. I also want to say thank you to my colleagues for sharing their thoughts and views on my blog pages. I hope to still blog and even gain new followers as I share interesting thoughts, views and concerns with them.
I leave you guys this week with the following inspirational quotes.
Have a blessed holiday everyone. See you in Cyber space in 2011. 
