Thing # 23 - Reflections on the 23 Things

I was going to say this was the end, but it's not. If I had to summarize this experience in one sentence, I would say it was an incredible journey and a hell of a ride. I enjoyed it, but along the way I experienced many frustrations and sorrows. Computer and software incompatibilities, mistakes, computer crashed, blocked sites, missing buttons, etc. The most signifucant drawback was the lack of large blocks of uninterrupted time to pursue my jpurney. I hope I never reach my destination, for the travels have been fun. I greatly enjoyed most of the journey, and I learned things beyond my wildest dreams.

I thought mashes were some of the strangest things I explored. I really had to ask myself. Well, yes, I can do this, but, why do I want to??? My most favorites were the wikis, animotos, Del.icio.us, and RSS feeds. I want to further explore many of these areas, and plan to spend part of my summer delving deeper into the mysteries, especially nings. My least favorite was the flickr site.

This program has altered my lifelong learning goals ny emphasizing that I have a need and a responsibility as an educator to try and stay abreast of technology, and to keep and open mind and keep learning. I would eagerly participate in another discovery learning activity, but there were a few times when a little more guided learning in the form of a few types or written directions would have speeded up the process. As time is one of our most precious commodities, next time plan on a guided discovery process for the more difficult technological issues. GFor example, I never could get my trading card to post properly to my blogsite.

But, I have plans to use what I learned both personally and professionally. Since teaching is in my genes, I expect to share this knowledge with many. I hope to influence my faculty and school librarian to use more technology nest year. It will be my second year in this building, and, as Dr. Bishop and Dr. Claes cautions, get to knwo your community before you make any changes. I have, and I will. It has been an unforgettable journey. Thanks for providing the experience. Personally, I think the entire class could have been the 23 things, taught as a more guided discovery experience. I would then be a much more proficient student ready to go forth and teach this technology.