Thursday, July 31, 2008

Thing #23 - Reflections

For this Discovery Exercise, I will reflect on my learning experience by answering the following questions...

1. What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey? - It's hard to choose! The mashups were a hoot, as was Flickr. On a professional level though, I think I got the most of discovering and expanding my 'circle of the wise.' I will be incorporating blogs, wikis, and nings into my teaching this coming year. I will also take advantage of podcasts and vidcasts to help reach my students in their digital native world.

2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals? I have become proactive in seeking out and learning new technologies that will help me grow as a teacher professional and affect positively the lives of my students. I also am developing a network of experts from which I can glean knowledge...awesome!

3. Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you? I think what surprised me the most is just how easy it is to create podcasts and vidcasts. I was expecting something really technical, but it wasn't. I purchased a microphone, plugged it into my computer, read a little bit of the index on the help areas of Audacity and Photostory (thank you SBISD for providing those tools on our new laptops!!) and then just 'went to town.' I did experience some issues with uploading my vidcast directly to Blogger, so I opted to upload it to TeacherTube and then embed it to my blog from there. Worked fine...


4. What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept? I'm not sure. The instructions/information listed on the Library2Play blog were easy for me to follow. I did read comments from other blogs though where people struggled in certain areas (like with podcasts and creating avatars). If I were you, I would read carefully the comments from the survey and incorporate the most relevant suggestions into the next round of learning. Just a side note here--I spent WAY more than 18 hours completing the 23Things...

5. If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate? Absolutely!

6. How would you describe your learning experience in ONE WORD or in ONE SENTENCE, so we could use your words to promote 23 Things learning activities? Phenomenal! 23Things incorporates the 3R's that are necessary to successful learning: Rigor, Relevance, and yes, Relationship! Thanks for an incredibly enriching and rewarding experience!!!

6 comments:

  1. Congratulations on your successful adventure. You really accomplished one of the major objectives...you found ways around the roadblocks (example using TeacherTube for your photostory!) 2.0 resources require that ability of finding solutions that work for you!

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  2. Thanks for the positive feedback! I had an fun...and learned SO much! I appreciate the opportunity to participate in this online learning experience.

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  3. What an EXCELLENT blog post! I am sharing this post on my blog tomorrow morning. It just confirms that embedded PD accomplishes much more transformational learning than binge pd any day. Excellent excellent work!

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  4. Vicki,
    Thanks for the kudos...coming from you that means volumes!

    I must say that when I read your comment I just had to chuckle. Coming from Industry, "binge" PD seems archaic to me. Thankfully, our district that sees the value in embedded PD and is moving forward to provide us with more training like the 23Things.

    I must say (once again) that I can hardly wait to implement/integrate what I've learned this summer into my teaching (I get goose bumps just thinking about it). The students are going to really dive in and just swim like the pros!

    Maybe there's a flat classroom project in my future???

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  5. Congratulations on finishing your journey, I thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog and sharing in your enthusiasm! I look forward to seeing the student products that come from your new learning.

    Enjoy the rest of your summer.

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  6. Thank you! This has been quite a learning experience. I am looking forward to implementing what I've learned in my classroom!

    I'll be blogging here (almost) daily...hope to hear from you! (And I"ll keep an eye on your blog, too!)

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