Whoa...I just started....I can't be finished!!
I was worried because I didn't get the first email as scheduled, and so I started a week late, and in less than a month I've covered all of the "THINGS".
So what have a I learned? Other than the obvious sites, widgets, feeds, and terminology I've learned that Web 2.0 is where we're at, right now. The challenge will be that we won't be here long; technology is evolving faster than many of us in the classroom can even hope to keep up. Many good teachers want to keep up and move along with the students (will we, or can we, ever hope to get ahead of them in this?). Our biggest challenge will be to convince our administrators and boards of education that it is imperative that "they" work harder to keep the technology as up to date as possible in their schools and district.
I remember coming to school this past September and being thrilled that our operating system had been updated to Windows 2000! Can I shout that? WINDOWS FREAKIN' 2000!!!
With many districts (including ours) in the financial troubles they're in I'm afraid that technology will be one of the areas that will be put on the back burner, if not taken off the stove altogether.
Hopefully one solution will be to locate, apply and receive grants to help update our ancient operating systems (and perhaps our thinking) and help our schools and teachers attempt to keep up with technology and the rate in which our students are moving forward.
Where do I go from here? Well, there are several "Things" that I'll revisit and explore some of the widgets that I may have missed. I'll probably add posts on the new things I've learned.
I HAVE set up a wikispace and have had students and families use it to sign up for banquet reservations, and picnic planning for the end of the school year. Next year (more likely over the summer) I'll set up the wiki and this blog to be used by the students and their families for information and idea sharing.
This has been a truly outstanding opportunity! It has been fun and eye-opening; one that I would like to share with everyone in my school buildings. I'm hoping that someday I'll become an administrator, and I would certainly do my best to see that the staff have all of these tools and widgets available for them to use to help educate the students, families and community.
I thank you!
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1 comment:
Congratulations! You zipped right through those, but it's obvious from your reflective posts that you really put in the time to explore and learn.
Loved your thoughts about how districts restrict access to so many useful sites. We need to keep our kids safe, but there are also so many rich tools out there that our students should be using. No easy answers, certainly. But the more people who are asking the questions, having the conversations, the better.
Well done. So glad you joined us on this journey.
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