Reflections on what I learned

It has been a very enjoyable and frustrating experience for me. I have always been open to challenges and I must say, that this class has been one where I have ventured out in rapid waters equipped with only my common sense and positive attitude towards learning. Before taking this class, I had been introduced to wikis and blogging, but not to the extent that this class took me. I found myself sitting at my computer desk reading, viewing, smiling, laughing, conversing, eating, and almost sleeping most nights as I clicked away at my keyboard. Some nights I sat and wondered if any of my fellow students were going through the same motions too. It was almost like sitting in a classroom with the computer screen as the teacher. I looked forward to reading blog posts and I became mesmerized at the immensity of information that was available online and became a word hog. I love words and the more I read, the more I wanted to know. On most nights, I was focused and I diligently took notes from the readings into my notebook and took time to re-read them hoping to make sense of what I had read. But, like I said earlier, I became more excited when I hit a curve or a slight slant on this road I had ventured on and my notes became a blur while I watched a wordle take shape. It was an amazing experience. I wish someone had been here beside me most nights to hear my yahoos and my wallops and my not so many nice words that little old ladies like me should not have in their vocabulary. But if there is one thing that I will take with me from taking this class, it's this. Even though I have never met half of the students enrolled in this class personally, I feel that through their posts and comments and their final projects all taking shape, I feel connected to them; Internetically speaking!

P.D. Presentation

I have published my P.D. presentation and you can now view it.

P.D. Reflections

I hope the information I posted on my presentation was sufficient. I had an awesome time viewing videos and because I am a visual learner I loved the video format on itunesU. I would like to use this type of P.D. for teachers who are not so savvy with Web 2.0 tools and make them aware that it is not so bad. I would like to see more teachers take the initiative to learn how to use Web 2.0 in their classrooms. Having said that, I would like to see administrators step up to the plate and begin to see the many ways that the Internet can be used in their schools. I am still having problems with the Internet in my classroom and in the computer lab. We still do not have a computer teacher or any type of tech person. I am still experiencing frustrations as my students and I spend valuable time still staring at blank computer screens.

I would also like to mention that when I hear someone say that the Web 2.0 is slowly going to become a useful tool in our classrooms, it makes me more aware of the inability of most schools to upgrade their equipment and hire tech people to monitor that equipment.

I have become somewhat savvy with Web 2.0 tools and I am becoming better by the risks I have taken and the many hours I have spent reading material and doing everything by trial and error.

P.D. Presentation reflections

I have viewed approximately 3 hours of video from itunesU and I am quite impressed. I was able to connect to most of the sites that were recommended by Marnie and I think that it would be easy to use them as a P. D. tool to enrich teachers' minds about the integration of technology into the classroom. I was able to pause the video and take notes and then come back to it later. I noticed that there are many videos to choose from and they are all free. I am going to share more on it in my presentation on google docs.

Just having some fun with pictures....

I created a picture using piZap and totally thought it would be ideal for my students who are blogging. I will attach a link here if you want to see the picture. The picture was taken at our first cultural camp with the high school students. They are laying down spruce boughs on the ground inside the wall tent. Some of the girls did sleep on the spruce boughs that night, including me.

http://www.pizap.com/gallery_display_page.php?imagename=pizap.com0.5332438158802688.jpg

itunes university

I am listening to Smithsonian Global Sound on itunes. All the recordings are free and it's quick to download as well. I picked the ballads in poetry and I pasted the site here if you are interested in using this as part of your lessons in English in high school. They seem to be user friendly and as most high school students have access to ipods and itouch, these videos and sound recordings can be downloaded for free. I will explore more on this portion of PD and go from there.

http://www.smithsonianglobalsound.org/archives_05.aspx

Start of new blog for my students....

Here is the link to my new class blog that I have started with my students for Communication Studies 20 class. Please feel free to comment on it at any time.
http://www.communicationstudiesclassblog.blogspot.com/

Wow! Looking forward to Block 7.

I just finished viewing and reading some of Block 7 activities for our class and I was amazed at how easy it is to get lost in selecting reading material. I lost track of time since I was so busy testing out google docs. I watched a few of the videos and I was again amazed at how simple English can transform frustrations into creations. I am looking forward to sharing as well as finding collaborators. I look forward to using some of the suggestions like the online conferences that can viewed by educators at any time. I am hoping that as northerners and educators we will expand our horizons to include podcasts and video conferencing to further enhance our teaching methods for the betterment of our students.