5/11/2010

Wow! This class has been a challenge for me, but I am feeling much more comfortable with things. I had to go way out of my comfort zone.

Looking back over the semester, we started with the webquest. I had done one years ago and had really forgotten how to do it. It was like starting from square one- but I did it.

We had our instructional website. That was a long drawn out disaster. :) It was painful. I used an online site where I could design my site. I kept hitting a button while i was typing, (and I'm not sure which), that kept deleting entire pages. I was having a heck of a time. I started many pages over and over!! -however, I did it!!

We had our podcasts. I had no idea what to do mine on. I actually fouund this very enjoyable and I think that I am likely to use this in the future. I liked using audacity. I had fun with this. I did it!

We also created classes on moodle. I thought this would be very difficult, but I enjoyed this one as well. I had a hard time figuring how to use it with my kindergarteners,so I planned a 5th grade class. I would use this agian as well. I did it!

The wiki was my least favorite assignment. I really had no idea what to add and how to contribute. I felt that the people I was working with did a great and complete job. I did not realize that so much work had already been done when I went in to work on it. I think that was the biggest problem. I waited too long. However, as bad as I felt it was, I did it. :)

We created blogs and participated in many discussions. We used secondlife and the palace. I found a lot of tools and sites and articles that I want to go back to try out, use, and read. I am maybe even looking forward to another of these classes in the future...maybe! :) As I have said many times, I did it. I may not have felt as comfortable as I am used to feeling, and I may not have done as well as I am used to, but I took a leap, and tried soemthing new. For that I am happy.

5/3/2010

Today we are on second life for our group synchronous discussion. So far I have to say that I am not that impressed with seoondlife. It is really hard to figure out and nothing is marked, or if it is, it's hard to read. Dr. Ingram said to meet at Kent State, but I ran into Lee and we had no idea what to do or where to go. I don't think it's something I'd use, but we'll see after the discussion.

So a strange tech thing happened today. I was on facebook today and soemone sent me an invitation to a group that had teh name of an old friend with her birthdate and the day she died. This is how I found out that she passed away on Saturday. Wow! Things have changed. Anyway, I found that to be an odd use of facebook (as well as a sad one).

May 2, 2010

Today I got to work on the wiki. I have to say that it looks really good. Everyone made it a great resource. I want to go back and check out some of the links when I get a chance. This was my first time with a wiki. It was an interesting experience. It was difficult to make changes to what others had written. I didn't want to change their line of thinking or insert other ideas. It was a very different experience than traditional editing because with pen and paper editing, the original words and thoughts are still there and the writer is able to decide if what the editor changes is better or more appropriate. With the wiki, however, when I edit, the original words are replaced. I didn't like that part of it. Also, as an editor, I like to reread more than once what the writer wrote, as well as what I have changed to be sure my edits are what we actually want. I wish there was a way to use editing marks first before making the final changes. (Perhaps there is and I don't know it yet.) I don't know if I'd use a wiki in my classroom. I have found a lot of technologies that I am excited to work on and become more proficient in, but I don't think a wiki is for me.