Wow! Am I finally done?!? I have to admit that along the course of this arduous, time-consuming process, I have learned so many new things that I am excited to use in my classroom. The first hurdle was just the creating of this blog itself, but I enjoyed being able to comment on the tools I was learning about, reading others' posts and comments about the tools, and adding my own personal touches throughout the entire process.
Some of my favorite tools are Google Docs, Delicious (social bookmarking), Digital Storytelling, and Skypel. The tool I want to use right away is Google Docs for students to use while writing, editing, and revising compositions throughout the writing process. I also would love to start using Skype by pairing up with a teacher from another Spring Branch school to connect our classes digitally.
I have transformed my thinking by realizing not to ever to become complacent and satisified with the technology I am already familiar with using in the classroom. There is so much out there just waiting to be used and there will always be new things added and changed to improve the students learning. It is so easy to get comfortable with what you know and limit yourself from learning about new tools. I think the smaller our world gets because of the internet connecting everyone from everywhere, we will be amazed at what we can do by collaborating with others and exploring new ideas.
I think the biggest unexpected outcome is how humbled I was to learn that there are so many things that I am not familiar with and had to learn! I consider myself fairly savvy when it comes to technology, but there are so many programs that were new to me and that I enjoyed learning how to use! It was difficult to fully concentrate and devote every ounce of attention I had to this project with a 3-year-old running around me, but I loved that I could work on this all at my own pace at any time of day (or night!) :)
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