Thing #23

Wow! Phew! I did this class in one weekend, instead of 2 months! For me, this is the best way for me to learn new things, and learn I did! I started out this class with the thought, "It's free and I can earn 3 CEU's." Boy, did I change my mind as I went through this journey.
Years ago, I used to teach computer classes on Saturday morning to elementary students on an apple computer. I though I was so savvy, and up to speed with technology. As the years passed, I became aware of the fact the the technology was moving faster than I was, and it became quite scary! Before I knew it, my students were way ahead of me, and I have not been able to catch up! They were coming to me with computer knowledge and experience, that I became the student. They were helping me! If I had a question or problem, I would ask them. They knew their way around a computer, and were experts!
This class has been a great experience for me. I have more knowledge about what is out there in cyberspace, and I am loving it! There are so many avenues that I can take to expand and enrich my knowledge as a professional and in my personal life. I am fearful of some of the things that kids can get into on the web. I am so glad that my own children are grown-up and responsible for their own Internet usage. I hope that parents are monitoring their children's computer usage very carefully.
The one thing that I am most excited about is the wiki and pod casting. I am planning on taking one tool at a time, use it until I feel successful enough to move on to the next tool. I am hoping to use the pod casts with my students to read their oral reports, reading the tall tale they created, or the poem they wrote about a color. Nevertheless, I feel more knowledgeable about the tools of the Internet than I did before I started with Thing #1.