This was a big transition week for me. I went from completely lost and wondering in the technology forest to setting up camp in forest without knowing where I was.
What I mean by that is: I am still overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information included in the class, the amount of links and examples and trial apps that I have found on the web, and the many ways modern technology can be used in the classroom. I honestly have trouble making sense of everything I have come across.
One positive: I don’t think I’m alone. After reading a few more of my peers’ discussions, I see how everyone is coming at this class from their own angle and viewpoint; and I see that everyone is still trying to find their own needles in the web haystack.
I have learned more about creating and editing websites in the last three weeks than I had learned in ten years, that is for sure. And my head hurts because of it. Whether blog or wiki or some other tool, all of them are basically web sites that allow the teacher or student to add (sometimes edit) the content on the site. It seems that blogs can be wikis, and wikis can be blogs. Didn’t know that. I have also discovered – and this represents a real difference in my thinking – is that I’ll never look at classroom learning projects the same way again. And I’ll never be able to create a unit lesson plan without some major portion of it including a collaborative, analytical web-based project. How will I do this? I don’t know yet, but I realize that I have to discover the way that works best for me and my students.
It’s strange and wonderful how I can be so disgusted with my personal progress in a subject that I know I should understand; and next thing I know I’m grasping it and using it. I know it should be the same way in my classroom. But how do I get to that place without going crazy first? Stay tuned.
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