Thing 23: Final Thoughts

Thank you Shelley for a wonderful introduction to Web 2.0. I must say the course was packed with valuable resources – web links, video tutorials, and suggested readings… At times I felt overwhelmed by the quantity and quality of the activities; but I kept plotting through them. Even though I was familiar with many of the topics, I really enjoyed the time to freely explore them with great directions and tutorials to fall back on when I got stuck. Which does happen. I learned something new in every exercise. Thank you.

Now it’s time to reflect and pick several tools that I will bring to my students and teachers. We began using a wiki last year – basically as an avenue to share information (well really for me to share information). This year I want the staff to get involved and participate in discussions on our Wiki. So that is goal number 1. Then I want teachers to use Google apps – documents, calendar and sites. These are wonderful free and easy resources that will make their professional tasks seem easier. These 2 goals shouldn’t be too hard to sell. But you never know…

As for my students, I’m still working through how to use these web 2.0 tools with my K-3 students. As a teacher, I can use several of these tools to stay organized and to share information with my students. But I want them to do some collaboratively. Maybe voice thread is a good place to start? Not sure. Maybe the connections I’ve made on Classroom 2.0 will help me work this struggle out.

Thank you again – I’ve learned so much.