E2T2 Reflection

The blog assignment was to reflect after each session of the Technology Leaders group meeting. I realize that I haven't done that and am hoping to meet that assignment with one longer reflection now that things are drawing to a close and I can see the big picture. Designers are always big picture people.

First, my comments on the act of blogging.

It's not for me. Maybe if I hadn't skipped out of mmy high school typing classes in defiance of my mom's wish for me to be able to fall back on being a secretary. (I didn't foresee the computer and how much keyboarding would be a part of my life. But having to go back and fix at least one typo per line is frustrating.

I don't need to share personal details or rant on about a topic or make friends in cyberspace. I find reading the blogs of others to be a waste of time, of which I have very little to spare.

My day is spent on the computer and I like my evenings to be analog.

Next, the evolution of the E2T2 class.

At first it seemed like we talked endlessly about the same topics; how to access it in schools without much, does technology really change any of the other fundamental things that keep our students from learning, like hunger or parents that don't care. The same info was echoed by many of us repetitively so that I was forced to turn to my laptop and multitask while I listened as my students would do when I talk too long.

We spent a lot of time hashing over theory, which in my experience is a bit like statistics; you can find research to support every angle of the argument.

At the same time we were required to start a blog and try to define our personal learning network (note to self, you haven't turned that assignment in yet, either), and find other blogs to read. There was a lot of grumbling at first but I have talked to at least one colleague, a ghost librarian, who explained why she enjoys both blogging and reading others blogs, and it made sense once I saw it through her eyes.

I have used a lot of e2t2 tools in creating my new Design Basics online class. I learned from Carl Anderson that video is a good way to communicate with students, so I'll add that. Other tools I've inserted is a final portfolio in Animoto, a Glogster about the elements and principles of design, and Wordle as a way of introducing ourselves. I'd like to use voice thread to have an online critique.

I'd have to say the last few meetings were the meat of the class or me. I loved the presentation Mike Mazyck's presentation about The Cutting Edge, what the future holds. I'd like to take his class.

One of my students is really into making designs for Second Life (he designed a series of skateboards) and has tried to get me interested many times. I try to see what the big deal is, but the experience leaves me flat. Like in class when Carl went places and nobody was there. To me, waste of time.

I think the real value of this class is when we present to other educators this summer. I hope to bring several from my school. If we can aid teachers in achieving technological literacy then we have accomplished our goal. We can continue to work with them on a one to one basis next year and beyond. I plan to start having Tech Third Thursday where I coveer one topic a month. I'll start there and see what develops.

What I am taking away from this class is the desire and the commitment to get organized and use web 2.0 resources to do it. I am assembling all of my autistic daughter's health records online through Health Partners, as well as my own. I hope to use delicious or diigo to organize bookmarks. I have two computers I use at home and five at school and they all have different bookmarks. I'd like to also use the social bookmarking sites to organize web searches for students and get part of my design class online to reduce paper usage. And to put together some bookmarks of sites teachers and students would love.

I am starting an online collection of favorite recipes (one of which, it's only fair to note, that I got off a blog from someone who was using their crockpot every day for a year and blogging about it.)

My contacts are now in the cloud so if I'm at school and need to contact my daughter's OT, I don't have to go home to get the info.

The other thing that I am taking away from this class that is irreplacable is the people I have met and grown to know over the course of this class. My one feedback if you do the class again is have more activities where we break into different groups like the coaching role playing. Not so much of the groups by age of kids we teach. In those exercises, I have made some valuable connections with people that will now be part of my PLN. The experiences we shared really opened my mind.