One Last Thing

Where do I begin? Right now with a sign of relief. These 23 things have been intensive and sometimes frustrating, but in the end, extremely helpful. I think my favorite things are Delicious and the RSS feeds, mainly because I need help in getting organized. I'll have to go back when I have time and fiddle with the image generators more. There's so many to do!  I am already excited about how I am going to use my new tools and knowledge in the classroom. I understand that technology is a huge player in how our children are learning and interacting with the world. I know that as an educator, I must use techniques and strategies and tools that complement their styles of learning. I have already ordered two books from Amazon about Web 2.0 to help me do that. As I mentioned in my very first post, I have difficulty problem solving, and it all has to do with TIME! It is so short...there's not enough of it, so I don't want to spend time figuring something out. I just want it shown to me. So, the 23 things were challenging, but from the posts, I think that is a general feeling. I am happy and proud that I completed them, but with the time crunch, I felt like I was just going through the motions with many of them and not taking the time to really get to know them and enjoy them. Some of the directions were unclear or out-of-date. I found during the course, that it was not wise to click on the link in the thing directions because one, you had a small window, and two, it took your things directions away. So, I learned to open up the link in a new window. Maybe that should be in the instructions. I wonder also if this isn't a bit much, coupled with the other assignments in Livetext. I would rather have done fewer things to a greater degree. I feel like I have skimmed the surface in a lot of the exercises. I am wondering something else. We, as educators, teach a variety of students at different levels of ability and are required to differentiate for them. What about at the college level? Were these things and assignments written to a "middle majority" of abilities? I suspect that there were many exercises that a lot of students may have completed in two hours but took me four or more. Is there a way to differentiate these assignments? Maybe something to consider. I do, however, thank you for the learning opportunity. I am leaving this course much more "connected."