Thing 23 Reflections

WOW! I finally did it! I completed 23 amazing activities!

• What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey? My favorite activities as I believe they will benefit my current position right now is how to use Google docs and Classroom2.0. Those are my 2 highlighted activities thus far. However, there have been so many other venues that I will also carry with me. Using the RSS feeder really is pivotal. I have already added it to my personal home email account. I am so sorry that I didn't know about it before. But, better late than never. This is going to be a great addition to help expedite my online reading and blog following.
• How has this program affected your lifelong learning goals? I have always been a "techy" at heart. My first Master's degree was in Instructional Technology. Technology will always have a very big spot in my heart. Yet, as my position changed and life changed, I have that so much has changed in the last 4 years and technology has moved on without me. Much of my last 4 years has been spent learning curriculum K-6, understanding the management of campus/facility/staff & faculty as well as learning and relearning the states expectations for TAKS/STAAR student achievement. 23 Things has really "made" me catch up and get with the technology program again. There is just so much still to learn and utilize. I hope not to get so stagnate again in regards to best practices in instructional technology.
• Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you? Ummm, all of it? Really, so much was new learning in some way for me so there were a lot of aha moments throughout this adventure.
• What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept? Concept of the class is great! My biggest obstacle is the time required for a class like this. I really feel like this particular class could rival taking 6 college hours. My greatest hurdle with this class was that every exercise required more than just a cursory overview of 45 minutes. Most of the exercises truly require 2 hours to completely satisfy the rigor of the activities and the learning that is to be achieved. And, 2 hours is being very generous. Some of the required reading and activity completions could easily take 3 hours. Maybe I am just a slow learner? But, this class was very time consuming. My family is my first priority once I arrive home from work - not my computer. And, at some point I have to get some rest. I don't do well on 6 hours sleep. Perhaps you could extend the time frame by a week?
• If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate? Absolutely! I hope you do!!! Please consider another learning avenue as this course.
• How will what you have learned influence your practice as a teacher or school librarian? As a campus administrator, I hope to be better aware of current technologies that I want to see teachers using in the classroom. Also, I realize that our librarian could be doing more in the classroom to assist teachers w/ the integration process. Librarians are the campus media/technology specialist, right?
• How do you plan to keep up with new developments in web 2.0? Recommend a way that you have found to be useful. I hope, I hope, I hope I can still get into the 23 Things activities and begin bookmarking a lot of the sites that we used. I didn't do that until the end and that was a big mistake! There are way too many things that I should have bookmarked for future reference. Delicious....here I come!

Thanks for the class and the thought behind it. If I was the creator or curator, I know this class would have a very special place in my heart.

Kind Regards 23 Things!

Veronica Westlake