Lessons+Learned


 * Lessons Learned

** This summer I greatly enjoyed class. I have innate interest in technology so this was a nice way to finish up. I liked having the list of sites to explore as it took me places I may not have gone. The best tools I was introduced to were Protopage and Delicious. I had heard about Delicious before but had not bothered as I did just used folders to bookmark. Now that I have set up a Delicious account, I find myself using it more and more to access pages. Protopage was a great tool that while it has some limitations concerning user developed content; there are ways to work around the limitations. My use of Google docs also improved with the need to have documents available to Protopage and sharing for collaboration. I also increased my knowledge of online Office applications besides Google Docs and ThinkFree. I like Zoho and think it has some great advantages.

I also was able to renew my interest in Wikis. This past semester I had introduced Wikis to my marketing class. I had several projects planned that would utilize the Wiki and the students would have ended up with a complete Marketing plan for a product. Behavior issues and technical prejudice started to take too much time so I stopped using the Wiki. Now that I have more experience with the Wiki, I would introduce and manage its use differently and I think the results would be better.

The concept of a Learning Space was also a great addition to my toolbox. This is a excellent use of technology and I think its use would save teachers time and increase student engagement. The use of widgets and the volume of them was something I had looked at before but never explored. So using them to enhance a learning space gave me an opportunity and reason to explore their use. I will use Learning Spaces for my classes because it will help me be a better teacher and increase communication with my students. Students who are sick or out of school would also benefit as they could easily find out the assignment or even work ahead by accessing the Learning Space.

The list of video tools was also helpful since I have long been interested in using short videos to supplement my classes. Developing a selection of “How To” videos that answer most of the basic computer application questions will free up my time to help students with more involved questions. This would also help my students develop a self-motivated “can-do” attitude when they know they can get their own answers whenever needed. I can see short videos on how to scan, how to crop pictures, how to put music in Movie Maker, how to format in Word, and how to use online Office programs.

I have also set up an igoogle page for my web home page and I plan to set up separate pages with different interests so I can better manage my RSS feeds. I have long ignored RSS feeds for no reason but this class forced my hand and threw me into the pool. I promise to swim directly to the deep end and splash around a lot.

The problems I had were frustration in the limitations of Protopage and wanting it to allow my content. Using Google Docs sharing capabilities became a good workaround so I got through it but still wish it could do more. I did not have many other issues since I have a technical background and think exploring tools is better than playing games. Another struggle I had was simply being at the end of a long 2 ½ years of classes. My brain is quite simply in need of rest. I am glad I had this class last since I have a deep technology vein in me and this was a great way to end.