Thing #23 - The End or the Beginning?

What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?

There were a lot of Things I enjoyed, but any that involved playing with something new. Some of the things I had used before, but there were several where I learned a lot. Thing 20 stands out in that area.

How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?

Technology changes fast! And it is not always bad like I tend to think! This class helped my realize the importance of staying current so that I am able to be in touch with our culutre, harness the power of new tools, and engage my students in a language they understand.

Were there any take-aways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?

There were many little surprises, but none that stood out.

What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?

I love the way this class was set-up. Exploring each item one at a time was great. I also love the self-pacing. I wouldn't change much at all excpet for updating "things" as they change.

Thing #22 - Audiobooks

I'm glad to see libraries partnering in this new era of technology. It is cool to see all the audiobooks you could get in connection with our local library. I usually prefer to read books that are actually books that you hold in your hands and are made of paper. But, I am excited to see what audiobooks I could get to listen to on some road trips this summer. We use ipods in the car, so downloading a great new book is an awesome way to make the trip fly by!

Thing #21- Podcasts

I have been trying to use podcasts to learn Spanish. Actually, that is something I started about 3 years ago and still cannot say a single word because I never have the time to listen to the podcasts. It is great to have a spot to look for podcasts. Before this Thing, the only place I knew where to look was on iTunes. Similar to YouTube, I could use this with my students. But, I think podcasts would be more useful for something like learning Spanish. Doing math problems is a lot easier when you can see someone doing them as you listen.

Thing #20 - YouTube

YouTube is great. I would love to use YouTube as a tool to help kids with homework. I could video myself working a few math problems and post them on Blackboard. It could be an awesome tool.
Here is an awesome video that I love!

Thing #19 - Web 2.0 Tools

This is a cool resource. I like that I can go and see many high quality applications for many different areas. I naturally checked out the education link and found I place where I might start to learn Spanish. I was pleased to see there were some winners that I was familiar with, but it is also cool to see so many that I have never heard of. I will look forward to trying them out and see if there are any that I could apply to the classroom setting.

Thing #18 - Web Based Apps

Zoho is awesome! This could be the most useful and exciting thing for me. I even made a simple ZOHO show an uploaded it to this blog.

Okay...that didn't work, but the power of this application is awesome.

Thing #17 - PBWiki

Although this assignment was just to play, the PBWiki page was a little hard to navigate. It took me more time than usual to get things figured out. I managed to add a favorite restaurants page which should be cool if people add to it. It was fun to actually participate in a Wiki for the first time. I'm not sure how much I will use this particular "thing" though.