Wednesday, August 4, 2010

11.5: Thing 11.5

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

I love these summer on-line quests! It's exhilarating to be able to explore new programs, especially when they are linked to instruction. My favorite programs were Screencast-o-matic and Glogster.

Check out this video of a group of 4th graders using Glogster in the classroom:



I particularly liked how they linked their Glogster poster to Google Earth.

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

Before taking 23 Things, I thought I was pretty current with technolgy. Boy, was I wrong! Through 23 Things and 11.5 Things, I was exposed to many programs I didn't even know exsisted! It is obvious that a lot of time and effort went into creating these programs. Thank you to all of you who made them possible!

3. Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?

I was surprised to find that I did not enjoy the virtual worlds. When I first read the post, I thought it was going to be one of my favorite items because I am a big SIMS fan. However, I found the navigation through Second Life to be tedious. I went through the tutorials and read the posts on how to use virtual worlds in education, but I just don't see how this would be used at the Elementary level.

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

Nothing really! The only thing I would change would to be add more tools!! It's a great way to stay up-to-date on the latest technolgy. I hope that SBISD will continue to offer more Library2Play sessions...I must admit, I'm totally addicted!!