Final Evaluation

1. What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
The first thing that I would say was my favorite part of the assignment was creating the blog. I never thought I would be capable of creating a blog, but it is so easy and fun. I can see how blogging can be a great tool and I hope to create another blog when I begin teaching. My favorite "thing" was exploring the Web 2.0 Tools. I had already learned about the tools in the previous technology class, yet I loved learning about new tools: Go Animate, Voki and Glogster (both in the image generators "thing"), Game Classroom, PhotoPeach, and many more. There are many educational uses for all of the Web 2.0 tools, and I hope to use all of them in my future classroom.

2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
This blog and completing the 16 things has assisted my lifelong learning goals in various ways. I think that all of the goals were strengthened, but especially Goal #3 Viewing Problems as Challenges, Goal #4 Having Confidence, Goal #6 Use Technology as a Tool, and Goal #7.5 Play. There were times when I did not know how to do things, yet I knew that there had to be an explanation and help somewhere online. I would go online and look through videos and read tutorials and would figure things out by myself. The blog was not really hard work- I found it a fun experience because I loved creating my blog and using the different tools.

3. Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
I think one unexpected outcome from the program is that I am actually liking Twitter. I thought that there was really no reason for me to have Twitter, yet now I can see that it is helpful. I do not have a lot of things to tweet about, but I do like to follow other organizations and people to stay informed. I will keep my account open, and I hope to use it in the future when I am working to communicate with other teachers and parents. More importantly, the program taught me that I should try the different tools that I find online and that I see others using because I might be surprised and end up finding some that I like and will use.

4. What could I do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
I loved the program because we are provided guidance on what to do and are allowed to explore on our own and learn. There were some links that did not open and were no longer unavailable, so I would just check on them to make sure that they work. I personally wished that there were more things to complete because completing the 16 things and blogging about them was both fun and very informative.