What A Ride...

It seemed like this day would never come.  The day I could look at my blog and see every entry, every project completed.  It's quite a feeling.  I learned a lot this semester, through my Educational Tech class, and of course, the 23 Things blog.  There were plenty of activities I enjoyed, such as Thing#12, where I took the time to see  and experience all that Google has to offer a less-than-savvy individual such as myself.  Online image generators, wikis, delicious.com, and Animoto all provided info and educational practicality while being fun and interesting.  But I had my share of dark times as well.  However, this usually revolved around the fact that I tend to misplace my logins and passwords, or else could not figure out how to incorporate some file or link into my blog.  Luckily, I always got it worked out, and so the darkness has left for good.


I have come away from these projects with more than just a sense of accomplishment.  I feel more confident in my use of the internet in general, as I have access and understanding to a whole new set of sites, apps, and other resources.  I know how to keep up with news, fellow educators, and friends, and also know cool and intuitive ways to share as well as glean pertinent information.  I feel certain that as a teacher, I will have a solid background in using the internet efficiently and properly (hey, it's there to do the work for me!).  


As far as critiques go, I feel that there is little that needs to be said.  My one qualm is that I had to sign up for a lot of sites, some of which I will continue to utilize, but many that are just going to end up providing constant reminders that end up in my email's spam folder.  Just a lot to keep organized, and a lot to try to keep up with (but I do know some great apps for keeping all that stuff straight!).  For now, keeping up with new developments is as easy as following influential educators on Twitter, maintaining those RSS feeds, reading (and adding to) wikis, bookmarking (and seeing others') useful sites, and generally keeping one's eyes open.  And it's okay (actually, probably recommended) to have some fun while doing all of that.


It's been a trip, that's for sure.  Thanks for playing.  - S.M.