Lessons+Learned

__**Lessons Learned**__

You’re asking us to reflect specifically on the learning process, our newfound knowledge, and how it relates to our present and future. Cool. The simple synopsis is that I enjoyed discovering new web tools that I can implement in my future classrooms. Below you’ll find the “expanded” explanation. Enjoy, but don’t say I didn’t warn you…

Ok, so you kept reading. Regarding the learning process we went through, I feel that it most resembled “discovery learning.” The class was based around our interaction (“playing around”) with the new web tools. Though I like the result, the beginning of this class was very difficult mentally. Perhaps it was only our class, but on the first couple days, there was little explanation on what we should be doing in class. The end result was great because I was forced to try, fail, and succeed with all the web tools. When the deadline of an assignment is hanging on your head like a baseball hat though, it ups the level of stress and frustration. At least, it did for me.

This might have been the education class I learned the most in. In terms of my “newfound knowledge,” I don’t know where to start. Lets just put it like this, before this class, I knew how to use Google, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. I think I’ve read two blogs in my life. With that little slice of knowledge, I thought I was pretty well versed in technology. What a joke! My favorite new weapons in the tech arsenal are definitely “Audacity” for podcasting (thanks to the EWU computers and microphones and no thanks to my piece of crap computer), and aggregators. I think I can do the most with these on a blog, protopage, wiki- whatever I choose to run my class website off of. I like the idea of being able to record my classroom audio for kids that are gone. I love the idea of having relevant stories beamed to my webpage to enrich student reading. It’s all very cool.

Last, but not least, how does all this relate to my future? Well, it very well may not if school policy shoots down all my cool new web-classroom ideas. However, if all works out, I will have one more tool to help students learn. I’m not just talking about having a website for absent kids who are looking for assignments or video of the days lesson. I’m pretty sure I have come up with a few good ideas that will get kids interacting with web technologies for assignments. Whether it’s making a wiki for a project (instead of a standard PowerPoint), or using Google Docs for creating a group paper, I feel pretty confident my English class will be ready for 2010, and not stuck in 1980.