Random Thoughts....

I have really enjoyed this class and getting to work in the three different technologies. I think that technology can be intimidating so it has been nice to actually work in a wiki, create a digital story and post blogs. It proved to me that I can be technology proficient. Rafe Esquith, an amazing teacher and author of 2 books that I know of on teaching said that teachers need to work through difficult problems first before they can teach them to their students. Many shy away from this because of the time and effort involved. And I think this applies here. I don’t know that I would have jumped into digital storytelling, for example, because it seems so, well, complicated. I mean, something that looks as good as this final product has to be difficult, doesn’t it? Well, no. I feel much more confident in my ability to teach these technologies because I now know that I can do them myself!
I wish that this class was longer and a three credit class. I think technology in the classroom is so important. Kids love it and it is so relevant today. And by the way, if anyone out there knows of a classroom teacher that successfully implemented digital stories in an elementary classroom I would love to hear about it. This is a technology that I definitely am thinking of using myself. Because everyone has a story, most people just need an avenue to tell it through….