Day Five (Finale)

Today was the last day of our five day week together.  I enjoyed my time in class and can't believe that it is already over.  Dr. D gave an overview of trends in technology and then we had group presentations.  Given the incredible pace that Dr. D sustained over the week, it is understandable that time did not seem to flow as quickly during the presentations as the week had done.  This is not to detract from the presentations because I took notes and learned something from every group.  I am now sitting at Starbucks (surprise, surprise) taking in the quick internet connection that my hotel likes to deny me and working on my prospectus. 

On another note, I am bummed that my mother's computer died and I was not able to Skype with the kiddos tonight.  Looks like I will be waiting until my husband brings home his laptop from work on Monday to see the kids again. 

Day Four

We spent a lot of time working on our presentation today.  Groups projects don't always have to be painful and this week has reinforced this notion!  I finished my Audacity recording in the evening and turned in my Technology Integrated Lesson Plan (thanks to Starbucks internet).  So far, so good.

Day Three

Since I forgot to post last night, these are back to back.  Today I took note of a list of recommended reading (books) from the professor.  I even found one, Virtual Community, on Amazon and sent it to my Kindle (thanks Steve!!!).  I was told this was a 'beach book', so I am looking forward to the 'beach'.  We looked at Second Life, a virtual reality access point, and I think that this has potential to do a lot of negative things for people.  I liked the idea of ministry through it.  I had a defining personal moment when watching the demo on Second Life.  I have the tendency to jump into technology and ignore other things (like my actual assignments) that need done.  At some point, I already made the decision to not create an account and 'look around'.  This is momentous because I have already 'signed up' for many things in my life that I have responsibilities for and discovering Second Life would have been an easy diversion from all those responsibilities.  Being here are Liberty gives me more focus on the goal posts. 

Tonight, I need to work on my Web quest, finish my integrated lesson plan, and practice my piece of the group presentation.  Thanks to the mini coffee maker, which made pretty good coffee considering its limitations, I am determined to do these items on my list. 

Day Two

At the second day of class we were given more assignments and information that went with those assignments.  After class, my group met and we divided up the work.  Everyone is working hard and has a collective end in sight.  I am looking forward to more tomorrow!

First Day of Five

Today was the first day of five for my first intensive of the summer, second overall at Liberty.  There were many items of the day that I need to review in my notes.  Once again, class seems to be full of great people and an understanding instructor.  He's energetic and excited about his topic which makes class go by quickly.  For those who are looking to take classes, I would recommend Dr. Dunn.  I am looking forward to learning a lot each day. 

Tonight I am researching open content, what open is and is not, its beginnings and possible fits in education.  From preliminary searches, it appears that this may take awhile.  That's ok though, I have my mini-coffee maker (thanks to Extended Stay Hotels) that I will keep me going long into the evening/night and am listening to Allison Kraus.  All make for good research company.

On a personal note, I was able to 'chat' on Skype with my children and mother about their day.  I am always amazed by my children and feel blessed to have such a supportive and loving family.  I included a picture of the kiddos (because I am a proud mother). 

My Thoughts in Technology

First and foremost, I think that I will have an extremely difficult time if I ever had to 'disconnect' to technology. I love getting my email on my phone, staying connected with friends, near and far, on social networking sites, and even check the weather on my phone to make plans for the day with my children. I think I would be considered a digital native but know that I am no where near the native that my students have grown up to become.

Some technology/websites/applications that I use for personal and/or professional use:

• email
• Explorer/Firefox/Google Chrome
• playlist.com
• Pandora
• Blackberry
• Facebook
• iTunes
• Skype
• Thinkfinity
• Audacity (playing with this)
• Kindle
• Diigo
• Wikispaces (rdgpizzo.wikispaces.com)
• Voki
• Glogster
• Blabberize
• Animoto
• Twitter
• Blackboard
• Angel
• Moodle

Being in education, I know that I must be willing to learn about new technology trends on a daily basis. My students are talking about the technology that they personally use and I want to have them use technology in their daily learning. With everything that needs to get done in the normal school day, I often feel that there are not enough hours in the day to 'play' with technology so I look forward to learning about technology in education for myself and my students.