Looking Back....One Last Thing

I survived 23 Things!!

I had several favorite things.
My all time favorite was blogging. I have big plans for a family blog, a classroom blog, and whatever else I can find to blog about. Blogging was something that I always wanted to try but never really had the time. 23 Things taught me that it is very easy to do. I also liked all the little picture things. I think those will be fun to use in the computer lab with my students. I really liked Wordle and the Flickr spelling too.

Lifelong Learner?
I think that I was a little timid about technology before. I also was in survival mode this past year. It was my first year and there were so many things thrown at me all at once. I am hoping this year that I can use many of the tools that I learned from this class and incorporate them into my classroom. I also think that I need to take the time to just explore what is out there. Many of these Things that I learned are right there on the internet and I just had no idea.

Unexpected Outcomes -
There were many times when I wondered why I even bothered taking this class and thought that I should just drop it. About that time, I would learn a new Thing and I would be ready to plow ahead again. One thing that did surprise me so to speak was the time that I put into this class. There are some things that I whipped right through and others that I would 3-4 hours on. Looking back tonight, I am glad that I finished!!

Would I do this again.....hummmm?
I think that I would. I learned a lot and can't wait to use it all in my classroom. =)

Web 2.0
The most effective way to stay knowledgeable is to use it daily. I plan on doing that in my classroom as well as depend on my Google Reader. I also subscribed to several technology blogs on Classroom 2.0 & Ning.

My own final thoughts-
I would recommend this class to other district employees. I will say that this class is very time consuming. I am glad that I did it during the summer when I didn't have other school things to worry about. Four weeks seemed like a long time but really it wasn't especially when you can only do one or two a day and you spend 2-3 hours on each Thing.
I will say that my facilitator was very helpful as well as the others. She was very quick to help out and answer questions. Thanks Tracey!!
I think that it would be helpful if past Thingsters could be notified if they add new things to the class. Like little mini refreshers. Just a thought!!
Overall this class had been a great experience and I am glad that I did it.