Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Master Class Final Reflection

Once again, I truly appreciated the opportunity to work on 17 Things - this time with the Master Class.

One of my professional goals is to incorporate technology into all aspects of my teaching, and I enjoyed learning about these tools. We learned about a wide variety of applications, from phone blogging to taking and organizing notes on the computer. I also usually find that what I learn in 17 Things easily translates into my personal life, especially in helping me become more organized. For example, (from last year's 17 Things) I have become addicted to Delicious, and I have a feeling that Evernote also will become a big part of my life.

While I enjoyed participating again in 17 Things, I did find it more difficult to motivate myself to complete the projects. My favorite part was completing and reading the Master Class Projects. I wish 17 Things included more time to work together and plan lessons for the classroom. I feel like I am learning all of these amazing new tools for my personal use, but I have difficulty finding time to plan and implement them in my own classroom. A possible suggestion might be to have the Master Class simply be a strand to use X number of tools in the classroom over the course of a year.

I absolutely think all teachers should use technology in the classroom. It makes it easier to connect with students, and it provides them with more authentic experiences. With the internet and some of these tools, we teachers have immediate access to experts and information that is relevant to our field. Students, too, have the opportunity to apply their classroom knowledge to a real-life setting.

If I had to briefly describe this program, I would say it is useful and relevant, and I would encourage everyone to try at least one Thing, even if they don't participate in the full program.