Saturday April 18

I can see where pod casts could be a very useful tool for an administrator to use. This type of communication would be accessible for everyone. Being a special education teacher I always think about those adults who can't read and all the "paper" we send home with students. Principals could use a pod cast that was downloaded on to an mp3 player for students who have illiterate parents. This would help with communication. It took me about two hours to find information about our topic and write it out. Our group took about two more hours to record the pod cast and another 30 minutes to send it to Dr. Closen. Hence: It was time consuming. I believe with practice, this could be perfected in a much shorter time frame.

Podcasts

I’ll admit, my group had some trouble doing our podcast initially and it was a little frustrating. At one point I sounded like some sort of a dying, underwater robot. We were eventually able to get our podcast done successfully. I’m glad we learned how to do so, because I think that podcasts have many practical applications as an administrator. If you think about it, a couple hours figuring it out isn’t that high of a price to pay for a practical skill that should stick with us for a while.

Sunday's Class

I really feel like I've learned more about useful technology! For instance, I'm thinking Powerpoint is a little outdated now that Movie Maker is the hot thing!! I really liked the presentations that were done using Movie Maker! I am going to have to start converting mine over!! It was great having class with everyone - I'm sure for those who aren't done - I'll be seeing you around!!!

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i think in all the hoop-la i forgot to post my reflection from the last class... so here it goes - i learned so much from this class it would take quite a while to post it all. this last sunday when Dr. Closen said something about not getting upset when technology does not work because a student will be less likely to try it again really made a lot of sense to me. i thought the web sites we looked at about the various organizations in IL that have to do with education was informative and i see how some will/can be used during the internship process - thanks Gretchen.... overall perhaps the class that had the most information that i will be able to put to use immediately... Thanks Dr. Closen.

Final farewell--Sanders

Okay, my farewell isn't as final as some of you, as I have just begun the program, but at least this is the last post for this class. Like Jake, I find it pretty amazing how much I've learned over 3 weekends. I knew I wasn't the most computer-savvy person walking into the classroom, but now I really feel like the exposure I've had over the past month and a half has given me skills and confidence in the technology area. I have particularly welcomed the Excel stuff, as I am expected to use it more and more for school data. Plus also, now my husband doesn't make fun of my ineptitude as much. Thanks to all for your help this semester. Good luck to those of you moving on.....and to the rest--see you soon!

Sanders - Last Saturday

Since I'm slow to post, I'll reflect on how I remember feeling after Saturday's class. I haven't felt so technologically frustrated and inept in quite some time. The first 10 attempts at audacity for the podcast were painful, and although I was irritated on Saturday, that frustration ultimately led to experimentation on Sunday that helped us be successful. I sometimes forget that just like anything else, you have to give yourself time to just mess around with the technology to gain familiarity and self-trust. I still don't think I'll do much podcasting, but at least now I can do the basics if I want/need to and can enhance my skills from there, if desired.

Final Reflection

Thinking back to the beginning of this class I am absolutely amazed how many new things I have learned. I knew what blogs, wikis, and podcasts were but never would have taken the time to create one without this class. Now I am hooked, I check a few blogs everyday and have added a ton of podcasts to my iTunes. Our society is becoming more digital each year, and I believe many of these technology tools will become necessities very shortly for administrators, principals, and teachers. Thanks to everyone for all the treats, too! (ESPECIALLY THE BREAKFAST BURRITOS)