Summary of Learning

When I first started your course, I was completely ignorant of what a wiki was, how to post a blog, how to use diigo etc. Although I still consider myself a novice, at least I am beginning to be able to understand some of the terminology and have started using some of the new aspects of technology both for myself and for my students. It has definitely been an adventure which has truly just begun for me. I now know I have so far to go but have the motivation to keep on moving.

Social networking was introduced such as Tweeter and Facebook. I actually did join Facebook and have recently connected with some other SLPs on Facebook, exchanging ideas etc. I read the article on "Habits of Mind" and feel that so much of it was relevant to what we should be teaching our students. We all need to think flexibly, also we need persistence in the classroom. I have been working in this profession for many years and I also acknowledge that learning is continuous and you just can't stop at it.

Going back to the beginning, I enjoyed watching the New Zealand video and could envision our classrooms functioning in a similar manner. I think that at Deer Hill we are on our way to that with the use of the digital presenter, our class wiki projects, use of the internet for research etc.

At the beginning of the course we learned about what a PLC ( Professional Learning Community) a smaller community and a CoP ( A Community of Practice) was which is a larger community like our own course class.

I learned how to make a simple voice thread and that is on a post.
Here is an example of a a Wordle that was a lot of fun to make and which our school at Deer Hill has used a lot since we learned about it.
http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/1913196/21st_Century_Learning
I created this wordle recently but still don't know how to embed it into this post. However, here is the url if it doesn't work when I publish this post.

I looked up on teacher tube about technology in the classroom and got this video on the top ten ways to use technology.

http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=170334&title=Top_10_Ways_to_use_technology_in_the_classroom

Once again, due to my just beginning to learn how to use this tool, I was not able to get it to show on this post. However, when I copy and pasted the above url, it did bring me to the video site where this video was showing. I realize that I have so much to learn yet and will continue to work on learning how to perform even these simple embedding tasks as I move on in my quest for technology knowledge and use. I tried using the link button but that didn't work either. There is so much for me to learn yet.

It was interesting to watch the different voicethreads created and to attempt to make one myself. I can see how this could be helpful in my profession if I had some followers who could comment on a specific issue or topic that I have started on a voice thread and they could give their opinion or suggestions.

I started my own personal learning network by using diigo. I certainly have not utiized it nearly to the extent that it is able to be utilized but I do see its value and intend to continue to expand my use of diigo in the future.

I think often now of virtual learning and our expanding the flatworld concept. I have actually taken a number of online courses recently where I experienced discussions, lectures etc. with people from all over the country and even in other parts of the world. It has truly been fascinating to listen to a professor lecturing from Australia and my being able to post a comment or question that will then be answered within a que at some point. I just see this as being limitless in its possibilities and have had the luxury of experiencing it in the area of speech-language.

I am still motivated to improve my own school website so that it is parent friendly and can also be interactive. Although I have not done much in this area, sharing what Arna Lewis has done with her class website certainly inspired me. There are just so many ways for disseminating information and opportunities for discussion that I plan to develop in the future on my website.

Lorin Anderson's new translation of Bloom's Taxonomy with the addition of digital terminology does bring Bloom's into the 21st century.

PLE's is at the cutting edge. I just wonder about the effectiveness of multi-tasking and was interested in the research that I read and saw about how for this generation, multi-tasking has not improved a student's ability to learn more effectively. I still feel that a student has to concentrate on one salient topic at a time to be a most effective learner. I can see students being able to comment or question maybe more with qued questions during a teacher's lectures than just making comments on an ongoing basis during a lecture. That is just my opinion.

When watching Digital Nation, I see much more clearly where technology has come to. I do realize that we now have such amazing ways to connect to others around the world. There are no boundaries. It can be somewhat overwhelming to me at times. I still like the personal interaction that I get from just getting on the phone with someone and talking to them or just face to face visits. My fear is that the younger population may begin to lose some of those critical communication skills that I grew up with. Body language communication is so essential and about 80% of communication is done through our body language. When we communicate through the internet, that personal communication may be lost and we are not able to pick up the subliminal meanings that may be present. Texting is fine but what one derives from hearing the intonation in a person's voice is also so important and missing in a text.

I had a lot of fun making up some xtranormal social stories for the children whom I work with who are on the autistic spectrum. I definitely plan to continue to develop more stories through this medium. The children really enjoy watching them and we will get to the point where we can make up some of the stories together. I look forward to this as I progress through this digital world I am becoming more immersed in.
Here is an example of one of the xtranormal social stories that I made up.

http://www.xtranormal.com/profile/2220319/

I am now at the stage where I plan to join twitter and try to follow some of the people in my profession who are discussing intervention strategies on twitter. That way, I can continue to expand my knowledge in my own profession in a quick and easy way.

I also played around with using animoto and developed this video and music.
http://animoto.com/play/gXOsf3Gs1t7c5ULGFnTKXw?autostart=true

I go back to the 16 habits of mind over and over, trying to keep perspective and insuring that with my use of technology, that those aspects are kept in mind and utilized such as: taking responsible risks, or thinking and communicating with clarity and precision. I definitely agree with learning continuously and hope to do this to my last dying breath. It is important to continually stimulate the brain, utilize 21st century tools but keep a good sense of humor and keep the personal and social intact as well.

This course has given me much food for thought and I am very fortunate to have participated in so many of the activities. I consider this course just a beginning for me. I am a complete novice but am very willing to learn and grow. I will continue to develop social networks who can assist me in this growth and will continue to take courses to expand my knowledge base.

Thank you for the opportunity of opening a whole new world for me. I feel I am on another adventure which will take me into unknown places. It is exciting but awesome at the same time.