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This class opened my eyes to technology I didn't know was out there. Using the blogs was something that I had never done before. I don't know if I'd use it for personal use but for an educational use i can see how it would work. As a teacher I would definitely consider a blog. I want to teach in either middle or high school so there is a possibility that blogs could be useful in my classroom. Something that was new to me in this class was google docs as well. I didn't know that Google had so much to offer. I have used it for presentations in other classes since learning about Google since the start of the semester. I really like the accessibility of google docs and as a teacher I will make it known that students can use this. Especially since in high school i saw so many of my fellow classmates not be able to get their PowerPoint to work. So as a teacher I will let them know there are other options out there.
I like the other google docs like the spreadsheets and forms. The questionnaire we did was really neat and as a teacher I can see how this would be fun to use in the classroom. I think that letting the students type information into forms for just fun everyday activities would be neat. But sending it home to parents to fill out would be so easy and convenient. The answers appear right there and it would be so easy to just have it already in your computer. I think that this is one of the neatest things I learned in this class.
I had never used any type of podcasts until this class. This was different yet very educational. I really like how the video podcasts could be used in the classroom. There is so much out there and I think that being able to type in the subject you are teaching and getting so many responses is amazing. I think that from now on I will be more aware of the podcasts and use them more often. Podcast will definitely be something that I will use in the classroom. I think both video and just the listening kind can both be helpful in a classroom. As a teacher we are often reminded that everybody learns differently and having the options of these podcasts could certainly help different students learn in different ways. iTunes has a lot to offer and as a teacher I think there is so much out there, I could spend hours looking for material to use in the classroom. I have started to look at iTunes differently, its not just for music anymore.
One thing I don't think I liked using was twitter. I just never could quite get into it. I am a facebook junkie and often forgot I even had a twitter to check on. I get the concept and I think that if more of my friends used it I might be more willing to use it. I learned a lot about twitter because I had no idea how it worked until this class. While I learned a lot, I think this might be the one thing I don't continue to use after this class is over. But maybe by the time I get to teaching I will have changed my opinion and might want to use it in the classroom.
Some things that we didn't spend a lot of time on but that I got a lot out of was google earth and foliotek. I think that google earth is one of the coolest things out there. It is almost creepy what you can see. But I like how if you were trying to figure out where you are going, you can take a whole new perspective and get a better idea about the area. Also if we hadn't spent the small amount of time on foliotek I wouldn't know how to upload stuff for my other classes. So while we spent a short time on those two items, for me it was very helpful.
As far as not learning anything, I don't think there was anything that I came into the class hoping to learn and didn't. I think that there was a fair amount of time spent on everything. I like how we spent a lot of time on google docs because that was the hardest thing. I think there could have been more instruction about the word documents but besides that I think this class was successful. I think there was so much that I wasn't aware of that this class brought to light. I think that I will use most of what we learned in the class into my personal life and then one day into my classroom.