Is this the end.....or only the beginning?

My favorite discovery about learning the 23 things is the expansion of knowledge I now have about the internet. One of my favorite discoveries was Flickr, the popular image hosting site. There is a vast amount of images that I can use in my classroom to show students. The old saying is true. “a picture says a thousand words” and by having this site available for me to use will allow me open a whole new world to my students I could never had before. Another discovery that is my favorite is that I know now that I can use social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and blogs to learn from, gets advice, ask questions, and share my ideas with other educators. I have already learned so much from just one class. Staying up to date with these sites is a great way to grow and learn as a teacher.
Since I decided to become a teacher I knew that I would be committing myself to lifelong learning. This is a part of my commitment when I become a teacher. Through “23 Things” I have developed the confidence and knowledge to help my future students use these Web 2.0 tools and apply them to their learning. While I am no expert in these tools I have a pretty good idea of where to go next. I will use what I have learned and hopefully my knowledge will expand and myself and my students will benefit.

This website is very helpful for learning new skills at my own speed and in private. No pressure! However, if I had to modify one thing it would be that I would provide the opportunity to explore some of the 23 things together. Some of the “things” were a little difficult to grasp and therefore some students may give up on it. If I had the time I would narrow down which “things” students might need help navigating through and provide them the extra help.

23 things has influenced my practice as a teacher because it has given me new ways to be creative and more organized in my classroom through the use of technology. Also, I have no come to the realization that students are changing and so are their learning habits. With the expansion of technology our world is changing every day and as a teacher I need to keep up with this new technology or I will fall behind my student. My students are growing up with this new technology and it will be easy for them to use. I see it with the older generation now. Computers, phones, iPods, etc. are so common now and the older generation can hardly turn them on while my three year old daughter is using these technologies every day. I need to keep up on this or my students will be using technology I have no idea how to use.

I plan to become a member of many of the web 2.0 tools/websites that I have recently learned about. For example, if I subscribe to a podcast I can download it for later use. I can have it on my phone and take it wherever I go. I can listen to the new technologies, ideas, suggestions, and innovations, etc. whenever I have down time, sitting in the doctor’s office, or even doing lawn work. So, I plan to keep up with the new developments in web 2.0 by using the tools that I have learned about and from those learning newer tools that are available.