After hearing colleagues talking about creating wikis, I have finally created one of my own. I had heard of the many positive ways to use these tools in the classroom, but never had the time or know-how to create one. Things didn't go that smoothly because of formatting problems but I did get to learn many new tricks because of it. I actually signed up for a professional development class on Moodle and was helplessly lost because I didn't even begin to know the language/vocabulary that the teacher was using. Because of this class (EDU 505) I believe I could go into another one that is a little more advanced and not be so frustrated. I am not a traditional student and am not one who grew up with a computer. Sometimes it comes a little slower for me to be able to apply technology skills to lesson plans.
I do want to offer many opportunities for my students to increase their computer proficiency while working on English skills. It is through authentic learning that students will be engaged and thrive. This class has provided me with the same experience I want to give to my students. I was able to work at my own pace and respond to prompts in a nonthreatening environment. So, even though I sometimes get intimidated by technology I was able to feel comfortable participating in class. Many high school students feel the same way about walking into an English room when they don't feel proficient with reading and writing. The bottom line with students today is that they just feel better with a form of technology in their hands. What ever it takes to get students actively involved and to influence their life long skills works for me.
One of the things I liked about this class was my ability to work at my own pace. I am a bit slower with some aspects of technology. I appreciated being able to go back and reread directions when needed. I would be happy to participate in another class of this sort and cannot really think of any ways to improve on it. However, I can offer suggestions about what to keep the same. The number of examples of each type of web page was wonderful; it allowed me to get a taste of something I normally don't take the time to play with.