Reflection ~ EDUC 6710

In reflecting back on this course, I have found that I have stepped out of my comfort zone and succeeded. I have used technology and different resources that I have never utilize before. I feel comfortable and confident that I can successfully apply these within the confines of my curricula. I have reexamined the idea that we never stop learning and hope to continue to make great strides to implement and discover more Web 2.0 technologies in the future.

Educators today have so much to cover during the school year; it is difficult to step out of the teacher centered aspect of learning. I will try to make a conscience effort to change some of my practices and be more attuned to my students needs. I also believe that self reflection for the students is needed more in my classroom. This will then allow them to take a stance on topics and then give evidentiary support for their position.

Currently, I am in the technology cohort for the archdiocese and hope to inspire and instruct my colleagues on these latest methodologies. I feel just as Will Richardson stated in Blogs, Wikis, and Podcasts does. He stated, [I}n order for us to prepare our students for what is without question a future filled with networked learning spaces, we must first experience those environments for ourselves. I feel if you play with the technology enough and become familiar with it, one can then apply it easily to the pedagogy. I have first hand experience now and hope to learn from my colleagues as well, as we start out on this 21st Century Skills journey together.

Students in this day and age are constantly connected. I believe as an educator, I need to stay current with the media and technology the students are connected to show new ways of using those tools. This in turn, will keep the students focused and questioning. If they question they can then learn to support their stances on a global stage that is the web as well as learning responsible and effective web etiquette.

I feel this is just the beginning for me. I hope to use my degree to ascertain more leadership roles within my school and utilize web 2.0 tools on a grander scale. I know the dioceses and school is on board, it is just a matter of experimentation and implementation of ideas. Smart Boards, projectors, wikis, and Youtube.com are just the first step. I hope to have the students using Glogster.com, and Facebook.com within the next few years. I have to just get moving and play!

Richardson, W. (2006). Blogs, wiks, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Perrin, Robert. (2008). Pocket Guide to APA Style (2nd ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.