One of the things I very much wanted to learn about was webquests. I’ve wanted to incorporate them more into my curriculum but was having a little resistance from some teachers. I was more focused on the technology than the reason for using it. Now that I see what a webquest really is and how versatile they can be I am very excited about including them in this years units. As I look back on my struggles with this, my first ever webquest, I begin to see why some teachers may be hesitant to spend precious time trying to create something that has the potential to become huge. I’ve always thought big, grandiose, and humongous, you get the point, but if I try the smaller less intimidating approach I will probably make more progress. I can work more closely this year with individual teachers who resist learning more about the ever changing world of technology. I can show them what can be achieved and I can’t wait to work with the fifth grade this year on the Civil War project.
In many ways this class was one of the best graduate courses I’ve ever had. I some ways it was the hardest course I’ve had. One of the toughest things about this class was the amount of requirements due in such a short time. However, looking back on it I see the need for all the steps taken and how they all culminated into a really fun to make final project. One of the best things was the collaboration with all of my classmates. It was exhilarating. I had the privilege of working with a great group of colleagues who shared thoughts, ideas, knowledge and pats on the back. They challenged me with their questions and views and helped me to think deeper into the subjects at hand. They guided me in Second Life, made me laugh when I was frustrated and I wish we had had more time together.
In the end this course was a very interesting exercise in patience.
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Great post Anne. I have felt your pain this summer, as you have felt mine. I totally get what you mean about the frustrations and the rewards. I also spent a great deal of time swearing at Dreamweaver, but when it worked, it was exhiliarating. We made it! WooHoo! Thanks for all your help!
ReplyDeleteAnne, I agree that this course was very challenging and had so many requirements that needed to be met in such a short period of time. Although Dreamweaver seemed frustrating in the beginning, so much work with it and troubleshooting by myself really helped. I think we were all pretty much in the same boat and felt overwhelmed by all of the projects, but like you, I walked away with a better understanding of internet resources and have more confidence in my ability to use them in my classroom.
ReplyDeleteHI Anne!
ReplyDeleteWell said and how true! I believe the difference between the Dreamweaver you were using and the Dreamweaver we had to use is the difference between Microsoft Office 03 to 07-just enough changes to make you go crazy!
Excellent work my dear! I am very impressed with your final product!
Kathryn