Blog # 6

As the class begins to wind down, I thought I would take some time to reflect on everything we learned. My first thoughts were "33 hours in one week on the computer. You have got to be kidding me!!!" As the week progressed, I realized that this was not an unreasonable expectation. I could easily spend 33 hours on the computer and then some. At times, I found the work demanding and a little overwhelming, but I knew I was not in this alone. Not only did I have the support of my fellow classmates. I had the amazing help and support from Erin and Andy. If I am spending 33 hours on the computer this week, I can only imagine how many hours Erin and Andy are logging on. Truth be told if I had a month to complete this class, I wouldn't have gotten half the work done. I work best under time limits and pressure. This past week, I have stepped out of my comfort zone on the computer and challenged myself.I have found some wonderful tools to use in the classroom- from custom search engines to Google Books the list goes on and on.

The classroom environment is changing at a rapid pace. We need to teach our children how to use and respect technology. As we embrace this new era, mistakes will happen. It is important for our children to see our mistakes. We learn best from them.  As I tell my students all the time- No one is perfect. There are erasers on our pencils, white out for our pens and the delete key on the key boards so we can fix our mistakes.

Google will continue to evolve and change. We, as educators, need to do the same. Thank you Erin and Andy for a wonderful class.