We’ve reached the end of the semester. Wow. I hope that I’ll maintain this blog beyond it. I have every intention to, but we’ll see.
Ultimately, this class has been everything I hoped it would be, and everything I feared it would be. That is to say, I’ve seen alot of really interesting, useful tools that I look forward to incorporating into my classes. I am especially proud of my podcast that I created this week. On the other hand, I’ve also seen some programs I could do without.
Twitter, for example, epitomizes wasteful technology… in my humble opinion. Much of the new technology is embraced because it is new, not because it is good. I don’t find much value in expressing information 140 characters at a time. I have come a long way since my first sarcastic post, but I am still the same person.
While I have deliberately remained skeptical of new technologies, I have also used most of them. As I mentioned in previous posts, I was already a user of Facebook, Myspace, AIM, Windows Messenger, and Skype before this class even started. Now I’m also a member of Delicious (which I find to be very useful) and Inspiration (which I might never use again). I learned the incredible convenience of creating a personal Google account (specifically, the reader option), and I partook in the collaborative efforts of creating a project on wikispaces.
Only time will tell which of these technologies I will embrace, and which I will discard… but it’s my choice. I could not discard that of which I had never heard. This course literally felt like exploring a world that I barely knew existed.
Like any world, some of it was worth seeing, and some of it was not. But it was a world that I needed to see. To say that I’m not a “computer guy” at this point is like saying, “I’m not a car guy” or “I’m not a phone guy” or “I’m not a sterile medical treatment guy.”
For better or worse, computers, internet, and Web 2.o are an intergral part of our society… so it might as well be for better.
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May 5, 2009 at 10:35 am
Stephen Ransom
Well put. Part of being a professional means having an understanding and working knowledge of ideas and tools relevant to our profession. It doesn’t mean that we endorse or embrace them all, but that we can at least understand them and discuss them in an informed manner. A closed mind is a terrible thing to see in anyone, but especially in a teacher. Too often teachers demand of their students what they themselves are not willing to provide or experience.
So, just keep an open mind, consider the interests and needs of your audience, and NEVER let mainstream media dictate how certain tools or technologies can/should or can’t/shouldn’t be used. I can’t say enough about surrounding yourself, physically and virtually, with professionals who can support as well as challenge you.
Prenez soin et laissez-moi savoir si il ya toujours quelque chose que je peut faire pour vous.