From+My+Heart

"WOW, I'm done with my wiki! And I want to tell you some things!"

Well, beyond the boggling shock of being "done" with this monstrosity, I am pleasantly pleased with how much I've learned about these many ways of including so much media in teaching. It hadn't really crossed my mind before how much new stuff there is out there to use. I had taken an EdTech course at UNC (Greeley) in 2002 or so, and I've retained my powerpoint knowlege, and a private joke about my name, my friend's name, and how our professor consistently massacred both of them. Now, after this class, the list of available tools is WAY WAY WAY bigger than powerpoint, and infinitely more useful. I don't have as many private jokes, but that's only because it was an online class so there wasn't much personality interaction to create the inside side of private jokes. I did learn a lot about myself though.

First, I'd like to say I learned multiple ways to use technology in the classroom. But I can't really list that as first. I've got to say perhaps that foremost, I've learned that I need good friends. For so long, I've felt I couldn't count on anyone else to come through for me, and I'd better make the best of what I can do be sufficient. This class has been a challenge from the beginning in trying to wrap my mind around what it was I was being asked to do, and find the way I needed to do it, testing my creativity and learning curve to the max. Sometimes, I dragged myself down with perfectionist attitudes, or in expecting to actually make a perfect lesson (plan). Speaking with you, I found that in some cases, getting the feel for the tool, not so much the lesson, but the tool, was really the whole idea. So instead of frustrating myself over crafting the ideal wedding cake, so to speak, I should be thinking and working on the //cake//. My wife has also been very good to me in my need for support. She has created time for me to study when I needed more than we'd planned for. While not into science at all, she's been kind in listening to my difficulties, been a good sounding-board, and just been a great friend.

So, second, I guess I can say I've learned multiple ways to use technology in the classroom now. I almost can't believe it. I had no idea this stuff was here, much less that I didn't even know I didn't know. I feel a bit like a 1st grader who has learned to read on his own. It's a whole new world! I'm sure I'll still need some help to implement these ideas as I get closer and closer to actually teaching in my own classroom, but I can do lots of new stuff now, all on my own. Fantastic! I think some of my favorites have been creating videos. Having fun making Einstein and the Queen discuss Avogadro's Number was a hoot! Science can sometimes seem a bit dry, but finding such innovative ways to use technology gives me the chance to use the artistry within myself that I can't normally express in a scientific class. Maybe next time I'll get Shakespeare and Einstein to discuss exactly how blood is thicker than water...

I am concerned however, about how much time it seems to take me to make a lesson - whether I'm including some media bells and whistles or not. I'm glad I've got at least a couple more classes in education to give me experience doing that, so my hope is that while it will still likely take more time than I'd like, I'll get good enough at it that developing a new idea won't take a month per attempt. At least not every time. ;-) That's also where I've found that finding those good friends makes a huge difference, even if they're not science teachers.

Lastly, I'd like to say thank you for helping me get a handle on this stuff. Even though you weren't at the head of the classroom for me to ask questions every day, your lesson plans on your wiki seemed to have within them somewhere, the bits and pieces I'd missed the first or even second time through. Your thoroughness in description, example, and another example, are an example, of what I hope to become as a teacher/mentor. I'd watch, rewatch, read, and reread, and I came to believe that I'd find what I needed in there somewhere if I just kept searching. I appreciate that you made the time to make sure we had more than one way to look at something until it made sense. And, that you made sure we had more than one rote way to do our projects. You showed me that it is possible to mentor without showing me how to do it (everything regurgitatively, so to speak). Thank you.

Jerry

PS. ...And I hope you don't mind I keep your wiki on my list of things to check. At the very least I know I'll probably want a refresher on how to do something we did, and at best, I'm sure you'll always have more great treasures of new ideas I can borrow than I'll ever be able to use.