Final Blog Post for EDM 310!

This is the final post for the class EDM 310. I have really enjoyed this class, and it has been a great challenge for me as a student and future teacher. Before taking this class, I thought I was "technologically literate"; however, after beginning this class, I was unaware of all the possible ways to be "technologically literate".

*1.) I learned so many different things in this class that has helped me and can help me as a student and future teacher. Here is a small list of what I have learned in taking this class at USA:
1.) I have learned how to blog. Before this class, I knew what blogging was, but I did not really know how to get an account or actually what was meant by the blogs. Now I understand that blogs can be usefeul for just about anything, especially as a teacher. As a teacher, I can post everything that we do as a class on the class blog. The class blog can serve as a parent site so they can know what their children are doing in class.
2.) I learned about all the different teacher resources such as ALEX and ACCESS. I can use these websites as resources as a student in education classes, learning how to be a teacher and also once I am a teacher. These websites give teachers ideas on lessons and much more.
3.) I learned that Google has just about anything to offer to a student and teacher for educational purposes. Google is free, so it is available to anybody that has access to a computer. Google offers Google Docs, Blogger, Google Earth, Google forms, data bases, etc. Google is a tool that can be used anytime for almost anything.
4.) I learned what a PLN is and how to use one. My PLN is small becasue I just started it, but as I move forward as a student and teacher, my PLN will grow. My PLN is a resource of its own. It keeps track of my networks.
5.) I learned how to use Delicious to keep track of my favorite educational webistes.
6.) I learned how to communicate with people all across the world through sistes such as Facebook, Blogs, etc. I used Comment 4 Kids to communicate with students from all over.
7.) I learned how to use Foliotek.
8.) I learned the importance of YouTube and iTunes. itunes provides podcasts and videocasts that be educationally related.
9.) I learned so much in this class that will help me be a professional. I feel that I am "technologically literate" now that I have completed this course. I feel that I can keep up as a student, future teacher, and individual in this "modern age".

*2.) I learned so much, as mentioned before; however, the only thing that I would liked to have learned more about is how to function with different technologies in the classroom or school besides a computer. I think that there are other people like me that have not used teaching equipment that is neccessary for schools, such as a smart board, and that would have helped me as a future teacher as well.

*3.) Because I learned a lot in this class, there are some things that I favored and some things that I did not favor. I do think everything that I learned in this class will hlp me as a student and teacher, but some things I may only use if absolutely neccessary. Things such as podcasts and videocasts I may or may not use. I think it was imporatant for me to learn how to make those, but as far as using them in a classroom, I am unsure becasue I still do not feel comfortable with them.

*4.) This class did help me in many ways, but I do not think that it "excited" me. I am excited to know how to be efficient in technology now, but that is it.

*5.) I do not think anything that we learned in this class was "intellectually challenging" becasue I believe that everything is made for everybody to use. Nothing that we did in this class is too difficult for somebody else to learn how to do. I think things in this class were easy to accomplish, even if it seemed a little difficult in the beginning.

*6.) I was not bored by this class at all. With everything that we were learning and doing, I did not have time to be bored at all.

*7.) This course is a great course, however this one class has a lot of projects due throughout the entire semester. With students taking other classes as well, the only thing that I would change is maybe cut down some of the projects. I think that we can still learn everything without having to actually do some things ourselves, such as Twitter or Delicious.

*8). I believe that I am now "technologically literate". I belive that I am classified as "Good" becasue I know how a lot of technologies work, but there are still some that I am unaware of as well, so I am not "great".

*9.) Between now and the time i graduate and start teaching, I can maintain my technology literacy by using some of the things that I learned in this class, such as Delicious and blogs. I can make myself aware of the changing and new technologies available now and in the future.