“Plan the work. Work the plan.” This was a common phrase around my office when I was in business. All too often people did not take the time to develop a plan, but even worse was when a plan was developed that it was not followed. As we have learned, it is difficult to get to where you want to be if you do not know how you are going to get there.
So, what have I done over the course of the week to help me realize my goals? Also, what is it that I need to assist me along the way?
First, I dedicated time to laying a foundation and building a network. This included putting my bookmarks on Diigo so that I have access to my online resources from anywhere or any device with Internet access. Furthermore, my bookmarks are now available for me to share with my group members. If you have a moment, please take a look at my burgeoning list on Diigo and feel free to recommend additional resources to me at any time (http://www.diigo.com/user/keytotech). Furthermore, as I have looked to build my social bookmark library I have found some wonderful resources and have subsequently joined groups via Twitter (i.e. Classroom 2.0) and LinkedIn (i.e. ISTE Mobile Learning special interest group) and downloaded Tweetdeck (www.tweetdeck.com) so that I can manage and monitor all of the information streaming in.
In addition, I have challenged myself with learning about at least one technology per week and, in the process, understanding how it can help enhance teaching and learning (Laureate Education, 2009). To help me with this personal challenge, I have found websites like www.teachertrainingvideos.com and EDTE.CH (http://edte.ch/blog/interesting-ways/). This week, I learned about Wallwisher (www.wallwisher.com) and delved more into the world of Google Apps for Education. I believe that this continuing effort will help me stay abreast of what is happening in the world of educational technology and keep me current with many of the rapid advances that are being made in the field (Prensky, 2008).
In order to reach one of my other goals, I have conducted research using the ISTE website to learn more about how to best assess my students and the teachers that I will be assisting in a manner conducive to a self-directed, technology-based learning environment. At present, I am in the process of reading two articles that are excerpts from various NETS for Students and NETS for Teachers projects. My next steps for this goal are to conduct further research leveraging the Walden Library and Google Scholar. Moreover, I plan to tap into the knowledge base inherent in my Walden class group as well as my growing network of external resources that I have met via Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.
I am both exhausted and energized…what a great feeling!
No comments:
Post a Comment