Aha Moments

What were your "Aha!" moments this semester?

I think one of my aha moments this semester was the use of podcasting or vodcasting for teaching purposes.  Specifically for online, on-demand professional development opportunities.  This is a great way to give teachers help right when they need it as well as allow them to review the material as many times as they need.  Setting up a wiki or a chat to encourage the teachers to collaborate and discuss after having viewed the podcast is another great way to stimulate creativity as well as provide a sort of assessment/ accountability for putting the training into practice.

Try to tie together what you've learned and where you will go from here.

I am very much looking forward to putting to use several of the technologies we discussed this semester in the teacher training sessions I am responsible for developing.  One of the big complaints I have heard after professional development, (whether I was one of the teachers participating or the trainer leading the session) was that it was boring, lacking opportunities to interact.  I am going to try to eliminate that complaint from my future PD sessions!

Also, think back to the philosophy you developed at the start of the semester. In what ways has it guided you in the development of your projects? How will it continue to do so and how has it changed or remained the same?

My philosophy has changed somewhat from the beginning of the semester.  Mainly in the fact that as educators, not only do we have to be life-long learners in our field of expertise but also in technology.  In the world of the digital native, we have to maintain our fluency.  This means we MUST stay abreast of any new technology that is presented to our culture and immediately begin brainstorming about how it will affect our students as well as our teaching.