Honesty IS the BEST POLICY!

I am here with the double edged sword... I am so excited on one hand to say I have now successfully completed my Web 2.0 summer course, but I am also so sad to see it go.... I admit that I started off fabulously keeping up and even getting ahead at times, and when July came the needs of my time began to spread thin knowing the end of summer was just around the corner, and with two other weeks dedicated to trainings.... I got way behind. I am glad to have caught up and as usual not that I am a one of those who waits till last minute on everything, but when I do, I still come out like roses! I am finished before the 13th when I for sure thought it wouldn't work itself out with it being the first week and all! I think that the course was very beneficial and wish that more of our teachers here at the Rock would have taken advantage of it.

I think that this is a great way to get updated and have information that is helpful. I admit this course would probably benefit high school and middle school teachers more, but if we  are pushing our students to be so prepared for the middle school, it is great for them to get some practice now working with things like this. I am definitely "Kicking it up a Notch" this year just in the pure number of things I am doing that are new to me, not just the number of new things I am doing that I just learned and am still working the kinks out of. I think this course offered very relevant challenges and it was good for me to use my mind in these new ways and opened me up to more opportunities I can offer my students outside of class! I am excited to start getting their outside of class work! I am also enjoying the opportunity that the Internet gives us to communicate with families... I feel the paperless society will never be, but we are now communicating instantly without interruption, which many elementary teacher can tell you is not the usual practice. I do admit there were a few things I would have loved to have learned more about and there are others that felt a little less usable in the elementary classroom. I would be so excited to see a second version of the class that perhaps covered more in depth some of the things that could be used more regularly in the classroom, and perhaps even was more involved between the people working on the class. In college I had to each week respond to a post, it could have bee nan article or a book, or simply some small bits of info. dealing with the topics covered during the week, I responded to the post and then had to respond to another students post as well.  The great part of this with a course like web 2.0 is that you could get lots of questions, challenges, and even some interest in something you might not have even thought of yourself. Not to mention that even though it is a web class, you feel like you somehow bond with the others who are learning the same things you are. I loved it and look forward to using the stuff that is applicable and again would not hesitate to sign up if there was a continuation course!  Kathy thanks for all your hard work in putting this together and leading us through this journey.  Best of all... thanks for doing your job so well! If there was ever a media specialist that works as hard at their job as you ,I'd be surprised!