Reflection

I can't believe I have actually finished the course. It's been a massive learning curve for me. I have really only used the computer in class as a glorified whiteboard until the arrival of an Activboard a few years ago. Even then I tended to make some cool flipcharts, but did not utilise the tools available to me to really enhance the learning of the children in the class.

The course has opened my eyes to the number of possibilities and options available - it's up to me to make it happen! The way I learn best is by doing, over and over again until I fully understand. I have definitely found this to be the case throughout all ten modules. I need to constantly go back over the links to remind myself how to do things. The only way to learn is to do! This will be how I approach the introduction of various tools in the classroom. Luckily, children are much braver than I am. As digital natives, they only need to be steered in the right direction and off they go! I'm sure I'll learn a lot from them. I just need to help them open that door and let them go.

The implications are enormous. As outlined in the iLe@rn paper, children need to more involved in their own learning. They need to develop the skills to be critical thinkers, and combined with Bloom's Taxonomy, Web 2.0 tools are designed to do just this.

Apart from learning new skills, I have also learnt a whole new language! I laughed as Jackie, Sharon and I sat down to complete the last few modules and said things like, "Do you think you can add a blog to your Ning?" Sentences that would only have been incomprehensible a few years back.

I posted comments at http://jackiesweb2.blogspot.com  Module 5 and at http://shangrila-sharon.blogspot.com Module 2.

The challenges lie ahead, but as Confucius said, "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

Here comes my first step .......