FINAL POST!!!!!!

Well this is it! Throughout this program I have come a long ways. Not only do I feel more comfortable with technologies (which was my goal), but I feel as though I have gained many valuable tools and experiences along the way. I can take what I have learned back to my students and fellow staff and be a real leader for technology in my school.

What I have learned in this program has changed my professional and personal life. Now I can put to use these magical web 2.0 tools for many things in my daily life. Ning, Jing, doodle, moodle, Google, Wiki, and animoto, just a few of my favorites! I have learned to create presentations and documents online, and can share and collaborate via web based tools, communicate by blog, micro blog, forums, chat, and Skype. I can do things and find things on the web that I never dreamed even two years ago!

I want to thank everyone involved in this process. To my classmates thank you for your patience, kindness, and sharing. We did this together it has been a long road, but a good one. To our instructors Louis, John, Jim, Greg and so on, thank you, you have been truly and inspiration, guiding light, and a wealth of knowledge and experience. I know that without all of you I could not have done this.

Finally, I want to really go over the top and share my feelings. As I write this final blog, I feel a sense of relief. This was more work than I thought it would be but it has paid off. I feel successful, because I know that I have completed this program, done my best, and learned more than I anticipated. I am proud for many reasons. Proud that I have a Masters degree, proud to have pushed myself and learned so much. Proud to be able to share my new knowledge. Lastly, I am excited. I am excited to be done with all of this, excited to start a new school year, to share all of my new tools, tips, and tricks with students and staff, and I am excited for what is next. To continue to learn, to be able to look back at this experience and say "this was only the beginning".

599 wk 2

This week I draw even closer to the end! It is really great to look over my site and review all of my work and how far I have come! As I finish up my course work, I have posting new tools for my classroom to the 599 site. I have already posted screen casts that I plan to use in the classroom and I am beginning to post lessons for usage of the Ning and Badgerlink. These tools will be used right away in the fall with my first group of classes. I am looking forward to using these new tools and sharing them with students and other staff.

599 wk 1

Starting this last class really feels good. It has taken a lot of work to get this far, even more than I anticipated, but I have learned a lot along the way. During this class I get the opportunity to show what I have learned and I look forward to that. I have begun making the transition between my old Ning that I created and a new Wiki that is still free to use. I am preparing to add the use of the Wiki and an online automotive reference to my classroom in the fall. I experimented with the Ning last year and when I used it things seemed to work. As I work through this last class, it seems fitting to really be focused on how I am going to incorporated all of this newly acquired knowledge into my classroom!

565 wk 6

Well, I have read a lot of articles on change the last two days. I have never thought of change as a process before, I just always assumed that change happened. When I think about real changes that occur, they do take time and there is always a few steps involved, so once I started thinking in this way it made a lot of sense to me. The best theme I read about was an organizations capacity for change. This means that with all the daily work, day to day happenings, and so on, does your organization have room on its plate for change without effecting the normal everyday functions. If your employees are overwhelmed as it is, they probably cannot handle change and will be resistant to it. If things are going smoothly, maybe change is a possibility. If not, the work load will have to be lightened in order to make room for change. This line of thinking makes a lot of sense to me as an employee. If I do not feel overwhelmed, I will be more open to trying something new, if my head is spinning, I'm going to tell you to take your new idea and "shove it" because I don't have room in my head to even think about it. Capacity for change..........when that is considered, the change process will be easier for all parties involved!

565 wk 5

I have begun reading articles on change and it has proven to be quite an in depth topic. I am slowly learning that if you really want to have real change you cannot do it on your own. I have always been and independent operator, but if I needed help I could always talk people into it. Real change requires more communication than that. I have also started to interview some of my classmates on the change game, it sounds like I really missed a great experience. Kara told me that the most important thing she learned is communication. Talking to one group of people, going to talk to another group, and then going back to check on the first group. In other words VERY thorough communication. I look forward to learning more about this topic.

565 wk 4

Wow! Its nice to be back, but it is busy. I have been married for one month (which is great) but I have only been home for a few days and I have lots to do. Getting back into the swing of things is tough, but I have enjoyed exploring these leadership topics this week. I know that I can always improve my leadership skills, especially when it comes to leading in technology. I also enjoyed going throught the analysis of change worksheet because it helped me see the process of change and that it does not come right away. It was nice to think through this process, instead of just winging it like I usually do!

565 WK 3

This week I have semi enjoyed the videos I watched during the course work. Some where a bit repetitive, but I feel as though there are some good points. I especially like the discussion about mellinals and how they relate to older (sorry veteran) teachers. This has been a really big thing in my young career because I came in 3 years ago with a bunch of energy, ideas, and a world beater attitude. Not that any of that is bad and not that any of it has worn off, but there was some adjustment from my ideas to the real world. I have made a lot of changes to my program since I started teaching and a lot of these changes are new tricks that are technology based. I have always known how to value experience and take the advice of those who have been there. There WAS a teacher that started the same time as me that wanted to change everything in her area and did not listen to anyone. She was too smart and too stubborn, and now she is looking for a job. I apprecieate the help and guidance of other teachers and my administration and I mix that with my own feelings and ideas and hopefully when the day is done I continue to grow and make changes, learn, and get better at this job.