Final Reflection

I see the light at the end of the tunnel......the final reflection. It's been a journey of enlightenment and one that I've really enjoyed. The ability to work online at my own pace and in my own time has allowed me to manage family, school commitments and professional development. Module 6 was my favourite, packed with goodies such as Glogster and Bubbl.us. After learning how to use Glogster I set up a virtual classroom with stage 3 students to design posters for our visiting author during Book Week celebrations. Stage 3 students have been studying the genre of "mystery" in literature this term so we used Bubbl.us to create mind maps. These web tools have been embedded into the Library cooperative teaching/learning program.
Years ago we talked about information highways and libraries without walls.......now we have information at our fingertips - Internet, iphones and library collections accessible from any computer seven days a week. The challenge for teachers is to give students the tools to make sense of the large amounts of information available, to make decisions about their learning, to question and think about ways of solving problems. Digital reading devices have changed the way authors work and publish. In some cases Blogs are replacing author "meet and greet" sessions in bookshops. The web is used for information, downloading, communication and collaboration. We use mobile phones, (SMS) messaging, Face Book, Twitter and email as a way of keeping in touch and socialising. Exploring 3D virtual communities such as Second Life is my work in progress and I hope to learn more about avatars and Vokis. Students could create their own speaking characters and embed them into a Book Week/Library blog or wiki.
This may be the completion of the online course but for me it's just the beginning.....thanks Helen, Diane and the team for designing the course and monitoring the modules.

Module 10

With the end of year looming I'm looking towards 2010 and thinking about Book Week celebrations and the Stories on Screen competition........and how I can share ideas and review books. I can see the value in setting up a private wiki for research and book reviews. After reading comments on the discussion page about WetPaint I think I'll try Wikispaces. Bloom's Digital Taxonomy Map will be a useful tool to provide students with the skills required to learn in a digital world. It's really important to develop creative pathways for learners.