Reflective+Journal+for+the+week+of+Nov.2

The first week of assignments for the on-line course for the ARRA Grant proved to be challenging. Everyhing is new to me; I'm very low on the scale of using 21st Century Technology. The first reality check came with taking the Teacher Needs Assessment survey. It seemed as though the questions would never end on asking if I was famililar with the many different "techie" tools of 21st Century Learning. By the end of the asseessment, I was feeling very "inept." And here I am with my new title for this grant - the Technology Coach!

After taking the survey, I began my online readings and watching the on-line videos regarding the 21st Century Learner and the cultural shift in how students learn. So I am "learning to change and changing to learn" while completing these assignments.

Although I currently have low to no exposure to many of the topics in this course - I am excited about the fact that I get to learn about the technology of the 21st Century Learning Environment and learning how students learn differently than I do. I'm not afraid to admit that I lean on my 8 year old grandson to operate the Wii and to switch the television mode back to its original settings. He seems to take to the DS system and Wii without any intimidation and quickly manuevers back and forth between tasks. He loves helping me; I just need him to "slow down" so I can "get it!"

I have never created a Google site so it was very intimidating at first. I am feeling more confident after finding that if I don't get in a hurry and if I follow the steps in the tutorial pages - I will eventually be successful with the assignments. The article on-line entitled, "Train Yourself: A Guide to Online Tutorials" contained numerous resources to access for more information such as //Nortel Learnit// that includes lesson plans, rubrics and prep times all just a "click" away because they are free to download! The lesson plans include the use of technology "with a purpose." Visit the Nortel site by visiting, [].

I can't wait to delve into the Wikispace and learn more about its uses. All of these tools are going to be exciting to share with the students in many creative ways.

Beginning the assignments for Week 2 seemed less stressful than week one when everything was brand new. Getting acclamated to Moodle and the demands of the course is helping to alleviate a lot of the initial stress.

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