Final Thoughts

Hopefully this class helped you Discover Your Digital Self. We all know there is more learning ahead, but we are life-long learners and that means the journey never ends.  Whether this was the beginning of your journey or  a continuation, I would like to congratulate each and every one of you for your accomplishments and hard work! Please take a moment to take the Exit Survey posted in the sidebar of this blog.

You were exposed to many useful Web 2.0 tools and you got a chance to "play" with them. Play is very important and it is a great way to learn to use the computer as a tool. Playing helps develop the problem-solving skills you need to be successful. Recommended problem-solving strategies include talking it out, using help sections available, or searching for directions/tutorials/videos on the web. After all, it's probably out there.

It's summertime and undoubtedly you will be using the web for personal purposes. This includes travel plans, online shopping, researching, and communicating. Since plenty of practice is the best way to learn to use these new tools, please consider using them. Why not have a little fun and also get more comfortable with them at the same time? Here are some ideas...

BagTheWeb:

Create a bag of possible hotels for an upcoming trip. This will probably spark more ideas, such as restaurants to visit, things to purchase for your trip... Play with this tool!

VoiceThread:

Create a fun summer voicethread. One page is just fine. Share it with friends, family members, coworkers OR the people in this class. Find out where people are traveling OR upload a photo and ask everyone to comment on it. Nothing fancy, just play!

Blogger:

Create a personal blog. Use it as your own online journal and make it private. Practice publishing links in the sidebar. Create a blog about a hobby like gardening. Take pictures of your garden, include links to gardening tips. The possibilities are endless, just play!

Glogster for Education:

You can create an online poster about anything in the whole wide world. Create a simple glog about something that interests you. Create a glog to keep track of your family members and include photos, videos, GoogleDocs. Or, how about a travel glog. The door is open, just play!

Google Docs:

Keep using them to increase your efficiency. Consider getting a personal Gmail account and using it. A great way to use a Google Form is to collect information for a roster for a sports team. What about using it to organize a potluck? You will think of ways to use it to truly help, as long as you just play!

Finally, I would like to share a video with you which was taped one year after this teacher began his journey into 21st century learning. Mr. Kannan's words are powerful and you might notice his mention of never using computers with students prior to his journey. I hope you will benefit from sharing his enthusiasm.

This video was shared with the School Board and I have been given verbal and written permission to share it with the world.

21st Century Learning in the MS Social Studies Classroom, Ashley Kannan