Thing 11.5: Evaluation

1. My favorite discoveries were screencasting, slideshare, and virtual gaming. I was surprised at how simple screencasting and slideshares are to create and I can definitely apply them right away in the classroom. Second life was an eye opener. I loved the Genome place and am looking forward to see further developments in this field. I have used virtual lab software before, but SL takes it to a new level. I hope that SL will eventually have the same level of detail of virtual lab software.

2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
This program has allowed me to learn new technology tools and to reflect on which tools are relevant to my classroom and how I might be able to integrate these technologies into teacher directed activities and student directed activities. For example, students can share presentations with each other using slideshare. Or, they might use screencasting to solve a genetics problem and present it to the class or share with others.

3. Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
I really started to brainstorm about potential classroom activities when I learned how easy it is to use slidesharing and screencasting. I spend a lot of time on SL in the genomics room because I really wanted to figure out if I could integrate it into a lesson. I'm going to discuss it with my team and see what they think. I'm sure they will be blown away. Overall, once I make the initial time investment of figuring out a new technology, all of the possibilities emerge.

4. What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
You may want to include an estimated time to complete each task :) It was an interesting course. I learned some great new tech tools!! I am definitely more literate now than I was before the course. Thanks for all you do!