Thing #23

1. Favorites: creating my avatar, mashups - using BigHugeLabs, making my trading card and comicstripgenerator, and embedding TeacherTube videoes for my classroom.

2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals? I feel like I have a "start" on several ideas (life with the Ning, Rollyo, and my wiki and pbwiki spaces) - it will be interesting to see what comes of these items and how I will be able to build on them. The Google Reader, the Google Notebook, and delicious are practically going to be daily uses for me during the school year.
3. Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you? Of course! Where do I begin? Some of this I answered with Question 2. A lot surprised me and at times overwhelmed me because there is SO MUCH information out there it is incredible. It feels a little discouraging because I feel so far behind this wave of technology, I wonder if I will ever "get there." I have had a blog for a long time, but did not know how to use it for much more than posting pictures and paragraphs. Now I can do a lot more and I have connected with other math teachers that have already given me great ideas for my classroom!
4. What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept? I am not sure - some of the things were very user-friendly, while others were like 10 things lumped into one thing. Maybe they could be spaced out. At times, I had 6 or more internet tabs going, and I would get all mixed and forget what I was doing in the first place. Also, I was surprised at how long it took me to complete each thing (not every single one of them, but the majority), I GREATLY underestimated my time! I would have appreciated a longer time to complete things (maybe another week or so). All in all, there probably is not much to improve on unless things could somehow be a little more simplified.
5. If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate? Probably - although I am not sure I fully grasped everything on this one, and will be building and continuing to learn what I have just gone through here. I would certainly look into it though, because this was fun!
6. How would you describe your learning experience in ONE WORD or in ONE SENTENCE, so we could use your words to promote 23 Things learning activities? It was fun connecting with other teachers out there, getting feedback and ideas from them!