The TECS 390 Instructional Technology class has, by far, been my absolute favorite ever.  There was so much packed in here that I had never even heard of before, and now I not only know about these tools, but have some practice with them. 

a.  One WOW! Moment was learning about social bookmarking and del.ici.ous.  Putting this up front was great, because I have used it throughout the semester, and have a large collection of (somewhat) organized bookmarks now that I can go back to and explore more when I have time.  I love that I can now get to my bookmarks from anywhere.

b.  Second:  I love Google tools.  Google Earth, Google Sky, Notebook & Reader are all great.  There is so much I can get done now more effectively since I learned these tools were there.  I now have RSS subscriptions to several educational podcasts, my kids are fascinated playing around with Google Earth maps & Google Sky, and Notebook, like del.ici.ous, has transformed my ability to not be tied to one computer.

c.  Third:  eZedia software, & Figbert’s adventure.  What fun this was.  I never had any idea I could put up a website so easy.  Also, this was the final straw that won me over to Mac’s.  As a diehard PC person till now, taking Cyndi Danner-Kuhn’s classes has been pulling on me to learn about Mac’s, and this software was a clincher.  It is just one of many examples of things that are designed to work with the multimedia capabilities of a Mac, and it is so much easier than on a PC.  In my stubborn fashion, I started with eZedia on my PC, but soon switched to the iMac, both for Figbert and for the later website project, as everything was just very easy.  Great software, great textbook, great fun.

d.  Fourth:  LetterPop is awesome.  There are so many potential uses of this newsletter-type project.  It is wonderful for teachers to make newsletters, fliers & handouts, but is also great for just anything else you might be involved in.  I have used it now for 4H handouts, church newsletter, and Christmas mailings.  What a great example of a free but invaluable resource.

 e.  Fifth:  The K-12 Conference was great.  I never would have known about this but for this class.  Even if I would have known of it, I would not have participated, because I did not realize how much content there was that would be useful to me.  There are so many great tools here that I never hard of before that can be used by even someone like me, with little experience.  And the professional networking available here is the absolute best.  Having all this material perpetually available to refer back to in the future is great.

2,  What tools will you use in the future or keep using and why?

As mentioned, I will definitely use LetterPop and the Google notebook and reader tools.  I also have developed a habit of using del.ici.ous regularly.  I hope to spend a lot more time playing around with eZedia and getting better at it, to hopefully use it for making a website for my husband’s business.  I know I will us it at the point where I have a classroom of my own.  Also, when I have a class of students, I would like to use Voice Thread, Google Earth & Sky, and blogging with them wherever possible.

3. What tool do you think you will use in personally outside your classroom and why?

See above, #2.  I use del.ici.ous and Google Notebook, and LetterPop, for other things that I am involved in, since I am not a regular classroom teacher and may not be for a while.

4. What was your favorite Podcast presenter and why?

I love Kevin Honeycutt.  His viewpoints on various things are very unique, and I love his analogies and the way he ties real life to education and technology.  I really identify with and agree with much of what he says.

5.Take time and view your classmates websites, what three are your favorites and why? URL’s are posted in Moodle.

Among my favorites from my classmates’ websites are:                                                             1.  Denise Siemens, http://www.salinefb.org/denise/index.html.  Her background as an artist is obvious, and she has made a very professional looking website.  She totally achieved her purpose of making a striking impression on any future employer.  The art themes, black backgrounds, and gold accent make a very dramatic and refined site.

2.  Meagan Ethridge, http://www.metheridge.info/portfolio.html.  I love the homepage quotations . . . it’s a great introduction.  She also has added a great deal of extra information and tabs.  There are some technical glitches, like titles too long for their buttons, but all that is easily enough worked out, and I appreciate all the content.

3.  Marci Edgington.  http://www.marciedgington.info/.  I love the “home-made” country craft sort of theme Marci used for her site.   Her photo gallery is nicely done, and her “Artifacts” page has links not only to our projects from the semester but to the actual tools and resources we used – well done.

 6. Now that you have a website of your very own, reflect about your own website and what will you change, what do you like about it & what do you dislike. Please post the URL address at the end of your reflection.

I will be changing my backgrounds and adding more color and graphics to make it more visually appealing.  I want to put up a photo gallery . . . I just have the tab and have it “under construction” for now.  I like that I have been able to customize it to be about me and my activities, since I am not a regular classroom teacher (yet), as the template was designed for.  I dislike that I have simply not had the time (or taken the time) yet to really customize it and learn how to add more widgets, graphics and such.  Such as it is, my site is located at:  www.bettyjmick.info.