the thoughts of an avid reader

It really amazes me that I can learn about the Internet while using it. I don’t even know what some of the words are, and yet I have seen them all over various web pages. What the heck is an RSS Feed? I even tried to read the “FAQ” section and was still lost. This is exciting because I might (finally) be encouraged to regularly use my blog. If you notice, I have actually had it for quite a while.

Back to Classroom Learning 2.0 Thing #2. I really think I am a lifelong learner. It is something that has come naturally. I love to read and I am always craving explanations. Utilizing technology and other sources is normal. However, I do realize that I see many challenges as problems instead of learning experiences. I try to teach optimism to my students (see “Cultivating Optimism”) and still find it easy to complain through the problem. Do I get it done? Yes. But I am sure I could find something positive about the experience.

I set a goal for myself that is pretty broad. I really want to find practical applications of technology in my classroom. There have been several ideas I came up with, but obstacles prevented success. MySpace AND YouTube can be used for positive learning experiences. There are even a couple of WebQuests I would like to try, but they are blocked. I guess I have to learn how to create my own WebQuest in order to get it approved. Going though this process will give me (and everyone else participating) a way to come up with some good ideas to make technology something useful and accessible. I guess the first step is for me to keep practicing (blogs are a little confusing until you get the terminology down).