5.+Lessons+Learned

When I began this course, I was under the misapprehension that I knew most of what was going to be covered. While some of that is true, I found that I learned more than I thought possible. This course has given me the tools to enhance my classes. I currently teach a partial online class and with these new tools I will be able to create a more interactive online classroom.  In particular one tool that previously I shied away from was screencasting. The program that some of our faculty is using was very complicated. Not only is it difficult to navigate, it requires you to log-in and only three faculty members can be logged on at one time. I really do not like having to consult with others before I teach something. It takes away some of my spontaneity as a teacher. However, after playing with CamStudio today, I have seen the light. It was so easy to use and I was immediately thinking about ways I could use it for my students. Another tool that was discussed was SkyDrive. It is a free storage of 25GB of material. I was very excited about this. Part of my classes uses podcasts and I am constantly looking for places to store the recordings and if I add screencasting, my storage needs are going to expand.  Any time I am inspired to create new lesson plans, my students benefit. I believe that I received more benefit from this course than many others during my education. I will be taking this information back to my co-workers to share the knowledge.