Thing 23: The End or the Beginning?

How has your thinking changed between Thing 1 and Thing 23? Has this program changed how you view the Internet or how view teaching in the digital world? What plans have you made for using these tools in and out of the classroom? How will you continue to learn about Web 2.0 tools? What are your big "take aways" from this experience?
First of all, I have shared this final you tube video with 8th graders last year and I still get goosebumps watching it. I believe that non-linear text and the Internet have radically changed how we communicate with others. This course has enhanced my knowledge about the Internet. As another blogger stated, this is just the beginning. I can't wait to delve into more 2.0 tools that I've encountered along the way. I plan to continue posting about these new "things," such as http://www.43things.com/, http://www.mediaconverter.org/, and http://www.quarkbase.com/.

Aside from the educational aspects, these tools are powerful for family connections. My own family is scattered across the continents. I envision a family wiki to share recipes, reunion planning, photos, and more.

I've already changed the way I teach since beginning this course. I'm co-teaching with a 6th grade ELA teacher on a personal narrative project that we have transformed into a digital storytelling project. I believe that it is not enough to ask students to write and be graded by teachers. Students learn that by using digital tools, their experiences may be shared with a broader audience. Students are using flickr creative commons photos for their projects. At first I was hesitant that they would find inappropriate images, but they have been great about staying within their boundaries of the assignment. We plan to post some of their final projects online.

One way that I will continue learning is to stay current. On my blog, I've added a list of blogs for 23thing concepts, so that I stay up-to-date with these sites. While I am also using bloglines, it is handy to have these related-blogs on my own 23 things blog. I've shared my blog address with other staff members and look forward to sharing at staff meetings. I'm looking forward to building networks on flickr and delicious. After years of reading blogs, it's great to participate instead of lurking. The most important aspect about these tools has been the social networking features. I have searched for other media specialists on blogger and am beginning to stay in touch by becoming a follower on their blogs. I'm learning to tag my work.

As a technology problem-solver at work, it has been a pleasure to learn about technology that actually works well and is practical. Ultimately, I hope to create my own version of 23things for a student unit.