Over the past year and a half it has been a pleasure to get to meet and work with so many wonderful and talented individuals. I always looked forward to our course meetings I always came away with new ideas to help integrate technology and was consistently challenged to rethink how I viewed the use of tech in the classroom. It has been a way for me to gain valuable resources, meet new people, and have a great deal of fun while doing it.
As my knowledge grew, my passion for educational technology continued to grow and my building enthusiasm spread to others. Eventually I was asked to present to the parents about technology education and what the trends were. After the presentation I was also asked to give the presentation to the staff. Being given these opportunities was extremely rewarding and I hope to have many other opportunities to contribute to the life and growth of my school through presentations to other teachers and students.
Probably one of the most important lessons I learned was how to develop and cultivate my own personal learning network. There are many free sites that offer wonderful pieces of advice for integrating technology. However, I in turn must be willing put myself out there and share my success as well as my failures.
Finally, I want to say a sincere thank you to the Cohort 1 instructors and fellow participatants. Your passion and knowledge of educational technology and trends have pushed me to new heights and understanding. If this course was not offered, I would not have gotten the job I have now, I would not be working on developing my PLN, and more importantly I probably wouldn’t have a sweet clue about how to adapt my teaching style to meet the needs of students who never know a world without Google, iPods, iPhones. Thank you everyone for your guidance and support I’m sure all of Cohort 1 are grateful and I wish you all the best for Cohort 2.