Summer time thoughts

One of my goals for the summer of 2011 is to look back on my first year of truly trying to integrate technology into my classes. I know that a couple of months ago I posted a lengthy write-up about a presentation I did at Nipissing University http://anneshillolo.blogspot.com/ but that was more of an overview, a compendium of apps that I had introduced successfully, samples of student work and some feedback from the students. Ironically, their reflections, not mine! This summer I want to consider in more detail my initial goals in selecting apps and learning activities, making use of hardware and devices, and reflect on the benefits that we experienced. I also want to document more of what I did, to refer to or to share with others. So you may be wondering why I have not said I plan to look at the downside of this year-long exploration. Oh well, not going to happen. I can honestly say that something positive happened out of each project. At the same time, issues frequently arose, everything from wireless connectivity and network problems to student behavior. And this leads me to consider questions such as class-size lab versus stations in class, how to run a class with diverse devices with a range of capabilities, how to share personal devices (if at all), and how to raise levels of responsible use. And more…