Is it really the end?

Wow... it's been 3 years and 3 cohorts and it's over.  It somehow doesn't seem like it should end so abruptly.  I just got done re-reading my blog posts and we sure covered a lot.  It was almost like meeting an old friend and catching up. I must remember to do that more often.

One thing that jumped out at me is how fact technology has caught up.  fur.ly a few years ago was the place to go if you wanted your URL shortened.  However, now it's automatic for those of us who tweet or share YouTube videos.  That's just an obvious thing that jumped out at me.  I wonder how many other things have become standard and we don't even realize it?  Technology is advancing crazy fast... I just hope that train doesn't derail because I can't hunt.

Another thing that has really taken off are the QRC codes.  Three years ago when I started this program, you'd see them from time to time, but didn't know what you would do with them...really.  Now with the proliferation of smart phones, everyone is using them.

I have never been good at these final blog entry type things.  I am not a wordy person (on paper), but if you've had me in class you know I definitely contribute.  I said this earlier on in my coursework, but it bears repeating here, I think I got more out of this class than a traditional student.  To me, it almost doesn't make sense to do this sort of classwork sitting in a classroom.  I got so much more out of using the tools like google calendar, Skype, Ning, G+, etc. to set up online meetings and get stuff done.  We had to do it.  There was no choice to meet in person so there were times when we were trying to use a new tool (G+) and were were on Skype talking through all of the technical issues.  Experiences like these were priceless.

I also enjoyed looking back over some of my projects.  I especially liked the Pecha-Kucha project. I like the idea of story telling for a limited time and using pictures. I can see all kinds of really great uses for this.

Probably the best part of the whole course was sharing website, tips and tools with each other.  That was something I have always done both professionally and privately. But mostly it was me doing the sharing because I am the tech savvy one trying new things. So it was great to have stuff shared with me. Some I've gone on to use, other items have been bookmarked or saved for future use.  I have been able to some of these tools with my current position as an online teacher, but hope to return to a classroom as a teacher or a technology consultant so that I may really use what I have learned.

I would like to toast (with coffee) all the the cohort members in all three cohorts I was a part of and all of the instructors.  It was a great experience and I look forward to using this as I move forward!