A Change in Mind Set

From the early days on this course, I feel I have made a significant shift in my thinking around e-learning in my classroom. Initially, it all seemed very difficult and something that other people were good at. This course has made me appreciate that many e-learning tools are not difficult to use, you just need to spend some time becoming familiar with the programmes.

Now I can successfully navigated Moodle which seem like another world when I started. There was many times in which giving up seemed like the preferred option. I now feel completely comfortable with the Moodle set up and have really enjoyed the ability to work on my course material and assignment at a time that was most suitable for me. This has become one of the most beneficial aspects to many of the e-learning tools I have been reseaching, the ability to study at anytime and from anywhere. How wonderful for those students who have; missed the lesson or need extra time to absorb material.

In addition to this I have set up this blog. When I started, I was so anxious about every word I wrote, it took a long time to post anything. Now, I can set down and write as though I was having a conversation with a college.

I have also successfully used podcasting with my class. Each student has created a podcast of a journal book. This resource is now available to the rest of the school where teachers can use it in may ways. The students adored this experience. They practise the story until it was able to be read aloud with excellent expression, pace etc. This has had a positive effect on their reading, not only on their chosen podcast story but through their reading at school. In addition to this, the ICT skills have improved. Having had the opportunity to use Audacity where they were able to added special effects to their stories to add interest to the audience.