The presentation by Carl on Excel was very useful, including the handout and practice.  I don't use this program much, but it is good for me to have knowledge of it so that I can show students how to makes graphs and charts for course projects.  I did not know how to use the adding and subtracting tip that Dave gave us. I am writing all of this down.  The demo on wiki sites was great, I had seen these sites posted  but now I will be more inclined to actually access since I have had more exposure.  It all seemed so easy. Creating and navigating sites really increases my confidence.  I think it like anything else, fear of the unkown.  Once you try it is not to be feared. I think we have discovered the tech secret,  it is easier than we thought and we were giving them all that power.

As we are discussing about teaching and learning styles, as I keep saying fear based ,out of our comfort zone.  We don't want to fail and need to have a back up or support for ourselves more than for the students.  Safety net, as I am preparing for my presentation, there is the same trepidation.  I am comfortable in front of people but need to make sure I have the info. in a logical manner which is my best learning style.  I think it is definely best to give a variety of approaches and  mix things up a little.  Because we are being graded we think it has to have a step by step process. We have been taught that method also, heaven forbid we mix it up. The first few days I found it was hard to keep up because it was, post that to there, just send this to there.  I can multi task but guess because the topic was new felt I had to absorb it all.  As I stated last night in response to Kim's blog it is class, we are here to learn not be an expert in a day.  In my experience everything is self-esteem based.  When I heard Dave was the instructor, he works in the same building as me and I knew this was not my best subject, at first I thought, great he is going to think I am a big loser.  Well hello get over it!  Life is all about learning.  When there is nothing left to learn, we are dead.

Everything I have learned so far is going to help increase my efficiency and comfort with technology at work.  I work at UPEI with the ACE Program, which is a four year post-secondary program for students with intellectual disabilities.  I will use some of the tools with the students, such as excel, wordle, Flickr and posters.  I will make better use of moodle for presentations and training sessions.  I am always looking for fun activities to incorporate to engage learners.  I will also be more comfortable and seek out new programs and not be as intimidated to try them.   I may use a wiki to communicate and collaborate with others in the special ed. field on the Island, or the world.   I spend some time doing research on other programs similiar to mine and a wiki or discussion forum would help cut down on my time.

On a personal note, I will use alot this fun stuff for home and a blog or wiki for friends and relatives.

As I left class today, I decided to have no particular format for my presentation and wing it.