Reaction to Richardson Text

As I read Chapter 1 in the text "Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms" I learned more about the history of the internet and how technology is and can be better used in the educational setting.

The part that really spoke to me was the section subtitled "Learners as Teachers" that begins on page 8. Richardson emphasizes the need for teachers to first experiment personally with technology before they try and implement it in the classroom. I feel that this is sound advice. Richardson shares that he experienced "transformation" through personal experimentation with various forms of technology.

I look forward to experiencing transformational learning myself in this course as I engage in creating media and using technology forms (such as this blog) that I have never used before. I personally learn best when I can experience things for myself. In this course I hope to gain a better understanding of how technology works, what mediums are most suitable to application in my educational work setting, and maybe overcome initial obstacles that I encounter. I am sure that there is a learning curve in using most of these programs and technology forms and this first time through will be beneficial for future applications.

Also, in this "Learners as Teachers" section Richardson states that educators might benefit from first exploring technology tools as they apply to our personal interests. Richardson asks educators to determine what we are passionate about and explore learning this way (p. 9) I have begun to do this by adding RSS feeds that don't apply directly to teaching, but rather to my personal interests. This combination of information on my Feedly account keeps me updated and interested in everything that I have to know and want to know.

Reference: Richardson, W. (2010) Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin