Discussions

    In our discussion group it seemed that the participants got alot out of the course. They seemed to appreciate being made to take the time to explore these new teaching tools, and some expressed their initial trepedation and subsequent excitement over the new tools discovered. Another common theme of our discussion was the value of blogging. Some of us had  tried it before, and we all seem to have a better appreciation of this tool, and how valuable it can be in a class.
    Personally, I was reminded that differentiation can, and realized it should  be done, for the brighter students as well as students who learn more slowly. This helps me with rethinking my approach to engaging those bright students who don't like to do homework. In this discussion of ours, I once again realized how our professor is modeling an approach to learning that is very effective and meaningful. He has done this by forcing us to express ourselves and ponder each others ideas and comments. We are teaching ourselves, by our discussions and by digging out the content that best suits our styles of teaching. We are constantly processing what we learn and evaluate the pros and cons of different tools, and, as in our discussion, we get helpful tips from each other. I got the sense from our discussion, that this course will have a lasting affect on all of our teaching, not only in using different web tools, but also in how we approach learning.