Now that I am at the end of the 11 Tools, I have learned that Symbaloo, a digital bookmarking site, is one of my best resources. Having all my bookmarks in one central location for my professional and personal work helps me to be as efficient as I can be at school and at home. In addition, as I plan for the January 3 staff development with a team at school, I am using Survey Monkey to create a survey that will help me tailor the training to my teachers at school and Google Docs to facilitate communication among all the members of my team.
My vision for education remains relatively the same in that students need to be highly engaged in order for learning to take place. The 21st century tools help change student roles in the classroom because with the plethora of online instruction, students can be a contributor in developing a path for learning. The teacher no longer needs to be the only holder of the knowledge, she or he can facilitate the students' learning by guiding them to learn how to learn.
At the end of my introduction to web tools through the 11Tools PD, I have discovered that web literacy and digital citizenship are crucial skills to teach students in order to operate in online society. Moreover, the tools that are available to students to learn, create, and communicate are easier to use than ever. When our school finally receives our new technology deployment, I know that our teaching transformation can truly begin.
You are so "spot on" that the tools have never been easier - and so diverse! There is a tool for just about anything! It will be interesting to see how we can tackle teaching these 21st century skills on campuses!
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