The first thing that I now have a whole new perspective on is the overall size of the internet. Now it’s been said by many that the internet is a huge, endless black hole of information. Though I always knew that to be true, I was still only aware of a very small part of it. In my day to day routine I would check in to a few regular sites to get email, news information, watch a few videos, etc., etc., and every so often I would try out a new link that a friend sent me or a site that someone suggested I might find interesting. The internet in my world was still fairly small. Though I was aware of its vastness and the capabilities of finding information there, I was never a person who would spend hours and hours simply following links and digging for information to see where I ended up (I leave that up to my dad and brother and trust they’ll pass along the really good stuff!).
What I’ve found through taking courses in the OLTD program is that my understanding of what the internet has to offer has greatly increased – to put it succinctly, my horizons have been broadened. I have now been required to follow those links, explore the tendrils of information and search for more related data in order to develop a deeper understanding of our topics and coursework. In doing so I’ve caught a glimpse of just how large the internet really is. Metaphorically speaking, whereas before I may have only stayed in my hometown and once in a while taken a day trip to Vancouver, I’ve now been introduced to the world of international travel!
Truth be told, I still have only experienced a very small part of what the internet has to offer, but as my studies continue, I am being exposed to new and exciting things and beginning to branch off by saying, “well if I can find information on x….perhaps I could search out information on y as well!” I guess that I knew that it was all there before, I just never really had a reason to go and find it all.
Which leads to my second realization that I have come to through my coursework which is just how much I don’t know – which I find both fantastic and exhilarating. School is always an opportunity for great growth and exploration, but this time around going back to school has made me realize just how in the dark I have been. I’ve always known about the potential of using technology in the classroom and understood the wealth of information available to me in using the internet as a resource (again, I’ve been using a small part of it in my teaching for years), but what was unknown to me was the vast amount of educational resources available, largely for free. The vast number of teacher bloggers who are sharing their resources and experiences in the classroom every day. The far reaching extent of copyright/copyleft/creative commons issues that affect our everyday practice. The endless number of programs that can be used, again for free, on the internet to assist us in creating engaging, exciting and creative presentations or, alternately, to allow us to learn from each other in engaging and exciting ways.
Indeed, my horizons are being broadened every day and I am continuing to be challenged and to challenge myself. And I’m finding it all to be very exciting…if not a teensy bit exhausting!