I wish I could say taking a class in 21st century skills has been fun, but it honestly has been a lot of work. But I have to admit, I would not have taken the time to sort through a variety of web tools on my own, and to teach that to yourself takes a lot of time, especially when no one is around to ask questions, and help...well..."help" is notoriously bad via web; most sites have computer techies writing the help and they are writing it for other techies I think!
One of the biggest challenges to taking a class is in time management, and for any one who teaches English it is a crunch, no matter when during the school year. My next class will definitely be during the summer or through CEUs because this has been an incredible challenge to fit in with student essays and research papers (grading them is gruelling enough without the added stress of my homework to do!). Not only are there papers--mountains and mountains of papers--to grade, there have been other things to deal with: the mock accident for SADD and t prom stuff, and after prom to take care of, and of course, babysitting for grandchildren, and taking time for a funeral, and illnesses, and and and....oh, and did I mention parent teacher conferences? yah...that too. So time...my enemy...never my friend (((sigh))).
I suppose I could always learn to manage my time better, but then who or what would I cut out? Not take the time to smell the fresh spring spice bush that blooms only briefly once a year? Ignore my grandchildren when they want me to take them out for icecream? (Some day they will be grown up...and I will wish I had eaten more ice cream with them!) Maybe ignore my dog when she wants to go for a walk? How could I ever look into those lovely, patient brown eyes again? So though it takes me time to think, time to plan, time to create (such as it is), time to figure things out and to sort through the technology, I feel I've managed my time as best as I was able. And now...for that...I will pay pay pay because I can hear more papers squealing in my backpack, and my lawn growing into a jungle!
If I have proven more adept at any one skill of late due to my dilligent use of the computer, I would have to say I can now create links on almost anything that allows it. I can also see that a lot of people lose money to many people because they are getting paid squat for some excellent ideas. I wish more people could make more money for what they have posted that has helped out others, but...there are some wonderful people out there who have helped me and have no idea they have done so except for the comments I keep leaving like Easter eggs all over their web lawns!
Overall, continuing education continues; I'll always resent HAVING to take the class, but after it is done, I'm always glad I've taken it and feel more enlightened for it : ) I don't think that is spoken like a true teacher, is it? Ah well.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh the big C word

It seems that change is a recurring theme in the world today. In almost every aspect of life there is a desire for change. The presidential election was won on Obama touting a change in government. Because of the economy and desire to make a buck at someone else's expense, there have been changes in business structures, from those in power to those at the bottom, and also in the way those businesses produce. All we have to do is look at the car companies to see that traditional structure has outlived its usefulness, and now is the time for companies to redefine their goals, values, and output. That appears to be what governments need to do as well. Families, and what have been traditionally considered to be families, have changed. More and more children come from broken homes, indeed, that has become the norm. More children are coming from families that have situations that would have been wholly unacceptable not so many years ago (and are still struggling in some areas) whether that acceptance is in step-brothers and sisters, racially mixed parentage, or same-gender parenting. Yet the one area where we apparently are lacking in change is in the public school system.

This view of education is from both perspectives; inside and outside. Ideas about education and what should happen in education were readily apparent last night at the high school parent teacher conference. Interesting input. And overall? I believe that most parents believe that public schools are not much different than they were when most of them were kids twenty years before. And frankly, even though from a teacher's perspective it is a bit different, public schools have hardly changed at all and the parents are right....to a point. And that is what I see if I step outside myself and look in. Yet from the inside, it seems like goals, values, ideals, all that encompasses education keeps changing, and has been changing, yet nothing seems to last long, and nothing seems to dig too deeply beneath the surface. It is almost like plexiglass...it can take all kinds of scratching yet to break through and make a real hole it takes an awful lot, or a different way through. If we were going to really change the public education system, as the media is wont to dictate when they continually offer negative reviews of the public school systems, as we need to do to incorporate new technology to keep our students current, then we need to reassess what we want, we need to rethink, we need to refresh, renew, and replan, and we need the financial means to ensure change will take place. Where that is going to come from I have no idea. We can bail out Wall Street, we can try to help the car companies...but education? Good, positive change that will break through the plexiglass? What can we do about that?