Today I uploaded the final grades for the students in my University at Buffalo course, Using Internet Tools in the Second Language classroom. The feedback from the students was very positive and that is quite encouraging. However, I always feel a need to update the course each semester because online tools for teaching are proliferating exponentially and I want to give the students the best course possible.
This week I read a lot of Facebook for Dummies and tried to update my own account. However, I don't see that this networking site is a particularly useful one for teaching and learning. It is helpful for me to keep abreast of online events that I might be interested in, but there is just an overload of information in general on the wall. I have to see if I really want to keep this account open or if the Ning site Classroom 2.0 might not be a better one to keep tuned into.
Although I now have a little time to explore various new tools and modifications to older tools, I find that my biggest concern is cutting down the influx of information to a manageable size. That way, I can continue using only the most useful tools and continue checking them on a regular basis. As it is now, as soon as classes start, I get overwhelmed.
