Well, I've made it.  As challenging as it was, it was still enjoyable and so informative. 

I will definitely be looking to advance the technology in my home and once I am in a classroom as well.

I am a good portion done with my project, though I continue to stumble onto roadblock after roadblock, I will persevere. 

You know, aside from being a "technological immigrant" being a "teaching language learner" poses it's own challenges.  I am (was, as I have obviously researched) unfamiliar with the terms, techniques, methods and standards from a practical standpoint...I could go on and on. Though I am by no means proficient after my crash course, I have gotten the gist. My goal is to one day become fluent in educatorese, however, currently I am happy to be able to decode the tasks I should be performing. 

Despite these challenges, I continue to learn and grow in both areas and am happy with the direction I am headed in.

Today is a new day, as is every day.  I am further along than I was previous, but not as far as I should be I imagine.  Although I am feeling good about the technology portions, I still struggle as it does not come naturally.  I must continue to learn about and apply technology in my coming year in the MAT program and beyond. 

I was very interested in the Smart Pen demonstration, especially in a note taking application.  Sometimes one becomes so immersed in making sure they are writing down all the important points, that active listening goes by the wayside.  Being able to write a quick reminder note and then focus on what the speaker is actually saying, with the ability to go back and review many times, is great.

Oh good, it's still before midnight so this can count for Tuesday.

As challenging as learning a plethora of technological tools has been, I can honestly say I am becoming more comfortable with not only utilizing them, but thinking about ways to incorporate them into instruction, as well as thinking about keeping current with newer technology so the learning process is not as foreign in the future. 

I have to admit, up to now, although I have not been against advancement in technology tools, I definitely was no embracing it.  Now, I don't know if embracing is the right term, but I am definitely no longer inclined to ignore it.

It is absolutely possible that technology is much simpler than I am making it out to be, however, in between learning the nuances of each new to me technology, I am having to research about lesson plans, best practices and some other aspects of teaching that are not yet part of my previous knowledge.  It is taking me a crazy amount of time to finish the simplest tasks, but I am learning along the way, to be sure. 

On a more positive note, I am impressed with the resources available to bring educators along into utilizing the Universal Design for Learning.  I like knowing the science behind it as well.  It  really does make sense.  In following the design, it is unlikely that one wouldn't increase their ability to reach more students on varying levels. 

It has been at least 16 years since I have thought about new technology in an integral way.  My daily life involves e-mailing, texting and the occasional presentation via Power Point.

Learning about the new technological advances made in the past 2 decades is a bit overwhelming at this point.  Gaining familiarity with new technological concepts and thinking about how they can be inserted into classroom learning will be an adventure.

To this point we have explored numerous ways to communicate, organize and store information, within a group or solo, via online tools including Wiki, Edmodo, Lino, Diigo, online surveys and blogging.  All are fairly simple to navigate once one is familiar with the nuances of each (which I am still working on).