Dean is one of my many mentors that have modeled these major learnings. I have learned how to use social web tools to connect and collaborate with strangers and new friends around the world; access knowledge and information I never knew existed; share resources, thoughts and opinions; discuss pedagogy, book reviews, teaching practices; build a personal learning environment; feel confident playing with new media creation; and think about my future classroom in a way that is more social, more active, more engaging, more empowering and more meaningful. I have learned to be a better learner.

With all of this said, here is Dean’s podcast recording from the class.

Podcast42…student voices

Not only was Dean’s class influential, but I am fortunate to live in the same town as Dean. This has lead to extended personal learning through a number of invitations to sidekick him on classroom adventures to observe and work with students in Prairie South Schools and to sit in on training sessions he offers to his teachers. Together we had a post-conference run down and reflection on ride home from the TLt Summit in Saskatoon last spring. He just is there when I have a tech/ed related question. Because of all of what he means to my own learning, and all leadership he offers so many educators, I was more than happy to sit in and visit his class for the evening.

Following class I explored David Jakes site on storytelling. His PhotoStory 3 Screencasts are very good for learning how to get started with this particular program. From there, I viewed his screencasts on flickrstorm that have been posted to teachertube. I definitely foresee myself useing this program with my students because it saves time by directing the searching of images. Students can use it, or teachers can prepare photo sets for student use.