Day 3, challenges and lessons learned

After three days of flying through some incredibly creative and innovative web tools, I see how much potential and responsibility we have as educators to select and harness the power that they can offer.  Much like a carpenter building a home, we must select the tools that best suit the job at hand.  Which implies that having a clearly defined objective should inform our decisions on which tool to use when.  The difference with technology tools is that the choices are vast and the environment much more fluid.  While there are many different approaches to take and many of our technology options appear relatively similar (and indeed many are), the educator's role still requires that choices be made judiciously to ensure safety and maximize the effectiveness of the learning experience. The process of selection and moreover even the methodology of making these selections requires practice and experience.  As educators we should not only be leading students to appropriate tools but instilling in them the skills necessary to differentiate and carefully select them.  In this way we can help them create the tool set necessary to build their foundation for learning and for responsibly leveraging their participation online both in the classroom and out.