After finishing all the projects for this class, I feel that I learned a lot. There were many programs I already knew how to use when working on our projects but, NVU and WS_FTP LE were new to me. Since I am pretty familiar with computers I was able to learn how to use these programs fairly quickly. I have a MySpace account where I am able to make my own page. Therefore, I was very familiar with the HTML tags. Even though I am familiar with these programs I still had a few problems at figuring things out. The main thing I could not figure out was how to make the title on my WebQuest centered. After I connected the two cells I was able to get the text to be centered. Since the two cells were the same color and I did not have any boarders on my cells, you could not tell that the cells were separate. This took me a little while to get it to work, but I found that by just going through and trying different things on NVU I figured it out.

    I think my favorite project was the Photostory one. I really enjoyed this one because I was able to use old pictures that have been in my family for a long time and put them all together with a song which I felt worked perfect with the pictures and the theme of my photostory. I wanted my photostory to capture what it was like or at least how it looked back in late 1800's and early 1900's. I think it’s really cool to be able to make a story using photos and being able to put a song behind it for the emotion. By being able to use and make a photostory, I will be able to make a lesson for my class based on pictures. I would be able to put my own voice behind the photos and explain what they are seeing in the pictures. 
 
    With a few of the projects, we worked in groups or partners. For me this was ok but it also was a bit frustrating. Working with a partner helps a lot when you are trying to come up with ideas for the project. You are able to bounce ideas off each other, which helps to make the project come together better and more quickly. But, when it comes to making the actual WebPages I think it’s much easier to do it alone. With the school project both persons WebPages had to be the same. Therefore, there was a lot of time spend on just getting each person’s pages the same and transferring the files from one person to the other. In addition, you have to work together to make the page how everyone in the group wants it. That can be frustrating also. That is why I enjoyed doing most of the projects alone and also being able to make our WebQuests design different then our partners.

    Overall, I think this was a good experience learning how to use the new programs. Even though I am able to learn how to use programs I have never used before it still takes me time to learn how to use them fully. I think the main trick in learning how to use new programs is to just explore. Open a page and just start clicking on things to see what happens. This is probably the main way I became so familiar with computers. You can't learn how to use something if you’re not willing to explore and take risks. If you mess up on something, it’s pretty easy to start over. I usually start by exploring and playing with the different features on a program using a piece of work that I don’t really care about. Therefore, if something goes wrong it’s not a big deal. I think using technology in the classroom is very beneficial because it’s an easy way to keep communication flowing in this busy world today.