At the start of this course I felt excitement, eagerness and anticipation.  I looked forward to learning about and utilizing technology more effectively.  From the start I viewed the course as an opportunity to improve my knowledge and teaching techniques as well as an opportunity to increase student achievement.  As I progressed, the newness waned and the excitement turned to apprehension, frustration and stress.  What have I gotten myself into? As I examine the source of my frustration I find that it often comes not from my lack of understanding or inability to accomplish assignments, but I have been frustrated, stressed and almost overwhelmed by the massive volume of information and also by the amount of time spent troubleshooting and fine tuning.  I found it almost overwhelming to access the WebBoard or my e-mail accounts and find hundreds of messages waiting.  Also, although I know that internet information is finite, it seems endless.  Researching the net always takes more time than I planned.  I usually set a time limit for myself so I end my research sessions knowing that the amount of information I have accessed is sufficient but not sure if I have accessed the highest quality and most credible sources.  There always seems to be more information available on any given topic than I am to process. However, I am appeased and somewhat comforted knowing that I am perhaps preparing the way for others to follow.

Skills: At the start of this course I considered my level of expertise to be fairly sophisticated.  I was  proficient at Word Processing, Spreadsheet software and various Algebra & Geometry software.  More importantly, I have always felt comfortable enough to tinker with most technology hardware and software.  This semester I  have utilized various technology, communication and multimedia skills increasing my computer savvy and comfort level.  I am pleased with what I am I learning and especially that I am working on how I can use what I'm learning.  Right now I see myself as the 'Technology Solutions Consultant' (in training) for my classroom.  At some point I expect to provide this service to my school and perhaps my district.  I will be presenting a session on setting up Web Pages at my school's next Technology Inservice in January.  I suppose that if I missed anyone in the mass e-mailing of my JePortfolio they will have the opportunity to look at it.  I will also be presenting some of the Algebra I software to the math teachers in my building.  Sometimes it's hard to believe that my technology skill level is considered high.  I hope to use my skills to facilitate technology use in more classrooms and in the future I want to use/learn the digital technology, TI's CBL or CBR and Geometers Sketchpad.

Communication/Multimedia: I utilized several communication and multimedia tools for this course including the Windows 95 operating system, Adobe Acrobat Reader which is a program used for viewing PDF files and Lview Pro, a graphic viewer.  I also used Netscape 4.6 for composing web pages and browsing the net along with America Online.  I have accessed RealPlayer, Quicktime and Shockwave for accessing internet audio and video.  I used WS_FTP to send files on the internet. I had every intention of trying out different programs, but I found that once I familiarized myself with one program, the tendency was to stick with it and fine tune.  The WebBoard, CTERBase and e-mail were used primarily for communicating with CTER faculty and students.  I still need to figure out a way to organize my incoming mail.  I set up several folders for incoming mail at my primary address at work, but my hotmail account which I have access to at home receives mail forwarded from my primary account, WebBoard/ListMangager and spam mail.  I am considering abandoning my Hotmail account to make my life easier.  Issues of accessibility are very real to me.

Legalities, Special Needs, and Issues:  The issues I am most concerned about include accessibility for students as well as myself, credibility, usability and usefulness of technology and information.  I especially want to work on getting my students involved however, not just technology for technology's sake but to give the opportunities to integrate mathematical models with real world applications and technology.  The issue of limited hardware is also an issue that I will explore.

Evaluation: To fully integrate technology based math lessons I need to assess the compatibility of the math models with the technology tools available to me.  I need to address what can be done to work with less than perfect math models and what technology can be best utilized.  This project will also be evaluated by the quality of student products, student feedback surveys, and formal and informal teacher surveys.  At this point I am operating in the 'cathedral' ("The Cathedral and the Bazaar" by Eric Raymond) mode.  Since my  plan is to expand these math lessons I may need to consider the 'bazaar' approach.