Technology Autobiography- Part Two

I had known that technology had changed. As I said in my first Technology Autobiography:"Throughout the 1990's I watched computers processing power double at what seemed to be a six month clip. It felt like I spent half my time updating my computer system."
That being said, I still had no idea of the power and uses for the computer or the power of the Internet.
Normally, I would use the basic programs: ie Microsoft Word, Office, Excel, Google, etc... however, this class has opened the power up to a whole new level. I have done things such as Podcasting, and Digital Stories, things I had heard of but had no idea how to do. And to make things better, how simple they were to do.
When I look back at how much information was obtained in such a short period of time (we have only met as a class seven times as of this writing and one relatively short 130 page book) , it is hard to believe how much was learned and how many different options are available. Plus, as was mentioned several times, all the technology we used in class was free. By no means would I consider myself an expert in any of the applications that we learned, but, I can do them. I am sure with additional time to "play around" with the particular tools, I could become and expert, and if all else fails, ask my kids.
As I break down the class into its parts:
We started with search engines. I knew of Google. In a short span my knowledge of available search engines expanded tenfold.
Flickr, my wife uses Shutterfly. I have never done either. Now, I can do both.
Digital Stories. I had seen them on line, had no idea how to create such a thing. Once again, I am not an expert, but I could do one. And with most things, the more times you do it, the better you get at it.
Podcasting. Once again, heard of it, had no idea how to do it. Well, I do know.
Wikis. Was fascinated by the concept. Nervious at the content. Then after looking into it more, I can see why the information is deemed reliable. As a matter of fact, for the final, I created a demostration Wiki as part of my lesson plan: http://historicalwiki.wikispaces.com

I have learned so much in such a short time frame. Best of all, I can see how all of these new technologies (or at least new to me) can be used in the classroom. I can see value in all of these items. These tools can make the education process easier and give us a greater variety of sources to draw from as we put together plans to educate our students.