The Semester has come to a close!

With the last day of the semester for BITE 5389 arriving, I want to take a minute to reflect on everything that has happened.  I have not only learned how to use numerous new Web 2.0 technologieses but I also have learned how to utilize them in the educational field.  Programs such a Delicious.com to organize my personal bookmarks and Viddler.com to record videos have been amongst my favorites.

Also this semester, I have enjoyed working with on a collaborative team.  I have learned the difference between cooperation and collaboration when working in a group and the pros and cons of utilizing them.  The final project also refined my researching skills and abilities and gave me the opportunity to watch my teammates "in action" so that I could grow and learn from their researching techniques and abilities as well. 

I really enjoyed this semester and look forward to continuing to use Web 2.0 technologies in my personal and professional endeavors.

Andrew Lynch

Putting It All Together

As the last week of class winds down, there is many things about this semester that come to mind.   New technologies, growth in skills in Second Life, growth in knowledge about collaborative groups(especially in the virtual sense), and application of this knowledge to my workplace and life.  I have read chapters, articles, and dissertations.  I have watched videos, listened to pod casts, and created virtual objects.  Through all of these activities and reading, the one thing that has hit home is technologies continued expansion and vital role it continues to be in our society. In the distant (maybe near) future, will people solely exist in virtual worlds, such as perceived in the movies Minority Report and Inception?  Will people become so dependent on technology in the future that they loose perception of reality?  Only time will tell.  As of now, technology is a useful and ever expanding wonder that will continue to grow in its involvement and inclusion in our lives.  Hopefully, technologies growth will mainly go down the path of helpfulness instead of ignorance and hindrance.  '

Andrew