Week 1 Reflection: Ecstatic

When you know that you do not know, and that you have to know and do what you must know, how do you think it feels? And when you start knowing what you need to know and doing it. You simply feel ecstatic.

It was an overwhelming week. I live a life of "Thanksliving", so please allow me to let go of an overflowing gratitude. I am indebted to the generosity of the Philippine US Embassy people for my nomination in the E-Teachers scholarship and to the UO-AEI lovely people for my acceptance in the program. For our first teacher in the Webskills course, Dr. Donna Shaw for her conscientiousness and dedication to guide us, direct us, and help us through this first week of our three-month course. Webskills course is indeed well thought about, carefully designed and professionally handled by experts in the field. Thank you very much!

Admittedly, I am new to nicenet, blogspot, wiki, delicious and all the other links given to us. I have used webs.com where I tried creating my website in 2008, facebook where i communicate with my circle of friends and where I also communicate with my students, yahoo mail, yahoo messenger and skype up to this time. What our teacher shared with us, truly enriched me personally and professionally.

Webskills course does not only make us think openly, profoundly, and collaboratively. It offers a variety of interactive activities and it set more worlds for you to see as a professional and as a human being. Yes, we are just facing a laptop while safely nestled in a comfortable place, but we are not "boxed" we are actually outside of the box and on top of that box seeing the world as it is while communicating and interacting with our fellow professionals and other human beings.

What we have is a combination of technology and human interaction. Thanks to Steve Jobs, he is right when he said, " Technology is nothing, what is important is that you have faith in people, that they are basically good and smart, and if you give them tools, they'll do wonderful things with them." Certainly we are, our mentors, and we as participants as well, and our students and colleagues eventually.

A former teacher said that life is not a problem to be solved but a mystery to be discovered. I thought that she might have thought of it from the words of Soren Keirkegaard, " Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced." 

In retrospect, being in the E-teacher course is an absolutely interesting and exciting life that awaits all of us participants, and a reality that will open up new horizons. Thank you for my being in this journey. I welcome everyone involved in the E-teacher course in my life as a professional and as a human being. I am sending all of you gratitude and goodwill.