For two of my classes, this week marks the end of the ICT course. The other two classes have two more weeks to go as they are in another programme.

If you ask me, I think they should all move at a slower pace so that they have time to let things simmer or sink in. We rush-rush-rush in Singapore. To use something near and dear to the hearts of Singaporeans, the way we do things is like fast food: Quick, but not good in the long run.

But I digress. As usual, the end-of-semester feeling is bittersweet. I normally heave a sigh of relief because facilitating the course is a lot of work. But it is work that I enjoy, so I miss it. I will even miss the unending RSS and email updates that I get from the group blogs and our course wiki.

This semester, however, is more bitter than sweet because I have been asked to teach an inter-semester course (it straddles the vacation break in December). Due to the shortage of folks who can teach EdPsych 2 (EP2) and the larger trainee teacher intake, I have to put on another hat next week. That’s right, one course ends and another begins!

The worst part for me is that since I am taking next semester’s load this year, I won’t be required to teach my favourite ICT course next semester. To add to the bitter taste, I will not be able to follow up with the trainees under my care during practicum.

But I’d rather look at the opportunities rather than the obstacles. I plan on integrating other Web 2.0 tools in EP2. As schools here will adopt Google Apps by the end of the year, I plan on integrating the online suite as much as I can with all five of my classes. I might also set up an online feedback/response system to encourage the wallflowers to bloom.

Video source

In the meantime, I can look back at the educational gaming sessions (opens up a VoiceThread) and their walkabout presentations (hosted on YouTube and more to come) at the MxL. Ah, the good times!