Final Thoughts

As this technology course is ending, I think back to when it started and how far I feel I have come in my creativity and ability to conquer challenges with any of the forms of technology we have used. From a more in depth view of Power Point to creating a complete online lesson with a WebQuest, I am proud of the assignments I have completed from taking this course. It is difficult to pinpoint one assignment that I enjoyed the most out of all of them, but I would have to say that creating my WebQuest was my favorite. Not only did it give me a chance to create a lesson, but I was also impressed with my creativity as well as ability to put together a website that could enhance a student's ability to understand a concept that I had taught them. I also enjoyed working with the site provider, weebly.com, which was easy to follow and allowed for me to put together my WebQuest in a very organized manner. I also enjoyed creating a Wki as one my assignments for this course. I enjoyed this because we were able to research other emergent technologies that could be useful for the classroom.

Although it was challenging, I truly enjoyed learning how to use different forms of technology during this past semester. I surprised myself with my abilities in creativity and in figuring out how to use tools. Even something that I have used for years, Microsoft PowerPoint, posed a challenge in different ways for me. I hope that I will be able to successfully implement these various forms of technology within my classroom someday.

Blog Post #3

As the semester has progressed and we have continued to utilize different forms of technology, I have found myself very interested in many of the assignments we have been given. We were given an assignment to go more in depth with the PowerPoint program for Microsoft.Going into this assignment, I really thought that I could have a good handle on creating the project because I have been using PowerPoint since I was in junior high school. However, the assignment entailed more than just the average PowerPoint project being created. I had no idea what non-linear links were in PowerPoint before that assignment. I also learned that you must be careful in using the different mediums on PowerPoint. For some reason, my sound did not work when my project was opened in a newer version of the program. I also had some issues with my linking that I did not realize until after my project was submitted. I think that working with PowerPoint in this new way will really help me to use the program as a resource within my classroom.

Another project that we just recently started was the introduction to the Wiki. We were to create a Wiki about emergent technologies that can use within the classroom. We were then to write reviews on the technology and have our classmates comment on them. I think that the Wiki is a great thing for students to use, but also for teachers to use a way to communicate with parents and with their students. I am actually thinking about using this for a parent communication project for another class. The below link is to my Wiki that I created!
Emergent Technologies Wiki

Post #2

As we head into the seventh week of class, we have expanded our uses of different technologies for educational purposes. I think what I am more drawn to with this technology class is what turns most teachers off to technology: figuring it out. I get excited each week to be presented with a challenge of a different program or forum to try to figure out and make something useful out of it. Since my last post we have worked with two other resources. The first one was the production of a graphic organizer using the program Inspiration. Using this program, I was able to make a graphic organizer of the Writing Process, which is a key part of my teaching Language Arts. I really enjoyed exploring the different graphics and charts that were available to me through this program in order to create this visual for my students to use when they are in my classroom. I also think it would be a great tool for students to use for collaborative or individual projects as well.  Below is the image of the graphic organizer that I created using this program.

The other resource that we used was Spreadsheets through Google Documents. With the spreadsheet, we created an online grade book for three different classes. I was very interested in this project because this is a type of technology that I deal with every day for work. I use spreadsheets in excel as well as in IBM SPSS Statistic programs to generate different percentages for data that is collected in the research projects that I am involved in. I found this particular resource not challenging to figure out, however I did become frustrated because of technical difficulties. By this I mean timing out issues due to the program being on the internet rather than based out of my actual computer. I really enjoyed plugging in the formulas and designing the layout of the spreadsheet. It was probably helpful to have some background knowledge in this particular field.

Blog Post #1

As a twenty three year old, I am on the line between those who are considered technology natives and those who are considered technology immigrants. I remember a time when technology was not an aid of choice for my teachers nor was it a tool that I used as a social network. However, I have become accustomed to our technologically geared society and have adapted to the changes in the rapid use of the internet. Going into this class, I was not nervous about conquering the different tools that we would be using in order to build my knowledge on how to use technology effectively in the classroom. The first project that we did involved Web 2.0 technology, which allowed me to create a Web Portal to introduce myself as an educator. Creating this Web Portal was not a challenge because of the information and tools that were offered in order to complete the assignment. When thinking about how I would use this particular technology in my classroom, I thought that this would be a great tool to provide my students with information about assignments, grades, and even myself. This would also be a great tool to help keep in contact with parents as well.

 The other assignment that we completed was a Glogster, or an interactive poster. Choosing to use the topic of the Bill of Rights, specific to 8^th grade Citizenship, I created my interactive poster using different mediums and visuals from the internet. I was very proud of the end result of my Glogster. When looking back at my experiences as a middle schooler, I would have found using tools such as the Glogster exciting and fun. Being able to actually interact with the information that is presented on the poster allows for students to connect much better to the material that is being presented. Also, in creating interactive posters, students will become more engaged with the material that they are presenting in their posters.

In taking this technology class, I believe that it will be very beneficial for me as an educator. I have read countless articles focusing on the issue that although technology is encouraged within the classroom, many teachers are not comfortable enough with technology to actually use it as a tool in their lessons. Although I have much experience and feel confident in conquering technology, I believe that after taking this class, I will gain much more exposure and knowledge in different tools that I never knew existed before.