My
technology skills have improved over the course of this class. When I started
this class, I did not even know what a wiki really was beyond Wikipedia. I knew
what a blog and Podcast was but did not know how to create one. I now know how
to create a blog, wiki, and Podcast and some ways that I could incorporate them
into my teaching. Without this course, I probably would not have learned how to
create or use some of the web 2.0 tools. While I have not mastered the web 2.0
tools, I am learning and feel with more practice, I will be able to teach my
students how to create and utilize these tools.
I
now have a better understanding that our students are digital natives and need
to be able to use the language they are fluent in. Allowing students to use
technology is like allowing second language learners to use their native
language to access their prior knowledge. Students today spend a large amount
of their time plugged in whether it is social media, texting, or video games.
It is very important that students get the necessary 21st century skills to be
competitive in a global workplace. Students need to feel that what they are
learning is relevant to them in order for them to learn.
My classroom needs
to move away from being teacher lead to become more teacher facilitated. I have
changed a few things in my teaching and plan to make more changes in the fall
for the new school year. I hope as the amount of technology increases at the
school I teach, I can increase the access my students have to technology during
the school day. I can continue improving my knowledge of technology use by
keeping up with current trends. One way I can do this is by subscribing to
technology blogs. I can also continue to research new technology as it appears
and figure out ways to incorporate them into my classroom teaching. I also can
sign up for webinars or conferences that introduce new educational technology.
Two long term
goals that I have for myself are to increase student collaboration
opportunities and to incorporate web 2.0 tools. In the past, I have done a few
activities that require collaboration but only about one a quarter. I want to
try and plan at least one collaborative activity for each unit. An obstacle I
may face is myself. It is much easier to teach what I have always done. This
required that I change not only what I teach but how I teach it. I am going to
have to make sure that I spend time during the summer creating lessons that
allow more collaboration. I plan on using at least one of the web 2.0 tools
next school year. I think I am going to use the wiki children’s human body book
lesson that I created for this course. The obstacle I will face is the lack of
computer time. I am going to make sure that I sign up early in the year for the
computer lab for the time frame I will be teaching the unit.
After completing
this course, my answers to the technology checklist have changed. I still do
not offer enough opportunities for students to use technology to enhance their
learning. Next year, we will have two mobile computer labs so I plan to give
students many more opportunities to collaborate to enhance their learning and
create in depth projects. In the area of developing technology skills for the
school, I have become more involved in selecting technology for my school. I
have spoken to the principal at length about what lessons I would like to do
but cannot due to technology issues. I have also shared some of the skills I
have learned in this course with my coworkers. I have also talked with my
students about what I am learning in my class. I have also joined the
leadership team in order to help promote technology usage and purchase in my
school.
