Final Reflection

I have learned a lot of new skills through this course. I had never created or particpated in a blog or a wiki and I had never created a podcast. All of these technology applications have taught me a great deal about how to present information to students and have exemplified the importance of collarboration. My knowledge of the teaching and learning process has deepened in being required to actually create the wiki, blog and podcast as my students would have to do. I have always found it effective that when I design a new activity to try and do it as if I were one of my students. I really learned a lot through this class due to the hands on nature of the activities and that translates into a deeper understanding of the teaching and learning processes.

All of the classes I teach involve a great amount of computer and software applications, so I feel that my perspective has been learner-centered since I lecture little and have the students creating projects daily. I do feel more empowered by the notion that it is acceptable for teachers to also learn along with their students. In the past, I have felt pressure to be the expert on all things in my classroom. The exposure to new materials through this class has helped me to believe that I can still be in control while allowing more self-discovery and peer teaching throughout the classroom.

I believe that in completing my master's program in Integrating Technology in the Classroom, I will continue to gain knowledge of ways to use technology for student achievement. The saying, "Knowledge is power" is a cliche', but with technology use, it is very important to continue to learn and then use that knowledge to improve instruction. Two goals that I have for my classroom are to become paperless and to be able to post student videos on the web through a classroom blog. The barriers I will face are the blocking of websites and the fear factor for allowing access to students from those on the world wide web. I will continue to push for more access through my teacher tech resource specialist and my media specialist. I plan to try and model acceptable practices for students' safety and netiquette lessons to prepare my students for safe use of web applications in the classroom.

The answers on the week one checklist have changed for me. The area for "participating in developing a vision for technology integration" was marked sometimes, but now I have a much better idea of what that vision should consist of and what students truly need to know to use technology effectively. I can particpate better now since taking this class as I am armed with the knowledge necessary to be an involved participant in this conversation.

Podcasting - wow!

Below is the link to my very first podcast. I found this to be a time consuming assignment, but really engaging and fun. The content of the podcast is academic and follows the assignment requirements for my master's class, but the process is one that I think students would enjoy. I am considering making podcasting an assignment for my communication arts class as it would be a great project to do while teaching the lesson on interview skills. With a podcast, the emphasis is on audio, so the students would not get bogged down with setting up shots and editing the video; they could focus completely on asking creative, open-ended questions and learn how to edit audio only using Audacity.

Click on this link to go to my podcast:

http://mrsbcommarts.podomatic.com

Those of you who are not in my master's class may not understand the vocabulary used ("digital natives" - kids who are born into the world of technology and do not know a time when computers and all of the tech tools did not exist - - - "digital immigrant"-adults and those of us who have had to learn technology as it came out - those who learned to type on typewriters, like me!!)