Technology Journey Part II
If I had to sum up what this class meant up for me in one sentence, it would be: “technology is neither good, nor bad; it is what you do with it that matters.” As much as I am technologically literate, I also tend to be slightly techno-phobic and I worry that technology has many drawbacks. Through this class I was able to see that not only does technology have a place in the classroom, it can also haves a positive effect on the attention level and retention of information by students. At the beginning of this class, I thought I would be bored because of my previous experience with technology; however, I found that I learned a tremendous amount about how to apply technology in an educational setting, and now, at the conclusion of the class, I often find my mind swimming with new ideas on how I will use technology in my future classroom. Through the readings I was able to see that some of the assets of technology are that it adds interaction to a class, aids communication with parents, and can add a constructivist element to curriculum.
The most important issues raised by these readings were that technology needs to be used appropriately, creatively, and in context that supports state standards, while also ensuring that students are prepared to be technologically literate for the 21st century. My favorite readings were the readings regarding project based learning, which helped me get an idea about how computers, portfolios and group projects could be used together in a class;, the article about one computer classrooms, which helped me see how to integrate technology on a class-wide basis and make wise use of limited resources; and student’s multimedia projects because it showed real world examples of how technology enhances and influences education while impacting how the students relate to what is being taught and connecting to the larger word around them.
My favorite projects have been the newsletter project because it forced me to think of news ways to do things than I was used to;, the digital video project, because I had never worked with digital videos before; and the web portfolio exercise (My Portfolio) because I think it will really be useful later in my degree program asnd because I learned a new way to do something that I had done before by creating a blog for a website rather than using FrontPage. The most challenging projects for me were the projects that were completed in groups. I discovered that one the hallmarks of my use of technology has been that I used it and learned it on my own, so I had to learn new ways to apply the use of technology in a cooperative learning situation. I plan on integrating many of the elements I learned about having one computer into my future classroom. While I think that computers are useful for drill and practice, assessment and enrichment, through this class I came to believe that the most important things I can do with a computer in my class areis: use it with my class a whole to explore current events, watch discovery videos, use the Iinternet to research students’ questions, and use simulation software such as Tom Snyder Software. The second way I will integrate technology into my future classroom will be to create a classroom web site to enhance my communication with students and parents. I have seen how hard it is for parents to stay up withon what is going on in a class, and it can also be hard for parents to contactget a hold of teachers if they have a question about their children.
I am planning on having a classroom e-mail that students, parents and I can use to communicate outside the classroom, as well as having a webpage that has helpful links, homework help and assignments for students. Third, I know that it will become increasingly important tohat use technology to accommodate a wide range of learning styles and disabilities, so that I reach all of my students equally and effectively. I can safely say that this class has been beneficial to me because it modeled effective teaching strategies, useful technologies, and most importantly, how to integrate technology into my classroom to help create a supportive, collaborative classroom environment.
