Reflections Week 8

This course has helped me to develop new technology skills including using blogs and wikis in my classroom. My students have always enjoyed responding to my classroom blog. They love sharing their opinions while discussing and debating with their classmates. Because of this class, I am now thinking of new ways to incorporate blogs into my classroom discussions. I am also looking forward to incorporating Wikis into one of our collaborative projects. My students enjoy working in cooperative groups. I think the Wiki format will be interesting and engaging for my students.

I have deepened my knowledge of the teaching profession through the required reading for this course. I have a much better understanding of the students that I teach and how to communicate with them. Even though I am comfortable using technology, I did not grow up immersed in it. My students are programmed differently than I am. Realizing this allows me the opportunity to bridge the gap with my students and create new and exciting activities that will keep them focused and engaged.

I have always believed that a classroom should be learner-centered as opposed to teacher-centered. This class has helped to reinforce my beliefs. In my opinion, teachers should be facilitators in the classroom and support and guide students as they learn.

Throughout this degree program I hope to learn new skills that will help me to continue to grow as an educator. I also intend to continue with the technology trainings provided by our district. The knowledge that I gain will help me to create activities that my students will enjoy and benefit from. Student achievement will hopefully increase as a result of my efforts.

One goal that I have is to find an effective way to communicate and build relationships with my students. Our school has access to Gaggle. My students are familiar with this, but I am not. I would love use this tool to break down the communication barrier between teachers and students. To do this, I plan to attend trainings provided by our district.

Another goal that I have is to continue creating engaging projects that involve technology and integrate curriculum. The language arts teacher and I are currently trying to integrate our curriculum and design projects that bring history and language arts together. Over the summer, the language arts teacher and I intend to plan units of study that link language arts and history in meaningful ways.

Technology Podcast

Here is the link to my technology blog that I created for Application 5.



http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/teachers/jlong/projects/2501/?b=15