Course Reflection

This course has really made me re-evaluate my outlook on technology. When I first started this class I thought I knew all there was to know about Word, PowerPoint, email, and social networking. I had no idea that technology could offer me so much more. This course has taught me how to store my documents on Google Docs, improve my lessons by adding in technology, and creating useful resources that parents and students can utilize. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would ever learn how to create a website. I thought that only technology majors and extremely smart people did that, and now look at me. I CAN DO IT TOO!
I think that I have several both strong and weak points. My favorite assignments that I consider strong points were the “turnitin” and the “web tools” assignments. I have never had a problem with plagiarizing my papers. I was in the gifted program in elementary school and started writing research papers in the Fourth Grade. I have always been proud of my word and how I write my papers. I do not feel like I need to copy someone else’s work to get a better grade. I believe that the grade I get is the grade I deserve, because the work is that of my own. I really enjoyed working with the web tools such as creating the rubrics and tests. I like to get creative with my requirements on rubrics. I have had to write several lesson plans over the past three years, and not one rubric is the same. I also think that it is neat that you can create your own tests, save them, and go back to make changes in the future. Not all of my work is peachy keen. I am after all my own worst critic. My weaknesses include being a perfectionist and not being patient. I also had a really hard time with the “assistive technology” assignment. Designing our websites was probably the most vexing activity of all for me. I wanted everything to be bright and vibrant, because that’s what makes me feel like I accomplished a goal. I wanted my website to reflect my pride in my work as well as capture my personality. I am also not the most patient person in the world. I do not like having to wait a long time to see the finished product. I hated having to take my time in creating my digital story and electronic portfolio. I wanted to hurry and finish it up so that I could see it completed.
There are several things that I would do to work on my weaknesses. I could use extra training for adapting my lessons to meet the needs of all my students. In order to do that I would like to learn more about the accessibility options that are on my computer. I also need to learn patience when it comes to creating websites, and stop being such a perfectionist. I think that those are just problems that I need to work on with myself.
I cannot wait to integrate everything that I have learned in this class into my future classrooms. I will most likely always use Google Docs from now on. It has so much storage and I can go back and edit my work anytime I want. I will definitely create a classroom website so that parents can see what their children are learning through out the year. I want to be able to share pictures and videos of their child/children’s progress. If I were to ever work with older students, I would require them to complete the “Google Groups” assignment. I would be able to keep up with their ability to work in a group with their fellow peers. I think I would like to use the digital story to introduce myself to my students in the future. Since I wish to work with younger children, I feel that might be a little too difficult for them, but I will definitely post a video on my website to share with students and parents. Overall I got so much out of this class that I feel one page does not do my learning experience any justice.

Chapter 12 Reflecton...

Question(1) Reflect on ways to use the classroom website with students

Having a classroom website is probably the easiest form of communication between teachers, students, and parents. Teachers can inform parents and students of their classroom website. The students can see their progress and the activitites that they will be completing within the next few weeks. Parents can keep up with what their child is doing from week to week. The classroom website should also contain links to several other aproved sites that are apprpriate for the children. These sites can act as extra review for the lessons they are learning in class. They should be fun and intersting so that the child enjoys learning. As teachers it is our job to provide our students with a proper education. It is also our duty to make sure that all materials used are age appropriate for the grade level.

Chapter 11 Reflection...

Question(1) Reflect on ways to integrate multimedia tools into their classrooms

There are several ways that multimedia tools can be added to lessons and lectures. This was one of my favorite sections of this class. I feel that students might enjoy creating slideshows or digital stories. These tools can allow students to share a bit of information about themselves with their peers. Slideshows and digital stories can be made unique with sounds, audio, colors and various other options. The students can give their peers insight into their personality without being shy or embarrassed. I think that it would be nice to require your students to complete this activity. Slideshows make presenting information easier and more interesting.

Chapters 9-10 Reflection...

Questions(1)Reflect on ways to integrate databases/spreadsheets in their classrooms

Students can be required to collect and gather information about a certain subject. For example the students could collect the birthdays of their immediate family members. The information could be placed in databases and spreadsheets. The spreadsheet could be used to find the mean, median, and mode of birthdays in each money or year. Teachers could make their students gather information on different countries and then be asked to compare their data in shreadsheet. These tools can be used to store and organise information.

Chapter 8 Reflection...

Question (1) Reflect on ways to integrate digital diagrams into their classrooms.

I must say that once I got the hang of the concept map, I loved it. It is a very interesting way to organize and gather a lot of information. Teachers can use it to describe what units will be covered in class that semester or year. The diagrams can also be used to break down a lesson into different parts. The diagrams also have the outline page that it attached to it. The outline can serve as the notes page, the teacher can right out notes on specific parts of the lesson. I just think that it would be a nice way to organize lessons and units. Students could also be assigned a topic and use the diagram to break up the different parts of their research.

Chapter 6 Reflection...

Question (1) Reflect on ways to integrate word processing into your classroom

There are several different ways to add word processing in to lessons. I would have to say that I would require that all students get to learn word processing programs. Students will have to use programs like these for the rest of their lives. To introduce word processing to younger children, a trip to the computer lab may be needed. That way each student has their own computer and you can teach them how to use the programs. Younger students could practice their typing skills, while old students will need to learn how to use it to complete research papers. You could also assign them extra work outside of school if they are having trouble with the program.

Creating an Electronic Portfolio

I will admit that in class last Monday I was extremely frustrated when it came to this part. I seemed to fall behind and felt like I was missing so much information. Towards the end of the lesson I began just writing down every single step that Dr. Wang was explaining. I truly feel that that is the only reason I have been able to create this portfolio.

I think that electronic portfolios would be useful in creating an electronic folder of all the student's work through out the year. Personally I think it would be neat if every single student was given an electronic portfolio that followed them throughout their education career. It would be nice to see all of their required standards on file. I think that it would have been nice if I would have known about this application during high school. An electronic portfolio could be used to apply for scholarships or certain jobs. I will definitely plan on using this later in my career.