Final: Reflective Post

I will begin this blog by thanking Professor Coleman.  Thank you Professor Coleman.  My experiences in EME2040 were great because I felt listened to and guided throughout the whole course.  I thought I was pretty familiar with most technology but soon learned that there is so many more tools out there that can be used to enhance technology even further.  I learned about and got a chance to use many great new programs such as ToonDoo, Prezi, FlipQuiz, StoryBird, Kahoot, and Wordle.  I learned how to properly hyperlink in Blogger, embed images, embed videos, add creative commons, but most importantly how to give credits to those who created a website, image or video that I am using on my own creation.  Here is an article describing a couple of educational technology tools.

I enjoyed reading the chapters in the textbook which was very informational.  Because this was an online class the textbook helped a great deal when I was confused about something.  I loved having to create a blog in which I would write about what I had learned after reading the chapter or further research certain topics that I found interesting.

Photo credits to Bryan Alexander from Flickr

I have taken many classes online because of my personal schedule and it is hard to get to meet other people this way.  Discussions are my favorite part of any online class.  This activity gives everyone enrolled a chance to read other responses and get a little insight of who everyone is.  I am glad we are required to respond to at least two other classmates because you can discover new ways of doing things, see things from another point of view, or even just get a chance to read a funny little story, to then find myself reading way more than just two posts.

Promoting success for all students was the most eye opening discussion for me.  To be honest, I hardly ever remember to think about the hardships in the classroom.  I used to always picture a perfect classroom and now see it more in perspective that this can only be if the teacher is dedicated to adjust to each student's needs.  There will be students who will need more help than others and as a teacher, I must be there, along with making sure that the other students are not neglected.

Although I have to say my favorite assignment of this particular course was the "Instructional Strategy Wiki", for the most part my experience was great.  There was some confusion here or then but I believe this helped everyone because in a classroom it will not be perfect and we must make arrangements to meet deadlines.  I believe another collaborative activity added to the course will be awesome because it gives more real life situations to learn from.  Everyone has his or her own life and sometimes this causes problems, having practice with unanticipated issues builds character and builds problem solving skills.  Here is a video of the benefits of collaborative learning.

Resources

Corrigan, P. (2014). The benefits of collaborative learning. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRtQUKSdxrM

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O'Loughlin, Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

Digital Blog Post #L

Chapter 12 is about integrating technology and creating change as teacher leaders.  As I further my education, I hope to find better ways to incorporate technology throughout the school years and not just for 30 minutes one day a week.  As I began this course I realized that I was a person who followed the pattern of inclusion.  I depended on technology for about only 30 minutes a day for a particular assignment and moved on, of course this still works but does not necessarily involve technology as effectively as it could be.  I have grown and hope to continue to grow to efficiently infuse technology into the school year.  An ongoing lesson plan throughout the year as the two mentioned in the book are a part of my future goal as a teacher.  It will excite students and get them into the habit of using technology to achieve success.  Today's jobs all revolve around using some sort of electronic or technology and children must be prepared properly for the world they will be entering.

Photo credit to Duke Ellington DNG 343 from Flickr

Every job in current society requires the use of computers and/or more advanced technology.  Teaching children how to use computers, which can be thought as the foundation of technology, can create successful students who are technology savvy.  As mentioned in the chapter, significant technology use contributes to other positive learning developments such as being more confident, aware, self starter, communicate more effectively, and share knowledge spontaneously.  Here is an amazing video on how much the world is changing everyday because of technology and as educators must do our best to attempt to prepare students.

Hendry county is where I hope and am planning to teach in the future.  Hendry county is a lower income county in which public education sometimes suffers in lack of supplies.  Although, I did learn that recently many classrooms have been able to receive laptops for each student to assist in learning.  When students have access to computers in the classroom, it helps the teacher to be able to create more exciting lessons in which students can access the internet for research projects, assessments, and classwork.  The laptops are not the most up to date, newest, or best quality computer but get the job done.  Teachers must make sure laptops are taken care of, its software is updated often and are used appropriately.  I found a really great blog on how it has been found that one-to-one laptop computing in the classroom has great benefits.


Resources

Herold, Benjamin. One-To-One Laptop Initiatives Boosts Student Scores, Research Find. (11 May 2016). Retrieved from http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/DigitalEducation/2016/05/one-to-one_laptop_test_scores.html

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O'Loughlin, Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Pkhz. Education and The Future of Technology. (2009). Retreived on 13 April 2017 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPO_HGafBsE

Digital Blog Post #K

Chapter 6 is titled "Fostering Online Learning with Educational Websites and Apps", and includes information about how we can use the web to assist us in teaching.  We have all been instructed to create a WebQuest this week.  I had never heard of a WebQuest and found it quite interesting, fun, and an easy way to create sort of lesson plan.  It really helps that WebQuest's are broken up into pieces to be filled in by the teacher and guides the students thoroughly to complete the lesson.  I found  this very informational website which helps break down what a WebQuest is and how it helps in the classroom.

One of my favorite subject when I was in grade school was social studies.  When it was time to learn about past times, wars, battles, victories, etc, I was ecstatic.  I plan to involve fun activities to this part of the school day with one being a field trip to a nearby exhibit or place that is full of interesting facts from our history.  History is endless and there are countless places to see and visit, unfortunately it is impossible to visit some of the most fascinating places on earth.  I plan to take a day out of the year and plan a virtual field trip for my students.  I know I will enjoy creating an unforgettable experience for my students in which we can visit a historic place together and learn.

Photo credits to Iqbal Osman from Flickr

At the rate technology is taking over, I will definitely be using educational websites as teaching resources in my future.  I will have to learn by experience and tips from other teachers on which websites to trust and use for successful teaching.  Lesson plan websites (from what I have heard) can be day saving resources.  Teachers come together to create lesson plans for themselves and others to edit and use in their own classroom.  This is an awesome use of technology because why not share what has worked great for you to benefit others as well?  Here is a video to watch about a teacher who involves technology into her classroom.  Technology is an amazing tool and I plan to use it wisely in the classroom.

Resources

Learning Futures. How can we use technology to enhance learning? (LEARNING FUTURES - NITA'S STORY). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bv02p3i2YP0

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O'Loughlin, Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Using a WebQuest in Your Classroom. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.internet4classrooms.com/using_quest.htm