Reflection

Over the course of this semester I have learned a lot about how technology can be used in a strong and effective way in the classroom. The project on SmartBoard greatly strengthened my skills and since I had never had experience with SmartBoards while teaching it was nice to become accustom to the technology, and it's strengths and limitations, while working outside of the field. The technologies of the week were always interesting to hear about and could easily to be worked into existing lesson plans to spice up an old lesson. I thought it was interesting to hear about all of the options that are out there! I really enjoyed the WebQuest Project. This project is great way of letting students explore the possibilities the internet has to offer while restricting their access to certain sites at the same time. I enjoyed being able to use multimedia to make the webquest more interesting, and it was fun to put personal creativity into the project as well. I hope to use the knowledge and skills I have gained from this class in the future as I teach. Assuming the technology is present in the schools, I would love to use iPad apps to engage the students and show iMovies to differentiate the presentation of the lesson. One challenge for me will be integrating my knowledge on technology into the classroom when I student teach in Chicago. It is likely that there will not be much technology available, so using even the smallest bit of technology could be difficult. I anticipate that I will have to be creative and flexible when it comes to integrating technology into these types of classrooms, but I believe that this class has given me the skills to do just that.

Tara D. wrote:

Over the past semester I have learned how to properly use technology and how to integrate it into the curriculum. In my schooling experience (elementary and high school), I was not exposed to a lot of technology in the classroom. It was not until I got to college that I worked with a Smartboard. This technology courses has introduced me to several resources that can be utilized in the classroom. I have enjoyed working with Smartboard, Google Earth, Wiki Pages (for web quests), iMovie, Mindomo, and Inspiration. Although challenging at times, I now feel comfortable using any and all of these applications in the classroom. I think they are great resources for students. In class, we have discussed that students are living a virtual life; a lot of what they do is through technology. By bringing technology into the classroom students will feel comfortable learning the content and they will be able to further make connections with the material. 

The projects I have done for this course have also allowed me think creatively. I would have never thought of using Google Earth in the classroom using a tour. I really enjoyed making the Smartboard interactive activities. Most classrooms now have Smartboards and before this course I was not familiar with them at all. I now feel confident in my abilities to utilize the Smartboard. I also enjoyed making the iMovie and I can see that application being used in the classroom in several different ways. Overall, I have had a great experience with technology this semester. I have learned a lot about the various forms of technology and how to apply them in school curriculum.