Final Reflection

This course has opened numerous technological avenues for me as a teacher. After taking this course, I have been exposed to the use of blogging, wikis, and podcasting, which can all be incorporated into the classroom. Through blogging, I have been able to read up on up to date research on technology. In addition, I have been able to communicate with teachers around the world to understand various views of education, how different school systems and states are teaching technology in their school systems, and finding resources to share with my own students in my classroom. Wikis have allowed me to find various resources in one location to assist with the development of technology in the schools. The use of podcasting can be used as a resource for students to develop interpersonal skills and communication skills which will be useful skills for the 21st century. By learning these technological skills, I have been able to develop lesson plans using these types of technology in my classroom.

Technology has always been an important part of my life. On a daily basis, I rely on technology to accomplish everyday tasks. I have always known that it is important to teach our students life skills to succeed in the future, but this course has helped me realize the true importance of technology in these students’ lives. After reading up on the weekly course material, it is clear to me that it is our responsibility to provide our students with the necessary 21st century skills to find future success. Some skills that I am focusing on in the classroom are critical thinking skills, creativity, and self reliance. I know that by teaching the students at a young age to learn these necessary skills will provide them with a more promising future.

This course has truly changed my perspective as a teacher to allow students to complete daily tasks and assignments using their creative ideas rather than assigning specific topics. It has helped transform my teaching style to incorporate activities that allow the students to use self discovery and communication skills to learn new information. Initially, I thought it would be more difficult to incorporate these types of lesson plans and activities into the classroom. After applying them to my teaching, I have found that it is easier to build lessons around the students; it has made learning more interesting and easier to plan because the students determine the rate of instruction. The focus on learner-centered activities enables the students to learn at their own pace, collaborate with their classmates to discover new information, and build upon 21st century skills.

In order to continue to build upon my current technological skills, I plan to continue to stay up to date with research regarding technology and education. I will continue to communicate with other teachers through blogging to find new strategies and discover what teachers around the world are teaching their students. My lessons will focus on the Ohio content standards in addition to the NETS standards to make sure students are progressing with their academic and technological needs. Finally, I will continue to take courses through Walden University to enhance my knowledge of technology in the classroom; I will use the information learned through these courses and apply it to my current teaching assignment.

One goal I have set for myself is to use the SMARTBOARD in my classroom to assist with student learning more consistently. Currently, the teachers share 1 board among each grade level. We typically have the equipment for one week and rotate among 5 other teachers. This does not allow me much time to practice with the equipment in order to plan detailed lessons using this type of technology. To help achieve my goal, the school and PTO at my school are holding fundraisers to raise money for more SMARTBOARDS in our school. We have already raised enough money for 3 new boards, which will be distributed throughout the school. By having easier access to technology, it will allow me to continue to develop my skills using different types of technology, like SMARTBOARDS. I plan to take professional development courses which focus on using the SMARTBOARD in the classroom and becoming more comfortable with it. Then I will take that information and implement it into my classroom for the academic development of my students.

A second goal I have for next year is to become a Technology support assistant for teachers at my school who may have complications or questions regarding technology. There are currently two teachers who hold this position at my school, and I would like to add to their support system. I plan to apply for the position in the Fall, and will take the required courses provided through my school district to become a Technology support assistant.

After referring back to the checklist from the first week of this course, many of my answers have changed from rarely used to sometimes or often. In my classroom, I am continuing to develop the necessary skills of collaboration to accomplish a task whereas before I was using these skills rarely. I am more focused on the importance of using real-world problem-solving strategies, but I feel that I am consistent with my past use and current use in this area. Since I have learned new modes to communicate through technology, I have passed that knowledge along to my students. Therefore, we are using various types of technology in the classroom on a daily basis in numerous activities, which is much more than what we were doing before this course began. Students continue to share their writing and their work, but they now have more options to prepare their information. At my school, the biggest change I have experienced is I am more determined to notify teachers of the importance of using technology in the classroom. I share the information I have learned with the teachers in my school, which I think is important. Teachers are more comfortable coming to me with questions about technology because of my experience with this course. I have been using research based information to apply new techniques to the overall learning in my classroom, and it has been extremely beneficial for me as a teacher as well as the students as learners.