I am finishing my last week in the course: Understanding the impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society. This course, alone, has been a wonderful reason to pursue my Master's degree. I have learned a tremendous amount about technology and how to use it in the classroom. It has truly opened my eyes to a whole new way of teaching.
I have been a "blogger" for a little over a year. I use my personal blog to share photos and stories about my family. However, this professional blog gives me a space to share with fellow professionals. It gives me the ability to share with teachers all over the world! How Wonderful!!! Something new that I have recently learned is how to create a wiki. Before this course, I had never heard of wikis. I just finished creating one for our Elementary School. We are going to use it as collaboration space. A place to share research based materials to use during our RTI time. I am still learning about podcasting. I really do enjoy the process, but I am still learning the mechanics of how to do it.
This course has given me a great foundation and starting point. I still have a lot to learn about integrating technology into the classroom. I will use the information that I have been given and expand my knowledge. I have set two long-term goals for transforming my classroom environment into a place where technology is integrated seamlessly to meet instructional goals. I will begin these goals next year, when I move back to a regular classroom. Creating these goals was difficult for me, because I teach younger students. However, I want to integrate these because technology really allows the students to break down the classroom walls (Krucli, 2008). My first and most exciting goal is to use podcasting in my room on a regular basis. I want my students to podcast their plays, handwriting, artwork, ect... I hope my students will be able to do this with me facilitating them. Again, I want it to become a "normal" part of our classroom routine. My second goal is to integrate Distance Learning. This is a program that I was taught and certified to use in my undergrad studies. Unfortunately, I have never had the opportunity to use it. It allows students to take field trips to the zoo, other countries, classrooms around the world, ect... without leaving their desks. It is an exciting way for technology to help students make more connections.
Technology is going to allow me to bring something that I enjoy, into the classroom. All of my students have different learning styles and technology is another way to help facilitate these styles. I am very excited to start this transition!
Thornburg, D. & Davidson, H. (2008). Bringing Fun into Teaching with Technology. [streamed video].
Technology in the Classroom
14 years ago
