Reflection

Overall, this course in understanding the impact of technology in the classroom and society has been very useful to me. I feel that I have gained a lot of knowledge about new technologies I could use in my classroom and the benefits of using them. I feel like my professor was very helpful and always answered any questions that I had, and my peers always had insightful ideas to share with me.

This course has helped me to develop my own technology skills as a teacher by showing me three basic technologies that I did not know about before that I can use in my classroom. Wikis, Podcasts and Blogs were all new to me before this and I feel that I am a better teacher because I am able to use these technologies in my classroom now. I can already see the benefits of using Blogs in my classroom. Students were so open to the idea of being able to share their ideas through blogs and it is something they wanted to know so much more about.

My knowledge of the teaching and learning process have been expanded because of this course in some ways. For example, I feel like I know more about the way that students learn because of taking this course. This will help me when I am planning lessons, doing research and dealing with my students day to day.

My perspective of the way that students learn as far as teaching learner-centered instead of teacher-centered has not changed. When I came into this course I already had the idea that teaching my students should be student and learner centered instead of teacher-centered. My classroom will always be centered around students discovering many things for themselves and working with others in groups. This course has helped me to see how important it is for students to have grouping skills because it is a new skill for the 21st century.

I will continue to expand my knowledge of leading my teaching with technology as the aim for increasing student achievement by continuing to do research on the latest technologies that are out there. Also, I plan to attend workshops that deal specifically with learning about how technology can increase students learning in my classroom. I also plan to finish my master’s from Walden in the technology field which will further my knowledge about how technology can positively impact a classroom.

Two long-term goals that I have for transforming my classroom environment would be to first, get more computers to each classroom and more than one SMARTboard to the school. This could be done by writing to different people for grants. This could also be done through different methods, but it is a goal of mine to complete this somehow so that my school has more technology that the students can be impacted by. The second goal I would have is to have more lessons in my class that include using different technologies. I already have ideas for unit plans that would include using blogs, while still meeting the state standards. Overall, I would like to see my classroom using more technology.

All of my answers from week one have stayed the same. Overall this course has been very useful and I will take what I have learned and bring it to my classroom.