This class has influenced me a lot; I am not just saying that! I came into this classroom the first week of class terrified of technology. I really thought that I could still be a really good teacher without implementing technology in my classroom; boy, was I wrong! This class has transformed the way I view technologically, specifically its role in the classroom. I am not saying that I feel totally comfortable with technology (is anyone ever totally comfortable with every single aspect of technology?!), but I am open to the idea and willing to learn even more. Technology provides so many incredible resources for teachers and students. My web-based application to research was VoiceThread, and I am definitely going to use it in my classroom! What an awesome way for students to collaborate on a project. I am probably going to use a lot of the web-based applications; right now I am looking at the Evernote application that I downloaded to my computer. It would be an absolute shame not to utilize all of these tools in my future classroom. In fact, it would be robbing my students of a fair education to ignore all of the technology that is out there. Unfortunately, as teachers, we will probably encounter some form of the Digital Divide. The most useful information I found from other teachers as to how to bridge the Digital Divide was to keep everything in the "Cloud," for example Google Docs. This allows students that do not have computers or internet access at home to still be able to save all of the information that they work on at school or from a library computer. I also plan on writing grants and holding fundraisers to acquire technology for my classroom.
Coming into this class I knew that, as a teacher, I cannot simply stand at the front of the classroom and lecture. This class showed me multiple ways to differentiate my instruction. I particularly cannot wait to use networked learning in my classroom. Networked learning allows students to take learning into their own hands and opens up their eyes to so many resources. With the teacher as a facilitator and moderator, the students go on a "scavenger hunt" of information. How cool is it that a high school student in Florida can gain access to a lecture by a Harvard professor?? I believe that students learn a lot more when they are the active learners, not the passive listeners. Technology opens up so many doors for students to practice meaningful learning. I also hope that I am able to implement my classmates' service learning projects into my future classroom. Service learning is great in teaching students both content and how to be effective, contributing citizens.
Social Networking. Endless possibilities. I already had a general idea about social networking before I began EME 5432 (who doesn't have a facebook?), but I had no idea how much it can help me professionally. Through reading teachers' bogs and, even more so, teachers' Twitter accounts, I have gained invaluable resources and tips for my future classroom (all of which I saved to my Delicious account, of course). I plan on continuing this Blog and my Twitter account when this class ends and I become a teacher. The technology is out there, and it's out there to help us; why wouldn't you take full advantage of that??
Obviously I am not a technology expert (yet); this is evidenced by the fact that I failed at trying to embed my concept map onto my Blog and just had to provide the link. I am, however, a technological convert. We live in a changing world, and we need to prepare our students for this. After all, isn't our main job as teachers to prepare effective citizens? Together, my students and I are going to learn and use so much technology!
Thank you, Professor Drexler, for showing me just how useful technology is, especially as an educator. If I were to take this class over again, I think I would try to come in with a more open mind. At first, technology scared me so much that I think I missed out on a little at the beginning. So, to all of you future EME5432 students, EMBRACE TECHNOLOGY!
I could relate to your experience, I never knew how important technology was to education in terms of connecting to the world and higher order thinking. This class has definitely opened up my eyes and made me realized the importance of implementing technology into my classroom. Although i was skeptical about using technology at first, I'm definitely more confident than before.
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