Reflection on Technology Course

Assess your learning in this class.  In what areas did you see the greatest growth? 

This is the fourth class I have taken through Indiana Wesleyan, and I would like to say that it has been the most worthwhile and has given me a tremendous opportunity to grow as a teacher.  When I started this class I knew that I was “technologically deficient” in many areas of my teaching.  Two months ago, when the course started, I was overwhelmed at the amount of information I was going to learn.  I knew that I was ignorant to much of the information that was going to be covered in class, but I was also humble enough to admit that I had some growing to do.

I would say that I am most proud of learning how to use PowerPoint, Moodle, and webquests.  I think that these tools are going to make my instruction much more efficient and effective in the coming school year.  I am so grateful to be a part of the awesome instruction offered by Indiana Wesleyan.

I would also like to point out that our instructor, Tom Everett, was incredibly fast with responses to emails and feedback.  He was another important aspect of taking this class and offered my several ideas and resources that I had not considered.  Thanks Tom!

How will your teaching practice change as a result of what you have learned?

My classroom is going to be more technologically focused in the coming school year.  I am going to start small.  I don’t want to overwhelm my students with technology, or just complete a lesson for the sake of implementing technology.  I want my transition to the implementation of technology to seem organic and seemless. 

Reflecting on this course, I believe there are two things I have realized in regards to using technology in education.

1)       Technology should be used to engage students

2)      Technology should be used to make the teacher’ life easier

Overall, I think the webquests will help engage students, and moodle will make my life much easier.  And for those of you who have yet to hear me say it:  CHECK OUT MOODLE!  IT IS AWESOME! 

Being a Teacher Leader

How can you serve as a teacher leader for technology integration in your professional setting?

I think the most effective teachers are those that model skills/concepts to students.  By modeling what is expected of students, teachers allow students to feel safe because they know what is expected of them.  Moreover, the master teacher should not only model skills/concepts, but should also model behavior.

I think the same can be said about being a teacher leader in a professional setting.  For me to serve as a teacher leader, I need to model behavior that is reflective of a professional who wants to stay abreast to best practices in implementing technology into the classroom.  This means sharing information with my colleagues.  Whenever I come across a useful website, podcast, wiki, or blog, I will immediately email this information to my colleagues. 

One of the things we talked about in this class was the rapid rate that information can be disseminated.  Unfortunately, sharing information at Hammond High is something we need to grow in.  However, reflecting on what I have learned, I now realize that this is the perfect opportunity for me to become a teacher leader in my setting.  I can be the one to implement change when it comes to implementing technology into the classroom my showing others what I am currently doing.