Course reflection

Throughout this course I found many things to be important. All of the programs we've used have great potential to be used in the classroom. They could be used by both the teacher and the students. The reason these programs are important vary. But, as a whole they offer a unique and creative approach for students to learn using technology. Webquest was one of my favorites. This particular program invonves both parties because the teacher has to create it first and then the students use it. All the information is provided in the WebQuest for the students. This way they are still getting information from outside sources, but they are reputable because the teacher put them there. This also allows for the teacher to pick and choose the information presented to the students.
I learned a lot from this course. Just about every program we used throughout the semester was new to me, with the excpetion of only a couple. Everything I did learn will better assist me when I get into my own classroom. It will not only make my lessons more fun yet educating, but they will also add variety which will hopefully mean less bored students! Learning these programs has made me a better rounded individual and more computer literate, if you will.
Some exciting things i have experienced in this course if the feeling of accomplishment. This usually comes after all the frustrations, though. The frustrations lie in getting all the pages properly working and linked correctly, getting everything saved under the proper file, etc. But, after all is said and done and things work the way they should, that is a really exciting feeling. I also found it exciting to work with new programs that i really could see myself using inside the classroom with, or for, my students. The puzzlemaker was really neat and sticks out in my head. I also enjoyed the Photo-Story because i can see that being incoporated into other subject areas (one in particual being Social Studies with a historic event).