Overall,
throughout this course I have learned a lot with computers but also
with other things as well. I have learned through myself that I am very
good with computers and that I understand them well. I have learned
that there are so many things that you can do with computers and
applications for the classroom and for my future students and I am
excited to be able to use my learnings in my classrom. With me saying
this, I definitely think that I have grown through this course. I have
picked up many technical skills in this course such as the Nvu
application and also Filezilla. I never knew about these applications
until now and I think they are going to come of much help to me in the
future. I am very comfortable with everything I have learned in this
course and remember everything clearly. I think in the future if I had
to do anything dealing with the making of a website or handouts, etc. I
would be able to handle it well. There are no other applications or
technical skills that I need to learn to master because I think I
quickly got the hand of each application without a problem. All of it
is still very interesting to me and I find all of it very intriuging.
The things that I found important in this course were the things that I
could find myself using in the future for my classroom. I found that
the handouts and the activities that I could make online were very fun
and would become very beneficial to me because I know I will need to
use them in the future. Being skillfull with computers is very
important now a days because everything deals with a computer. Nothing
is done on paper anymore and it is good to know how to work with a
computer. Through a computer you can easily communicate with the
student's parents through the school website or via email so that they
are aware of what is going on in the classroom at all times.
Everything that I have dealt with in this course has been exciting and extremely intriguing because I
l
ove working with computers and being able to learn more things about
them because I see computers as a necessity in everyday life. The only
frustrations I had with this course was when Nvu would not work
sometimes! I would always get frustrated with the colored links because
it never wanted to do what I wanted to do. I learned to work with it
and to figure out how to fix it everytime.
During this course we worked as a teams and we also worked alone. We
worked in teams with the WebQuest which was very helpful because
everyone was willing to look for information and to give their input.
For every other project I have worked alone. I would prefer working
alone on my projects because I like things the way that I like them. I
don't like working in groups because I have my own opinions and I am a
perfectionist. If a project is not creative enough or advanced enough I
am not happy with it. When I do it alone I can go at my own pace and
enjoy it better without having to worry about everybody elses opinions.
With this at hand, in my future teaching, like on my WebQuest there can
be group work like with the TimeLine that my group made our students
do. It would be easier for it to be group work so that everybody
could help gather the information needed to present it correctly. Also
through our WebQuest we had them work on a project alone which was the
letter to authority explaining their own thoughts. This was easier for
them to work alone because it did deal with their opinions and nobody
elses. By avoiding difficult group situations in a classroom, it
could be an option to work with groups. I think that I would give my
students the option to work with a group or not to just because I
know that someone like me does not like working in groups because
sometimes the work does not get done.
Small teams can be created in various ways. As a future teacher I could
make the teams myself and just post them on the Power Point and have
the students look for their name and then go to their groups. As a
future teacher it is important to assign roles to each student so that
it can prepare them for responsiblity but also make them feel useful
and important. In science we learned different roles in the classroom.
We have learned the group leader, the materials getter, the recorder,
the reporter, the timer, etc. By assigning each of these roles,
students will feel that they are responsible for their job and feel the
need to get it done in a responsible manner.
As a whole I think technology in the classroom is very important..
Technology is around us everyday with us wanting it or not. Everything
is done through technology so it is very important to start student's
early with the awareness of it. By starting the students early they
will develop a better understanding of it and be able to build on it as
they grow older and be able to further progress. I want to bring
technology into my classroom in any way that I can. In my practicum,
the teacher has technology in her classroom through the use of a
computer. She allows the students to go on the computer and type up
their answers or to play math problems through a program. A thoughtful
use of technology would be the use of computers in the classroom. By
allowing the students to use Microsoft Word to type things to progress
their typing skills or allowing them to play educational games through
applications, it helps them to understand computers as previously
stated.
Overall this course was very beneficial to me in numerous ways. Not
only has it helped me further understand applications and my computer
skills, but it can allow me to help my future students to learn more
about them through my understanding. I can also help my future
colleagues and people that I may work with by if they have any
questions I will be willing and eager to help and answer them.
Computers are in everyday life and it is very important to be able to
understand and work with them. I am excited for my future classroom and
the ability that I now have with computers. Computers make a difference!