Project #9
Reflecting back on the Course
At the beginning of this course I was a bit nervous because I was never
really good with technology and only knew how to work with a few
programs on the computer. But after this course I am feeling more
confident in how to use the variety of programs the computer has to
offer. I feel like I have worked hard throughout the entire
course and have grown. I was not familiar with many programs like
Microsoft Publisher, the Photo Story 3 for Windows and never even knew
how to actually create a personal website. I feel pretty
comfortable using each program but I know I will have to go back and
review and practice using them so I can keep them fresh in my
mind. As a future educator this is an excellent resource to look
back at and use ideas from, and also I think it's beneficial that we
have access to our classmates eportfolios so we can use ideas that they
have created also. I think each program that we used and the
example of how we could use each program that we created in our
eportfolio will be useful in my future as a teacher. I know that
the newsletters and calendars that we created are important and useful
items that are often incorporated into the classroom.
Some of the exciting experiences that I have participated in during this course was working in groups. I enjoyed this because we got to work together on some of the projects which helped because everyone shared ideas with eachother. Also, on some of the larger projects when we got to work in a group we would divid it up into parts and we would take each of our sections and put everything together. I did have some frustrations during the course such as when my images or links did not work and it took a little while to final figure out the problem. But once I figured out what problem was I realized how simple it could be fixed.
One scenario where we worked individually on a project was when we used Microsoft Word to create a student handout, an acrostic and trading cards. I did not mind working alone but did ask my neighbor for some help when I got stuck. I liked how it I could use my own ideas for this project and it made me feel confident that I could accomplish a project on my own. One scenario where we worked as a group to accomplish a project was our WebQuest projects. This was very fun because we got to collaberate our ideas but we were also responsible for each making one part of the whole project. This was a really fun project but at times was stressful because we had to get everyone else's information in our group added to our own and just because there were so many pieces to it it did get confusing. But, once we got those small frustrations out of the way it turned out excellent and could be used as a teaching resource in the future. I do think that working with peers if very helpful because I believe everyone has something to offer that can help others and I always have learned a lot from my peers, esepcially in situations dealing with technology.
I enjoy working in small groups because i feel i get alot from working with others and you truely learn the meaning of teamwork when working on projects such as the ones for this course. You learn to be cooperative and patient in your groups. Sometimes though, I did find that it was difficult to work with others because not everyone agreed on something all the time and sometimes getting the information from the other group members was hard like when they did not do it on time and you had to wait for them to complete their part so you could add it to the completed project.
In the future as a teacher I could use these technology projects and incorporate them into my lessons. I could put the students in small groups and have them work on either a powerpoint or a WebQuest on a certain topic that we have been learning in other content areas. To assign roles, within a project that the students will be in groups for, I could have the students divide the project up themseleves or I could have set sections layed out for them and then have them within the group choose who does what section or I could choose who does what section. I would make sure I would record who is assigned what section because in the end after the projects are completed I will assess them as a group and individually so I will need to know who was responsible for what part. Overall, I think grouping my students for technology projects will be beneficial because it will get them familiar with teamwork and responsibility.
My vision related to the use of educational technology in the classroom is that I will strive as a teacher to keep up-to-date with technological advances and stay familiar with the older programs as well by taking technology workshops throughout the school year. My students need a guide that they can count on if they ever need help using technology. I also want my students to be familiar with technology and all that it has to offer. I want to integrate technology in my class whenever it is possible whether it be using videos, cds, the computer and all the programs it has to offer, and even having a "smart classroom." I think technology adds to the learning experience in offering great visuals and many other components. I want my students to have the best success in learning and I think the use of technology in the classroom can facilitate in making this happen. I also think having the children work in groups when learning new elements of technology is important because my teaching philosophy is students learn through interaction with others. I think that students can learn from eachother when they are facing a new experience such as one dealing with technology, like I have in this course.
Some of the exciting experiences that I have participated in during this course was working in groups. I enjoyed this because we got to work together on some of the projects which helped because everyone shared ideas with eachother. Also, on some of the larger projects when we got to work in a group we would divid it up into parts and we would take each of our sections and put everything together. I did have some frustrations during the course such as when my images or links did not work and it took a little while to final figure out the problem. But once I figured out what problem was I realized how simple it could be fixed.
One scenario where we worked individually on a project was when we used Microsoft Word to create a student handout, an acrostic and trading cards. I did not mind working alone but did ask my neighbor for some help when I got stuck. I liked how it I could use my own ideas for this project and it made me feel confident that I could accomplish a project on my own. One scenario where we worked as a group to accomplish a project was our WebQuest projects. This was very fun because we got to collaberate our ideas but we were also responsible for each making one part of the whole project. This was a really fun project but at times was stressful because we had to get everyone else's information in our group added to our own and just because there were so many pieces to it it did get confusing. But, once we got those small frustrations out of the way it turned out excellent and could be used as a teaching resource in the future. I do think that working with peers if very helpful because I believe everyone has something to offer that can help others and I always have learned a lot from my peers, esepcially in situations dealing with technology.
I enjoy working in small groups because i feel i get alot from working with others and you truely learn the meaning of teamwork when working on projects such as the ones for this course. You learn to be cooperative and patient in your groups. Sometimes though, I did find that it was difficult to work with others because not everyone agreed on something all the time and sometimes getting the information from the other group members was hard like when they did not do it on time and you had to wait for them to complete their part so you could add it to the completed project.
In the future as a teacher I could use these technology projects and incorporate them into my lessons. I could put the students in small groups and have them work on either a powerpoint or a WebQuest on a certain topic that we have been learning in other content areas. To assign roles, within a project that the students will be in groups for, I could have the students divide the project up themseleves or I could have set sections layed out for them and then have them within the group choose who does what section or I could choose who does what section. I would make sure I would record who is assigned what section because in the end after the projects are completed I will assess them as a group and individually so I will need to know who was responsible for what part. Overall, I think grouping my students for technology projects will be beneficial because it will get them familiar with teamwork and responsibility.
My vision related to the use of educational technology in the classroom is that I will strive as a teacher to keep up-to-date with technological advances and stay familiar with the older programs as well by taking technology workshops throughout the school year. My students need a guide that they can count on if they ever need help using technology. I also want my students to be familiar with technology and all that it has to offer. I want to integrate technology in my class whenever it is possible whether it be using videos, cds, the computer and all the programs it has to offer, and even having a "smart classroom." I think technology adds to the learning experience in offering great visuals and many other components. I want my students to have the best success in learning and I think the use of technology in the classroom can facilitate in making this happen. I also think having the children work in groups when learning new elements of technology is important because my teaching philosophy is students learn through interaction with others. I think that students can learn from eachother when they are facing a new experience such as one dealing with technology, like I have in this course.
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