| Prior to this semester, I was enthusiastic and genuinely looking forward
to taking EDU 314. I had high
expectations for this class, and myself because there are so many technological
advances in our world today that it is difficult to maintain even a general
understanding of all that it entails.
Most notably, in education, teachers are becoming more and more
accountable for utilizing technology in the classroom, and are expected to
edify their students. For this reason, I
cannot begin to express how much I appreciate this course and all that it
encompasses.
Upon entering this course, I had
an exceptional background with computers because I was fortunate enough to
attend a high school that offered a five-year computer program. However, it is undeniable that I have grown
as a result of taking this course, respectively, with regards to my proficiency
in technology. Specifically, I have never
had the opportunity to create websites with the web authoring tool of Nvu. This
program was very simple to use, but I definitely learned some technical skills
from this endeavor. I did have some difficulties in placing pictures and text
where I wanted them on my pages.
However, I learned that you can easily move pictures with the layer
tool. Also, I discovered that tables are
the best solution to organize text and pictures on a page. I learned that the border of the table can be
hidden if you change the pixels to 0.
This trick was definitely helpful during the organization process of my
pages. In addition, for the initial
publication of my ePortfolio I found the trick “ctrl a” to be extremely helpful
when copying navigation bars and pasting them into my other pages. This saved me a lot of time because it copied
everything on the page that I needed, so I could paste it into a new page and
change the necessary information. Moreover,
I never had to publish my own webpage in high school, so using WS FTP was definitely a new learning experience for
me. Nonetheless, I was able to catch on
and understand its function.
During this course I experienced countless satisfying and enjoyable
moments, but also endured many frustrations along the way. Most, notably, I really enjoyed the overall
concept of the ePortfolio. I think that
it is essential, as a future educator, to walk away from this experience with
something that I can assess myself with, as well as make use of for a
résumé. Additionally, I had a lot of fun
creating my own elementary school website, as it made me even more eager to
teach. As I used Microsoft Office 2007
to create a puzzle and acrostic poem I felt comfortable with its features, but
learned how to enhance my text with the “shading and fill effect” tools. This experience was enriching because it
taught me how effective visual aids can be for students. I know that when I become a teacher I will
definitely use Microsoft Office and Publisher to create educational handouts,
brochures and posters to enhance the learning experience for my students.
The main frustration I had throughout this course was the fact that my
pages never looked the same as they did in the preview window of Nvu. It was very difficult to get certain things
centered, especially during the creation of my WebQuest. However, I believe this hindrance occurred
because it was a group effort, and we were sharing our files through a flash
drive. This may have affected the coding
of each page, which may have resulted in the skewed position of text and
images. Regardless, this frustration was overshadowed by the positive
experiences I had during this course.
My favorite experience of
this course was with the creation of my photostory using Photostory 3 for
Windows. I had so much fun generated a
narration of many pictures of my friends and family. Also, the integration of music into this story
really enhanced the sentimental feeling I have towards this piece. I feel like this program could be used in my
classroom for students to use for their own projects. They could create timelines of their lives or
generate a family tree using pictures and music. Overall, this tool is very useful, fun and
allows the creative juices to flow!
My
educational philosophy reflects the principle of progressivism. Progressivism is student centered and involves
more stimulation of the individual pupil as well as group discussion. There is more informality in the classroom,
including a broader curriculum. In my
classroom, I want my students to be “problem solvers” with the integration of
technology into activities. Overall, I
hope that by using the philosophy of progressivism within my classroom I will
be successful in facilitating my students’ ability to reach their full
potential. I anticipate that each
student will walk out of my classroom with the will to learn even more, and the
desire to have an optimistic and responsible outlook on life. Coinciding with my educational
philosophy, I believe that the WebQuest project really reflects my attitude
towards teaching. I was not familiar
with what a WebQuest was before this course, but I am so grateful that I had
the privilege to not only learn about what it includes, but also create my
own. I learned that this technological
activity is inquiry based, which is great for students because they have the
opportunity to learn at their own pace and become problem solvers.
I expect that the progressivism philosophy will be the most rewarding to not
only me, but to my entire class.
Moreover, the integration of the WebQuest activity into lesson
activities will be very educational for my students.
By and large, this course is
imperative to me as a future educator, and I am proud to say that I can walk
away with a better understanding and appreciation for technology. Most importantly, I have learned vast
techniques to use to enhance educational handouts for my students, which will
facilitate their learning experience. I
cannot put into words the gratitude that I have towards this course because it
is fundamental that all educators are trained and capable to utilize technology
in the classroom. I look forward to
applying the knowledge I have gained from this course into my own classroom in
hopes that I will facilitate a healthy and fun learning environment for my
students.
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