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.