What have you learned about the technological side of teaching to elementary and middle school students through this class?
I feel in some ways that the title of this class was deceptive. It claims “Content and methods for teaching with computers and related technologies in the elementary and middle school” however I have found that I was able to learn so much more than I expected. It may be a course teaching about how to teach computers for children, it also taught me some key tools for building an online portfolio as well as creating projects for students and parents.
The whole process has showed me first of all how little I know about the technological side of teaching, but also how I can learn and grow through experience. More specifically, I learned how to create web pages, publish them on the web, and add graphics and “moving” or animated graphics, how to create word searches, and so much more.
First, using the Nvu program has made creating a web page much easier than I could have imagined. Using this format enabled me to get creative and explore the various options that the program has available. I loved being able to change the colors and fonts so easily and feeling like my pages were really personal to me, not just some generic template. Also, it seems silly to say but without this program there would be no webpage. I had never heard of Nvu until I came to this class. It is a free program which also is very appealing, meaning that I can work on my web page after the class is over (both at home during the semester and once the semester is over).
Second, the WS_FTP publisher, although it was at some times annoying because of the rate at which it logs you off, it was a great way to learn how to upload my pages. Within the first few weeks I already felt like a pro at making and publishing my pages… but then we would learn something new and I kept pushing myself to do my best with each project. I had no idea coming into this course that there would be so much involved and while at times it has been great to learn the new technology, at other times it has gotten frustrating when things did not work they way I expected them to. For example, when working with our groups for the Web Quest project I had to copy and paste the other member’s’ pages into Nvu. While I tried to remember to save each of the pictures to my folder (in order to make them work) however sometimes even when I thought I had done it the right way when I went to check on Internet Explorer the pictures were still not coming up. At this point I had to take a deep breath and remember that not everything goes as planned and to just try it again.
This is a concept that will be vital to remember while teaching. When we have something planned it is not always going to turn out the way we had hoped. Even when showing the class a new website or brochure there is the possibility for error (be it human or technological). This class has really helped me learn to take stock of the situation and come to a solution in a reasonable and equitable way.
And most of all… keep a positive attitude and have fun!