1. Although I had heard of the majority of these tools, I had not actually used most of them until this assignment. My favorite activity was making the avatar and using the iPod Touch. Since I took an all day inservice using the iPod Touch, I feel confident with that tool. Since I do not have a classroom, I will collaborate with the classroom teachers in order to have an opportunity to use this technology with students.
2. Completing this assignment really showed me how much technology is available to help teach our students. I feel overwhelmed by all of this, but I know the students will be excited to have an opportunity to use some of these tools to enhance their learning.
3. The unexpected outcome was that completing this assignment was much harder than I expected it to be. If someone shows me what to do, I can do it (example: iPod Touch inservice), but trying to figure things out on my own was difficult.
Congratulations! Let the summer begin!
ReplyDeleteI have heard that issue/complaint from a number of teachers. I don't know how to resolve it as there are only 3 of us in Ed Tech. It has been surprising to me how many teachers aren't "explorers" when it comes to technology since it was having a computer put in my classroom in 1995ish that started me on my journey. Glad you enjoyed the trip and learned a few things along the way!
ReplyDeleteI think if we worked in Ed Tech, we would definitely explore with our computers all day and have fun with it . In Alief, we had banks of computers in each classroom, and they were used daily, although we were not expected to use them as a replacement for books, charts and other visuals. (This was in the 1990s). However, as teachers, there is so much else we have to do, such as deal with difficult students, keep all parents regularly informed (and most of the parents whose children I teach do not have computers, so I cannot send an email), attend endless meetings, ARDS, etc. When summer comes, I want to explore, but in a different way. I have used my summers, except this one, in which I was at my computer way more than I consider healthy, to travel and see the world, which to me, we are getting more and more cut off from because of technology. Sure, you can pull up a photo of Degas' ballerina sculptures in five seconds using a computer, but to actually go to a museum in Paris and see them, is so much more gratifying.
ReplyDeleteToday is 7/30 and I'm "praying" that I'll be completing my Reflections soon. Next week I have a full week of professional development. My knowledge of technology has definitely inceased. However, I didn't expect to be working so hard this summer to learn this. I appreciate your comments, Laura.
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