What My Kids Thought In The Beginning
In the beginning, I mentioned
wanting to learn how to use the Promethean board more affectively, while also
wanting to be able to provide quizzes and surveys using the technology-based
tool. Not only did I learn how to incorporate those aspects into my future
lessons, but I also discovered some very useful apps that will allow me to
provide assessment within my future teaching. For example, now I can create a
lesson using technology, and each child can have an iPad in front of them
following along. As the children follow along, I can incorporate activities for
them to do as individuals or groups, which will allow me to grasp their
understandings. Not only will this provide on the spot assessment, but it will
also help the children who miss class to stay on track, as they can also take
part in the lesson either inside or outside of school.
Secondly, I mentioned wanting to
learn more about flipcharts, and my knowledge on them now is far more than what
it was in the beginning. I now understand their usefulness within the
classroom, and how they allow for a variety of forms of assessment within one
simple lesson. What is great about this tool, as a future teacher, is that I
will be able to provide multiple types of assessment within one lesson, and
will be able to gauge which types of assessment are most affective and helpful
to my specific students. Flipcharts will also allow my lessons to be more
interactive, which in turn will keep students more engaged in what they are
learning.
Thirdly, not only did I learn about
the aspects that I originally wanted to learn more about, but also many other
technology tools that I can use within the classroom. For example, iMovie will
allow me to incorporate educational field trips within the classroom, if the
funds are not available to go on an actual field trip. All I have to do is take
the images and incorporate them into an iMovie. Thus, it will allow children to
learn more about their community, while also serving an educational purpose.
Another technology aspect that I learned more about over the semester was how to
use wikis and blogs affectively within the classroom. I had never thought about
the variety of ways in which they could be used, but now I look forward to
implementing them in a variety of ways within my future classroom. For example,
I can use them for parent sign up sheets, interactive web based activities, or
for children to blog about their school experiences. Therefore, I now have so
many technology tools, that I should be able to integrate technology into
almost any subject matter within my future classroom.
All these technology tools and
projects are great, and I loved being able to incorporate them all into one
website. A website, like the one we created in class, will allow parents and
children to learn more about me as a teacher and our classroom before school
starts, it will keep parents informed about what is going on in the classroom,
and it will also provides parents and children a lot of useful tools to aid
them in their learning. I feel it can be a very affective and useful tool in
aiding parents and children learn throughout the year!
One thing to remind myself through
my upcoming career is that I must be willing to take a chance with technology
and incorporate it in a variety of ways within the classroom, as it is becoming
the new learning tool in today’s society. Although it took a lot of time and
work, it was well worth it to see the educational outcomes and usefulness that
technology lends to me as a future teacher.
