Throughout this course, I have learned that some teaching strategies work better than others when integrating technology. It is important to incorporate technology to enhance learning, not just for the sake of using technology. When incorporating technology into lessons, it is important that students are active using a variety of instructional strategies; in addition, the strategies must provide immediate feedback to students. Constructivism and Idea-based learning are two teaching strategies that work well with the use of technology. The teacher can step back and is more of a guide, letting the computer/technology do the teaching and allowing students to explore and think about ideas on their own.
Before this course, my idea of using the internet with my math students included having them play math games on the internet to help practice concepts discussed in class. Blogs, Wikis, WebQuests, webpages, and StAIR project are all new ways that I have learned to use technology in the classroom. I have learned that integrating these new forms of technology are not only beneficial and fun for students, but they are also fun for me as the teacher. I really enjoyed creating all of the projects that we had to complete in this course and I know that they are resources that I will use in my future classroom.
One of my goals in the course was to continue to acquire more “tools in the toolbox” and learn additional ways to effectively integrate technology into my classroom. In CEP 810 I learned the importance of integrating technology to enhance learning, not just for the sake of incorporating technology. I feel that this course has given me numerous examples of ways to use technology in order to benefit my students’ learning. I have also become more familiar with some of the resources I already used, such as PowerPoint and blogs.
My goal is to use the projects that I have created in my future classroom and lesson plans. Right now I am searching for a full time teaching position and am very excited about the opportunity to incorporate the tools that I have acquired and implement them in my future lessons. I feel that I gained a great deal of knowledge about technology integration and I am excited to use what I have learned in a real classroom. I have found that when teaching math it is sometimes challenging to find ways to incorporate certain forms of technology into lessons. I am making it my goal to find ways to use all of the resources that I have been introduced to in the classes that I teach to enhance learning for my students.
Amanda, it sounds like you and I are somewhat alike in that we have found great ideas and now we're working to make them useful to us and our students. Math and Spanish are pretty different, but I think we can both benefit from the wide variety of online learning experiences we learned about and find some great tools to use to enhance our teaching. Good luck in your job search!
ReplyDeleteAmanda, my ideas about math and technology integration were similiar to yours before I took this course. I teach science, and now I an see how technology can be applied heartily to any subject matter! I wish you all the best in securing a teaching position where you can put your new wealth of knowledge to work! I think being able to talk about all the things you've learned in this class and showing them examples in an interview will give you a huge advantage! Also, NHA schools are always hiring and they're in five states! Have a great summer!
ReplyDeleteAmanda, your reflections on your learning from the two classes you took really show that you are a teacher who really wants to use strategies and technology to enhance the learning of your students. You have set an excellent goal for yourself. I have really enjoyed reading your thoughts throughout the class and I really hope you are able to find a teaching position for the fall. Let me know how it goes. I am very glad that I was able to get to know you through this class.
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