From+the+Heart

Final Reflection

1. What did you learn about yourself (as a person) as a result of doing this wiki and the technology products?

There are a couple things which I felt I learned about myself while creating my Wiki. The first and probably the most important was my ability to adapt to new technology. I am not a technical person, and often resist learning new technology unless absolutely necessary. Doing this Wiki forced me to step outside of the box with my creativity and learn and use new technology. This was a real eye opener for me, and proved to be extremely valuable. I was open minded to the new technology and felt if I could learn it, I could use it. By “use it” I mean use it in my classroom for lessons. So I feel very fortunate to have been able to learn and trust myself to use new technologies.

The other thing I learned about myself was how much I enjoyed planning lessons. I know these were not real lessons and the curriculum was very loose, however I enjoyed visualizing the lesson taking place in my classroom. When writing my lessons I often tried to understand the lesson from a child’s perspective. This became fun for me, as it allowed me to customize my lesson’s to what I felt would be the most educational and creative.

I honestly can say I enjoyed creating this Wiki, because I felt a true education was taking place. With every lesson I learned something new about how to better use technology to teach children in a classroom. This was rewarding in the sense it gave be an understanding of classroom presentation, and let me know there are unlimited options on how to present information in the classroom.

2. What did you learn about being a teacher from writing your unit?

The thing I felt I learned about being a teacher after writing this Wiki is preparation. Because technology is rapidly changing and the classroom is changing with it, I felt this experience taught me to be prepared. A teacher in today’s class must be able to present information in ways which will have the most effect on their students, and often in today’s world the best ways to do this are with technology. Therefore, a teacher must be prepared for changes in technology and prepare for the future by learning the new technology and how to efficiently use it in the classroom.

3. What you are most proud of as a result of doing your products?

I am most proud of my versatility in this project. I used timeline tools, slideshow tools, audio tools, video tools, mapping tools, several widgets, blogs, and even basic word documents. This collaboration of technology tools is what makes my Wiki so unique and educational. There are examples of several different tools and how to use them to help present information as well as to engage students in creation. I am proud of how well I was able to learn and use these tools, and then write lesson plans which encompassed these tools.

4. What you would do differently next time you write a unit and use technology?

I’m not sure I would do much differently. Like I said before I am not very technical, so every tool which was used in my Wiki was a new tool to me. I guess if I had to do one thing different it would be to have only 7 lessons rather than 10. Many topics are tough to stretch into 10 lessons, and there were some which the technology was the same, but a different tool was used. This is not a negative as it gives students good examples of different tools they can use, however a shorter lesson may allow for more focus on specific tools and their use.

5. What you are most concerned about with using technology and how you will overcome obstacles with technology?

My biggest concern is keeping up. I think often I can become contempt with my use and knowledge of technology. This attitude will not be useful when I am in the classroom. I need to be able to adapt and learn. I want to make sure I am always advancing my own knowledge of technology in order to more effectively use it in my teaching. Often teachers are confined by the resources they have, however if I understand technology and its use, I can rely on my own personal resources to aide in my classroom. I guess a concern of mine if the availability and support I will have as a teacher to utilize various technologies. It is important I am in a school which is supportive of multi-tech lessons.

6. What you are most concerned about with teaching and how you will overcome obstacles?

My biggest concern with teaching is support. I want to be in an environment which allows me the creativity to use technology in my teaching. I know there are schools which instruct teachers to teach in a certain way, and I am concerned I may be in this situation. I plan to overcome this obstacle by using my own resources, and presenting new ideas to administration. I will use technology tools used in my Wiki to help educate other teachers and administrators on how we can be more effective in the classroom by adopting new technologies.

7. What you are most excited or intrigued about with regards to using technology?

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">With regards to technology I am most excited for the future. I know in 10 years the technology we use today will be so outdated and the technology we will be using will be light years ahead. This is exciting because as a teacher you should always be looking for new ways to present information in efforts to become a better teacher. The advancement of technology has allowed teachers to become so much more effective in their classrooms, and the future is only going to be better. I honestly think there will be a day when there are no schools and the classroom is completely virtual. Students will be all over the world in the same classrooms online. The simple idea of this is exciting and is only the tip of what the future holds. I truly am excited to be teaching in such a tech driven society.

<span style="color: red; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">8. What you are most excited or intrigued about with teaching?

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">What excites me most about teaching is the learning aspect. I love the information transfer process and enjoy seeing others learn something new. I think for me the goal is to educate everyone. I know this sounds cliché, but truthfully my enjoyment and excitement comes from seeing people learn something new. This is why I decided to become a teacher, and I think this is the reason why I am motivated as a teacher. There is something rewarding which cannot be put into words about teaching. Maybe it is the footprint on children’s lives, the visual development of student minds, or overall joy making a difference. I think it is different for every teacher, and for me the excitement is everyday having an opportunity to educate.

<span style="color: red; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">9. Which century will you teach in--the twentieth or twenty-first and what indicators will be present that most epitomize your classroom?

<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I will teach in the 21st century. This could not be more exciting from a resource standpoint simply because of how much technology is advancing. I said this before, but I think there will be a day when the classroom is completely different from what it is in 2011. This will more than likely be when I am teaching. I envision a day when all my students are online and all class is done from designated labs, or home. This really is not far off, and one day with the proper funding will become the norm. My class will be defined by technology and my ability to teach will rely heavily on my understanding of technology. Because the 21st century will the age of technology advancements, it will be imperative for my classrooms to use such. I will be known as the teacher who used technology in every aspect of the classroom.

<span style="color: red; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">10. What difference will you make?

<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I will make a difference in both the classroom and the school in which I teach. In the classroom I will be a pioneer in adopting and utilizing new technology in teaching. My classroom will revolve around technology use and thus will be creative, engaging, and progressive. I will make a difference in the school I work at because I will be a constant advocate for new technology. This includes involvement in every organization which has input on technology. Also I plan to invite administrators into my classroom lessons to observe my use of technology in teaching. I am hopeful if I can become successful using various technologies, then I will be able to convince decision makers to bring increased technology to the school. This is the difference I will make.