"Lessons Learned"

It was interesting to take the quiz and read the standards, but the thing that I enjoyed the most was watching the video clips and reading the articles.  I found them extremely informative.  All of that wonderful information helped to reinforce my opinions on our changing society and the fact that "shift is happening."  I am excited to be experiencing this modern uprising.  Technology will and does open up so many doors for so many people.  I love the fact that my future students will be able to utilize web quests and virtual field trips, pod casts and Internet research.  

When it comes to concerns, technological advancement does not concern me.  Individual people, schools, and school districts lagging behind the times do concern me.  My future students will be technological natives. If I am going to teach them in a manner they will understand and respect then I must do it while speaking their language.  When I apply for future jobs I will take the schools technology based learning environment into consideration.  It is deeply important to me that as a teacher I have the support of my employers when it comes to technology based teaching.  It is a new technological era and I am excited to be a living part of it.  

"Strengths & Weaknesses"

I have many various strengths and weaknesses in life as well as technology.  One strength which also happens to be a weakness is my experience working with various forms of technology.  I have always used Macintosh computers as well as PCs, so in many ways I feel I am ahead of my peers.  I am not an expert at any form of technology but, I do have experience with most forms of technology.  I have dibbled and dabbled in various forms, and feel comfortable with  most any program.  I am ashamed to say that on the UNI survey there was only one question where I was able to mark Expert, and that was software applications.  I enjoy experimenting with and utilizing various applications, and it seems my varied experience will prove to benefit me in my future classroom.  I am discovering that although it is beneficial to have a general understanding of various technologies, it would be superior to specialize in at least one of these technologies.  

In my future classroom with my future students I would like to choose one type of computer and help my students to become expert navigators.  I want them to feel completely comfortable and superior with at least one form of technology.  If they have a good grasp on one form then understanding others will be much easier.  I would also like to make sure that my students are properly able to analyze their web based research for authority, accuracy, currency, and relevance.   This is something I have struggled with as I have become more and more integrated with the technology around me.  I want my students to feel comfortable utilizing the Internet for school based assignments, while keeping in mind that all information and resources are not necessarily created equal.   

One Website that I have found to be immensely informative when trying to analyze my sources has been the Cornell University library.  Specifically their instructions on critically analyzing information sources.  I like the idea of comparing web based research to research done in a physical library.  It helped me to understand the basics of verifying research.  It is a great site and I will highly encourage my future students to browse through it. A second way that I might be able to improve my weakness's would be to browse through the website kidinfo.  This is a great site that I have stumbled across.  It is full of kid friendly information pertaining to various computer programs.  I would love to be an expert in using either a PC or Mac.  This site can help clarify some of the basic operations for me.  It is also a kid friendly resource that I could direct future students to.

Technology Article #2

A second type of technology that I am super excited about is the idea of interactive educational games.  I love the idea that students can play computer games (which they love) and benefit from the process!   There are countless websites that provide free educational gaming for students of elementary school age.  One site that I have spent some time on is apples4theteacher.  

Apples4theteacher is such a fun site.  It has a plethora of educational games.  Specifically it has a great selection of math games for elementary school students.  In my future teaching I would like to change my students negative connotations of mathematics.  One of the ways I can successfully do this is make math fun for them.  What better way to make math fun than through computer gaming.  I love the idea that there are free computer games available for teachers and students alike.  

Learning needs to be fun, modern technology fills that need.  The students I will be teaching are natives of the technology world.  If I don't chose to teach them on their level and in their language I will lose them.  I want them to succeed and have wonderful learning experiences.  In my future teaching career I will be utilizing the free educational gaming world. It is the perfect medium to reinforce knowledge and insight that I would like my students to gain.