Reflection

The progression of this course has gotten me thinking more about how to incorporate technology into my classroom on a regular basis. Using technology in the classroom requires different types of teaching strategies. First, the management style you use will probably be different when using technology. Students react differently when technology is around, so the way I introduce and use technology needs to be different. Technologies can also incorporate different teaching strategies. Some technologies are more interactive than others, so I need to decide what teaching style I want to use and then find a technology that fits that style.

The most popular technology to use in the classroom is the Internet. Students now have greater access to research and educational games as well as inappropriate content. When I think about using the Internet in my classroom, I need to think about the possible negative outcomes as well as the benefits. The evaluation process also includes testing the links of websites being used to ensure they are active and appropriate. If a website has inappropriate or inaccurate information I need to consider carefully if I should use it for my lesson. Part of my responsibility as a teacher is to teach my students how to evaluate their use of technology, specifically the Internet. With so much available at their fingertips, they need to be able to be responsible about what they use the Internet for. Instilling values and morals is part of being an educator and will help my students develop into conscientious adults.

I believe I have met my personal goals for this course. I learned about new technologies as well as how to use them in my own classroom. The information shared by the instructor as well as by the other students proved to be incredibly helpful. The best resource we have is each other and I believe I took great advantage of the resources available in this class.

Currently, my goal is to continue finding ways to integrate technology into each unit of social studies and science that I teach. I have only picked these two subjects to start with because I know smaller goals are more realistic for me. As I plan through these units this year, I will be looking for ways to incorporate technology in various ways whether it be me using the technology as a teacher or using the technology with my students or teaching my students how to use a new technology. The more I can responsibly and effectively use technology in my classroom, the more likely my students are to become engaged in learning.