Blogfolio

           Before beginning this course, I truly did not know what to expect about what I would be learning. However, I gained so much valuable knowledge that I will be sure to incorporate into my future classroom. Not only did this class teach me new technological information, but it also taught me to look at older technology differently to use in my future classroom. For instance, I always viewed Twitter as only another social media site. Now I see how to use Twitter in my class as a collaboration or research tool. Throughout the course, I completed several beneficial assignments.

            My first completed assignment was to post an introduction video of myself. I had never actually uploaded a video, yet it was surprisingly easy to do. This assignment follows the NETS-T standard 2a of the designing or adapting relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity because it allowed us express ourselves through a video. Most teachers follow the common format of having students stand up and tell about themselves or write an introduction paper about themselves. However, by allowing me to video myself it gave me an alternate way to express about myself. I could incorporate this in my classroom as an interactive icebreaker and have the student ask each other questions and film the interviews. I truly like this assignment because it shows students that technology can be easily used.

            My second assignment was to create a concept map with inspiration software. This assignment followed the NETS-T standard 1a of promoting, supporting, and modeling creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness because it is a creative way to have student’s brainstorm topics or present information to the class. I could use this in my future classroom by having students teach their peers about certain topics. It would allow the students to be innovative in their thinking process. I believe that students would benefit from using technological concept maps rather than using common concept maps because it allows them to connect more information such as hyperlinks and photos. I really liked this assignment because it allowed me to display my knowledge of sea animals in an innovative way.

            My third assignment completed was making a movie. This assignment followed the NETS-T standard 2b because it incorporates allowing all students to seek their individual curiosities in technology-enriched learning environments. I could use this assignment in my future classroom by using it to increase a student’s engagement in the writing process. I would allow the students to choose a topic of interest and write a story about the topic. Then, the students would be able to see their stories come to life as they made a movie about their stories. I did like this assignment a lot because it was fun to be creative and create something personal.

            My fourth assignment to complete was to create a voki. I was probably the most unfamiliar with this form of technology because I had never even heard of it before. Vokis follow the NETS-T standard 3c to communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media. It followed this standard because the voki was used to introduce ourselves to our students through an interactive format. I could use this in my future classroom as an engagement tool. The students will be more interested in listening to my information if I changed up the format continually. The students will be interested in watching the voki rather than listen to me lecture. Although I liked this assignment, it is probably the least likely to be used often. It took a long time to create the voki and there was a limit on how much it could actually talk. I just do not believe it will be as beneficial as the other assignments.

             My final assignment was to create my teacher’s web page. Personally, I believe this assignment will help me the most in the future because it taught me how to set up a web page that could easily be accessed by parents or students. This assignment followed the NETS-T standard 4b of addressing the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies and providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources. Creating a web page followed this standard because it allowed me to organize resources for parents and students in my classroom. Once I formally become a teacher, it will be vital to the success in my classroom to have a web page for parents to keep up with current events in my class. I really liked this assignment because it prepared me to set my classroom web page in the future.

            I honestly believe that I will greatly benefit from this course in the future. It taught me to appreciate technology and how vital it is to use in my future classroom. I now believe that I am equipped to teacher my students about using technology. Additionally, I enjoyed this course and will greatly appreciate the benefits I gained from it.