Reflection

The Foundations of Educational Technology course has been an amazing experience.  I have enjoyed so many of the activities.  When the course began, I felt clueless and afraid of the unknown.  Technology had always been my Achilles heel. It was confusing and overwhelming due to the massive amount of information available.  After diving into each assignment, my fear began to fade and enlightenment developed replacing the fear that once existed my mind.  I was excited to learn and even more excited to share my experiences with my students and colleagues. My colleagues welcomed me into their classrooms and gave me the opportunity to share my newfound joy of integrating technology into our curriculum to increase student engagement and learning.

My students have also shown a love for technology.  They are logging onto websites with quickness and ease.  Their keyboarding skills are increasing.  Recently, our school hosted Family Math Night.  I spoke to the parents about the use of manipulatives to solve math problems.  I wanted to introduce the parents to another way for their children to practice their math skills at home by using technology.  I told my students it was time to Kahoot.  The students grabbed a laptop and their login cards, logged into our Google Classroom and immediately logged into Kahoot.com. The parents were amazed with their speed in accessing the information. They also enjoyed playing and learning with Kahoot. 

These past few months have increased my knowledge about integrating technology into our classroom and I have grown as a connected educator. As a connected educator, I am aware of the opportunities available on the internet and I am not afraid to try them.  I am also aware of the dangers which exist and will make sure to revisit lessons on being a Digital Citizen.  I will continue to stay connected to the technological opportunities and advancements by using Twitter.  Twitter is a great platform to stay connected to people and organizations committed to increasing student learning by educating teachers.

I want to thank my classmates for sharing ideas during our discussions.  I have learned a lot from them.  I continue to learn from them as I peruse their blogs and look at their incredible assignments.  There are many ideas and information I have gained, but two have stuck with me, Front Rowed.com and the information on dysgraphia.  I have dived into FrontRowed.com and my students enjoy it.  This site provides so much information about my students’ strengths and struggles in math.  Reading about Dysgraphia and visiting the @understoodorg, has opened my eyes to realizing what dysgraphia looks like and how I can help students who may be struggling with this.

Learning about Technology has opened my eyes and made me a better teacher.  My 1^st grade students and I enjoy learning about the countless opportunities to learn and share using technology and look forward to many more exciting activities.