FINAL REFLECTION ON TECHNOLOGY
The Walden graduate course that I have taken on "understanding the impact of technology on education, work, and society" has really helped me to develop my technology skills as a professional teacher. I knew technology was important and after taking this course, I now realize how important it is for me as an educator to stay on top of the latest technology and find ways to implement technology into my everyday teaching. Before taking this course, I never dreamed of blogging or podcasting. I never attempted to use modern technology for fear of failure. I have more confidence in myself and have learned that there are many other teachers who are just learning how to use technology in their classrooms. I also thought that our school district was one of only a few districts lacking modern technology. After talking to other students through our discussion groups, I learned that there are many schools and teachers hoping for better technology.
I have deepened my knowledge of the teaching and learning process. The implementation of technology related activities and skills in the classroom are necessary for the future success of our students. Throughout this course I have read and believe that students need to be challenged and also need to work cooperatively to prepare for their future in a world centered around technology. Technology has made communication and information easily accessible and has made our world smaller and has opened doors for communication with the rest of the world.
I will continue to expand my knowledge of learning and leading with technology. This summer I have signed up for a course on blogging and plan on using blogging in my English classes when we return to school in August. I am hoping that students will get more out of my classes and will be excited to use technology to help them learn. Since communication is such an important aspect of life, I plan on teaching my students how to communicate with their peers by blogging.
I have set two long-term goals to transform my classroom environment. The first is to shift the focus of my teaching to a more cooperative style. I have spent so much of my teaching time in the past lecturing and using activities that didn't really inspire a higher level of learning in the classroom. I will work to make my lessons and teaching more cooperative. The second goal I have set is to continue learning more and using more technology in the classroom. For a long time I thought the lack of technology in my classroom was holding me back. After taking a survey and realizing that all of my students have access to technology, I now know that I will need to be creative, but can have my students use technology based skills and assignments in their learning.
A few of my answers have changed from a survey I took at the beginning of this course. I will now design instructional activities requiring collaboration to acccomplish a joint take. Another change I will make is to provide my students with multiple and varied opportunities for using technology tools and resources to support their learning. The last aspect of my teaching that has changed is promoting the development of leadership and technology skills with my colleagues, as well as students.
