Technology in the Classroom

In Dr. Kist's Language, Literacy, and Learning class, we have learned some really interesting new uses for technology in teaching. One example of this technology is this blog, created to display some class-related discussion.

I have never considered myself to be very good with technology, so the idea of using it in the classroom with my students was a little intimidating. In Educational Technology we created an online portfolio, but as a coworker of mine just mentioned, it seems like that class was so long ago for me that I forget a lot of the things we learned. It would be helpful if we could have taken it closer to student teaching. Dr. Kist's assignments have gotten me interested in learning more about technology. I was inspired to get back into FrontPage to work on my portfolio, even though I spent hours trying to remember how to update the information. After the portfolio update, I created my first blog for Dr. Kist's class and I completed my second wiki, quite possibly the easiest form of a "web page" there is. I will definitely use wikis in my classroom after having experienced how easy it can actually be to create a wiki and update it over time.

Dr. Kist's assignments have been a wake-up call to me that technology in classrooms is only going to become more prevalent, and we as future teachers can either decide to meet it head on and use it for its benefits, or we could choose to fall behind. Accenting class work with technology through the form of blogs or wikis opens the doors for students to demonstrate not only their understanding of content, but their talent and creativity as well.

I have been showing off my new web pages by putting links in every possible place where people might find them and being able to click on them! I'm proud of the work I've done online, and I hope I can pass that great feeling on to my students in the future.