Best and Worst of Tech Topics

I have really enjoyed this class overall. I feel as though I learned a lot about technology, especially technology that I can use effectively in my classroom in the future. While it is difficult at the moment with the school I currently work for to incorporate many of these ideas, I appreciate that I am now more educated in them. I think that all of the topics covered in this class are vital to helping us be the 21st Century educators that are going to be teaching the most technologically advanced generation yet.

One of my favorite parts of the class was learning about new and different presentation tools rather than just sticking to the generic PowerPoint presentations it seems that everyone uses. I liked being able to develop my own presentation on one of these other tools in order to really learn how to use it and be able to incorporate it into lessons I will teach in the future. While at times I did not really enjoy completing a lot of the work that went into our online portfolios, I really did enjoy the project as a whole. I thought it was neat to be able to build our own website filled with projects we have completed and will be able to use as a valuable resource upon entering a job search in a couple of years.

After taking this class, I have been advocating at the agency I work for to purchase more technology to be used in our classrooms. I am hoping that once our available technology is improved, I will be able to not only use a lot these tools I learned about this semester in my classroom, but to help other teachers at the agency do so as well.

Personal Learning Networks

I was unable to find any personal learning networks dedicated specifically to special ed; however, I was able to locate a PLN for educators in general that had a good variety of materials, blogs, and discussions for all types of teachers. The Educators' PLN has over 12,000 members contributing to the site in a multitude of different ways. I like that there is a good variety of resources available included with this PLN. Not only is there a forum with almost 500 different discussions for teachers to communicate ideas, struggles, and advice with one another, there are also links to over 1,000 blogs written by teachers, a live chat, links to other educationally oriented websites, and helpful videos. I thought that this PLN provided a lot of good resources for all types of teachers who are either seeking assistance with issues in their classrooms or who want to provide advice to others.

Commenting on Others' Blogs

It was a weird feeling for me to comment on another person's blog...on one hand I think that it's pretty fascinating that in the span of my lifetime out culture has progressed to one where we are able to instantaneously respond to others' thoughts and feelings in a virtual way. However, on the other hand, it's still kind of weird to me that we are able to do this in an atmosphere where anything can be written, any opinion can be shared without much regulation, however beneficial or harmful it may be. I think that blogs are a great forum for sharing/discussing ideas and opinions, but it still makes me nervous to be able to do so without knowing how such comments/reactions are going to have an effect on the writer.

Portfolios as Valid Assessment Tools

I think that portfolios can be valid assessment tools because of how comprehensive they are in their nature. Portfolios are designed to showcase the expanse of someone's ability and I think that when they are done well they can do just that. Because of the variety of materials included in a portfolio, I think that they can be more valid than other assessment tools in terms of identifying how much a student has actually learned through completing the various assignments for the portfolio. If the assignments are diversified well, portfolios can be a comprehensive form of assessment while other forms (an essay, multiple choice test, etc.) gauge a student's performance in a smaller area of expertise. While I do not necessarily enjoy having to complete all of the different aspects included in a portfolio, I do think that they can be a valid form of assessment of a student's abilities when they are formed and then completed well.

21st Century Teaching...

I think that the central tenants of educating students using 21st century teaching skills are extremely valuable in theory. However, I find it hard to be able to incorporate such ideas into my classroom. Because of the population I work with and the lack of resources available to me, it is challenging to incorporate any sort of technology into our day to day classroom work. I believe that it is vitally important to encourage students to learn how to use technology more effectively and to assimilate those skills into teaching the standard curriculum; however, there is no possible way for me to do that at the school I currently work for. I do, however, feel as though I attempt to include other 21st century teaching skills by developing hands-on projects that engage the whole student, their creative abilities, and their intellect rather than only teaching through lecture and notes on the board.

Free Write

So far, I feel this class has encouraged me to develop how often I incorporate technology into my classroom as well as improved my ability to use different types of technology. While I appreciate the exposure to these new and, at times, challenging ideas, I am still unsure how much I like the idea of blogging. It remains odd to me that anybody can access what I am writing...it is hard for me to write openly and creatively when I know that it could not only be viewed by my teacher and classmates, but to anyone who would ever happen to stumble upon it. While that fact that this is even possible does amaze me, it also makes me apprehensive to write about a lot of things.

Video Lesson Experience

It was an interesting experience for me to hear myself teaching. While I enjoyed learning about video editing as part of this assignment, I feel like it's always somewhat awkward to listen and/or watch yourself doing anything. However, I think that this assignment can also work to improve my teaching skills because it allows me to evaluate how I am coming across to my students and what I can do to teach more effectively with the type of students I have in my classroom. I guess that the awkwardness of listening to myself is outweighed by the benefits I can receive from bringing a critical eye to my teaching style and abilities.