Scenario

            As I start thinking about myself as an educator, I can pick out some strengths as well as some challenges for my future teaching.  Some strengths that I have are flexibility, organization, and patience.  I think these attributes will benefit me as a future teacher.  No two days in teaching is alike.  I will have to have a general outline for each day, but I will be prepared to change it.  Some lessons will go smooth, but others will take longer or shorter than originally planned.  I will have to be prepared for that.  All teachers must also be organized.  I believe that this is one of my best qualities.  Even during college I find that I am very organized.  As a teacher if your not organized that is just one more thing that you have to worry about.  Some students will be harder to deal with and help than others.  That is why I think my patience is a good attribute to have.  If I can have patience in my class my students will feel more at ease and want to learn. 

            Some challenges that I might struggle with in my future classroom is caring too much about my students and finding a balance between home and school.  Like many teachers, I love children and hate to see them suffer.  When I become a teacher I am going to have to find the “happy medium” between caring about a student’s academic welfare and intruding too much in their life.  I cannot single handedly make a child’s situation better for them.  I can only take the necessary steps get them in touch with a counselor or social worker.  There is so much to do as a teacher.  I spend hours preparing for my college classes, and can’t imagine how much time I will spend preparing as a real teacher.  I will have to figure our how to keep schoolwork at school and make time to spend with my family.    

            Every day technology changes.  What I am learning in technology class this semester might be obsolete when I actually start teaching.  I am going to have to continuously learn new and different tools every year if I want to integrate technology into my classroom.  When I come across a tool that I don’t know how to use, I’m not just going to pass it by.  I will find tutorials on the Internet to help me.  You can find tutorial on how to do almost anything these days.  If I can’t find a tutorial to use, I will ask someone else who might already be using the tool to help me. 

            I think technology can greatly impact student learning.  Every child learns in a different way.  Using technology can help me accommodate all types of learning styles.  For visual learners I could use Animoto videos and Wordles to help reinforce topics.  For auditory learners I could use VoiceThreads and podcasts more often.  Using text to voice technology could help me accommodate struggling readers.  I could even use Prezi to accommodate learners who need to see spatial relationships between topics.  Technology is so versatile.  It takes only a few minutes to tweak something so all learners can benefit from it. 

            I think all teachers need to have some confidence using technology in their classrooms.  We are living in a technological world, and our students need to be prepared to participate in that world.  To help promote technology in my school I would work with the principal to bring in professional development workshops on technology.  I could also be available to help teachers learn how to implement technology in their classrooms.  To help the faculty get ideas on how to integrate technology into the curriculum, I could set up a visit to another school that has successfully implemented it.  

            There are two projects that I did in technology class this semester that I definitely want to try in my own class someday.  Those two projects are Google Lit Trips and a VoiceThread.  Each of these projects teaches students more than just how to use technology.  Literature, geography, art, math, and science could all be addressed using these two tools.  The Google Lit Trip could definitely be beneficial in a classroom.  It allows students to learn and “visit” a place that they may never get to see.  This trip is especially interesting in Google Earth as opposed to Google Maps.          

           

           Now more than ever employers are demanding workers that take initiative, are technologically savvy, and know how to collaborate.  It is my job as a future teacher to educate students for that demand.  I believe integrating technology into my classroom can definitely help me meet this goal. 

My Wow Moment

             

             To be honest, at the start of the semester I didn’t really want to take this class.  I have never been very technologically savvy.  I was always the one asking other people how to do something, instead of me teach them.  I was actually a little nervous about taking this class, because I didn’t feel confident using technology.  Now, as I look back over the semester, I find that I have come a long way.  So with that being said, I guess my wow moment is actually becoming more comfortable using technology in my everyday life!  It has been more than a moment, but instead a progression of the entire semester.  I now know how to use tools that some of my friends have never even heard of! 

            Just the other day my boyfriend was complaining about finding time to meet with a group to work on a project.  I could actually sit down and show him how to use Google Docs to collaborate at home.  In another one of my classes my group needed to make a presentation to present some new information.  Instead of using a boring PowerPoint, I suggested we make a Prezi.  My group members had never seen Prezi before.  I was able to show them how!  When I was finished putting it together, they actually created an account and told me that they wanted to start using it themselves.      

Podcast Favorites

            Over the semester I listened to many podcasts from various people.  From all of these, my favorite was Tech Chick Tips.  In these podcasts two technologically savvy ladies discuss tools and tips for all educators.  I really liked listening to them because they were energetic and clearly passionate about what they were discussing.  They also always had show notes with hyperlinks right on the page where you listen to each podcast.  I really liked this feature because I could go to the tool they were talking about while they were talking about it.  On other podcast, the person might be talking about something that I didn’t understand because I couldn’t see it.  

            A few tools that I learned about from these ladies are Google Body Browser, Print, Cut, and Fold, and Google Art Project.  Google Body Browser is a free tool that allows you to look at different layers of the human body.  All you have to do is download the correct browser that supports it.  This would be great to use in a biology class for student to do virtual dissections.  Print, Cut, and Fold is another site that has downloadable PowerPoint templates that can printed, cut, and folded into many different things.  These templates include everything from mini-books and flip books to dioramas and pyramids.  Google Art Project is a tool kind of like Google Lit Trips.  You can take your class on a virtual tour of some of the biggest art museums in the world.  Students can see the artwork along with information about each one.  

Semester Favorites

            As I look back over the past semester I have several favorites.  The three projects/tools that I liked the most are Animoto, Prezi, and VoiceThread.  I think these three tools can be used in anyone’s classroom to help make learning fun and interesting. 

            Animoto is a way that you can make a video very quickly and easily.  All you have to do is create an account on Animoto.com, upload your photos, choose your music, and Animoto does the rest!  It is free to make a 30 second video.  However, if you want to make a longer one you can sign up for an educators account for a minimal fee.  In the classroom, a teacher could use Animoto to introduce a topic or end a topic.  She could also have her students make an Animoto to show what they have learned.  

 

            My second favorite tool was Prezi.  This tool could replace boring slideshows in our classrooms!  To get started go to prezi.com and create a free account.  From there they give you a blank canvas.  All you have to do is click anywhere to start adding text.  This is probably my favorite part.  You really don’t have to plan your presentation before you start to make it.  It is easy to add audio, video, and photos.  When you are finished create the path that you want your Prezi to move in.  This tool is great for someone that is non-linear.  They can just get their ideas on the page, and choose the order to present them at the end.  Teachers could use this tool to present information in a fun and interesting way to their students. 

            The final tool that I really enjoyed was VoiceThread.  All you have to do is go to voicethread.com, create and account, add photos, and record a comment to go with each photo.  Even though I really liked VoiceThread there were a few things that I wish they could change.  Once you start you can’t really redo a comment unless you want to completely start over.  This encourages extensive planning before recording.  I think every classroom in every state could use this tool to captures the words of someone influential in their community.