Final Reflections

I've been thinking about technology a lot lately and I have to attribute it to this class. I just never realized that there were so many sources out there that I could use! Wikipedia is definitely a big one. Once I found out that the content it contained could be changed by anyone I was definitely a little weary of using it myself and letting my future students use it. However, after the very enlightening class we had that focused on Wikipedia I have definitely changed my tune. Now I know that the people who are adding and taking away from Wikipedia really care about the content. I also think that Wikipedia should definitely be used to find information, as long as there are some ground rules as to how it's used.

Another source I am taking away from this class is the use of Wikis and Blogs. I had heard of blogs before but merely saw them as an online diary for those that felt they needed to share their problems with the world. However, after using blogs in class I see the value that they present. Blogs can be used in so many ways, from fishbowls to authentic reflections, that I would be crazy not to incorporate them into my classroom. I've even been brainstorming on ways that I can use blogs for questions about homework so that either I can help the students as they work or they can help each other. Wikis are also an extremely valuable source. Who could deny that having a way for students to interact with things such as the syllabus and notes for class is a great thing! Giving the students the ability to change things as they see fit gives them so many possibilities for involvement. Even the most shy child in the classroom can get involved.

These are just a few of the valuable resources I am taking away from this class. I came into the class with one perspective on technology and am leaving with an entirely different view of the resources that we can use in our classrooms to enhance learning. Through the technology I have learned in this class I will be able to enter the teaching world with a large bag of tricks that many others will not have. I believe that this will most definitely make my lessons more valuable and interesting to the children I will come to teach.

Finally a Blog that works!

So I haven't been able to get into my Edublog for about 3 or 4 days so I figured I would go ahead and set up a new blog. I really enjoyed everyone's presentations on their books and I might even have to read a few. But I found that blogging and trying to listen to the presentation was very frustrating. It was hard to respond to a post because unless you typed just a few word answer your post would be 4 or 5 posts away from the one you were trying to respond to. But I can see where it can be useful in my class. I'm really looking forward to hearing everyone's project presentations on Friday, from the sound of things I think they will be very interesting. Although the class has made me very frustrated at times I have definitely learned many things throughout the course of this class that I can use in my class.