Teaching with Technology

Reflection on my learning:

Throughout this semester I have become aware of many  uses of technology that were unknown to me before this class. Not only have I become aware of new ways to use technology, but I have also been made aware of the importance of using technology in my classroom. Learning to use technology requires children to go through the same process as they would learning to solve a math problem. Children must analyze, problem solve, and evaluate their decisions in both processes. Understanding this helps me to realize that technology is not another subject  to teach in our busy schedules, but is something that is integrated into our lessons much like music or art. I feel that often teachers are against the use of technology because they don't want  more things to teach or because they don't have a healthy understanding of how to use technology; however, like everything else we must take time to learn how to use technology in our teaching and learning because this is the direction our world is headed. By keeping technology out of our classrooms we are only creating kids who are at a disadvantage of being successful. Teacher and children must learn together how technology will be used in the classrooms and outside of the classroom. Being technology literate will in many ways be almost as important as being reading literate.

Through this class I have seen ways that technology can enhance and help teaching and learning, but at no point should technology be used in place of another type of instruction that would be better in a certain learning situation. For example, I found myself trying to use my computer to create worksheets and graphs and everything else that could be made for my classroom. As I was becoming frustrated with trying to make a simple worksheet on a computer, I forgot that I could use my  markers and paper to create the very same thing in a lot less time. At this point I realized that technology is great for many things and can be very time saving, however, this is not always the case and sometimes it is best to do things the old way. As a teacher our purpose should be to use whatever necessary to help our kids learn whether that is through technology or through other more familiar ways of teaching.

This "Teaching with Technology"  portfolio provides artifacts that demonstrate my learning in this class. I have used technology to fit my needs as a teacher. I have created a Language Experience Story using PowerPoint. I have learned to develop a newsletter for my students which could also be developed by my students. Using Access, a database used to keep information about my students interest, reading levels, and grade levels was made. Professional development was brought into my learning through the listserv which allows me to talk daily with fellow teachers across the US. The internet tools module made me aware of the many free resources on the internet that are offered to teachers in order to create work pages, generate rubrics, develop web quests and so on. Each of the modules made me aware of a new way to use technology, allowed me to explore it's uses, and apply what I had learned as well as share it with others.