Reflection

Although I am still a bit wary of the classifications, I would define myself as a digital native. For many young educators with this digital native background comes the thoughts, “we grew up with all of this technology and we know how to use it!” Reflecting back on this prior opinion, I have come to realize that I could not have been more wrong. In my eighth week of Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society I have discovered many uses of technology that I never knew existed.
Growing up with the constant expansion of new technology has heightened and sharpened my skills with computers and electronic devices. I would in some areas even consider myself an expert. After working through this course I still feel comfortable with my skill level, however, there are more resources available than I imagined. This course has helped my ability to research what technology is available within our society.
With the goal of higher student achievement in mind, technology has proved to be extremely effective. From the start of the course we heard the phrase “doing things differently and doing things different”. I found this phrase extremely beneficial for distinguishing between the same lessons taught with the ease of a piece of technology, or actually changing the lesson to something students would not be able to complete without the use of technology. I have discovered that using the internet and expanding learning and making connections to other communities, makes a difference with student motivation. With the element of student motivation on our side, it is hopeful that students will be able to increase their own achievement. This course has provided strategies on how to effectively incorporate blogs and wikis into the classroom. I look forward to discovering other strategies and ideas through colleagues, future courses, educational websites, and many other bookmarked forums and research I have come in contact with in this course.
My first long term goal will be finding a classroom to use all of these useful strategies and suggestions. In my current situation, it is my main goal to find a district that is ready for me to fit into their school. When I do start my first year as a teacher, I would like to incorporate technology into my classroom from the very beginning. That being said it will depend entirely on the resources that school has available. My hopes are that the school will have an accessible computer lab along with a few classroom computers so that I can start with a classroom wiki. For my first year, this will ensure that students are beginning to practice the needed 21st century skills without increasing the burnout rate of a new teacher. As a second year educator I would like to set up each student with a blog account and have mandatory weekly postings due. As an English teacher, I think that practice with writing is essential, and by using blogs, topics can be focused on student interest. I felt that this course was extremely beneficial and added to my own qualities as an effective educator. I look forward to what future courses will have as well.

Technology Podcast

Here is the link to my first podcast as well as links to the interviews with students.