This Technical Semester...

I learned so much about different forms of technology and how important they are to teaching and learning! Before this class, I was afraid of technology. I always viewed technology as a scary thing that always frustrated me. I tended to have the mind set that I was going to be one of those teachers that only used the white boards and tangible books. But now, I am planning lessons and activities that involve various forms of technology!

Throughout this semester, I really enjoyed using blogs. It was interesting to share our thoughts on a public site and also view and comment on our class mates' blogs. I think blogs are a great tool to use in the classroom because it is an informal way to reflect on what you learned or what your feelings are about something. I want to learn even more about SMARTboards because they seem very interesting and fun. From my experience with SMARTboards, I have found that students get very excited while using them. I think SMARTboards are great to have in classrooms because they promote interaction and visuals! As a teacher, I want to use wikis in my classrooms for various projects. I have found that wikis are a great way to organize assignments, manage students' work, and assess their progress over time. I have already found myself using Google Docs and slideshare in other classes, which tells me that those are very helpful tools to continue to use.

Although technology can be difficult to use and frustrating at times, it is extremely exciting and ESSENTIAL in our future lives. I cannot wait to incorporate my new knowledge of technology into my future teaching!