Reflecting Back...

As my 8-week course on integrating technology comes to a close, I have to say I have a completely attitude towards the benefits of technology in my classroom. I have tried to incorporate lessons that are more hands-on than what we’ve thought of middle school math classes being when we took them. From this course I have seen how I can integrate technology into my classes to make the learning not only hands-on, but student-directed as well.

There are many technology skills that I have learned that I would like to integrate into my classroom. First, I learned how to blog (obviously). This was something that I had never done personally and always thought of it as a technology for personal use rather than educational use. I have seen how if implemented correctly, blogs can really enhance the learning that takes place in the classroom. Next, I learned how to create a wiki. Wikis were again something that I had heard of and knew there was educational value to them, but did not realize how easy it was to create one.

I want to continue reading some of the blogs that I have been following about integrating technology in the classroom. This will provide me more ideas of things that I can do in my classroom with blogs and wikis and even other technologies. I have been in communication with the computer teacher in our school about what she teaches in each grade level. We have been discussing when to introduce the introductory ideas of blogging and wikis to middle school students so they have the background knowledge and the classroom teacher won’t have to go over that.

One of the goals I have starting with the new school year is to form either a blog or wiki (still contemplating which would be best) to use as a daily summary of the lesson. I also want this to be a place where students can find resources to help them study. Many students do not know how to study for math and where to find extra problems. A blog or a wiki would be a great aid for them. Another benefit to having a blog or wiki is that students can ask me questions as well as questions of their peers.

Another goal I have is to write a grant to get a SmartBoard either in my classroom or at least for the Math department. I think this is a great tool that can be extremely useful in a Math classroom. It will help to engage the students and keep their interest, thus raising achievement.

I am greatly looking forward to the future of education. It is exciting to be a teacher and knowing that the changing technology and is benefiting our students and encouraging them to think critically. One thing my students do not do is seek answers to their questions. They automatically just ask the teacher and I think the new technology will encourage them to find their own answers.

Technology Usage of Students

This week I interviewed two students and asked them various questions about their technology usage at home and in school.

The questions that I asked were:
1.) How much time do you spend watching TV at home?
2.) How much time do you spend on the internet at home and which websites do you spend the most time on?
3.) Do you have a cell phone? Do you have unlimited texting? How many text messages do you send a day?
4.) Do you play video games?
5.) What technology do you use the most at school?

I think their responses were representative of a typical student in our school.

Interview with Students