The three biggest take aways I have from this course:
- The first take away is that technology can be used in the classroom in many different ways. When I signed up for this class and read the description, I expected to learn about Smartboard activities and blogging sites. I had such a narrow mind when it came to technology in the classroom. Through this class I have learned that there is so much more to technology in the classroom. For example, technology can help with making quizzes that will be graded automatically and it can also make studying easier through websites such as Quizlet.com. Blogs are excellent ways to publish students work and help students communicate ideas with others. Finally, I learned that there are many programs (Class Dojo, Class Tag, and SeeSaw) that allow easy communication with parents along with sharing classwork and activities that has been created by their students.
- The second take away is that there are more programs other than Microsoft Office out there. Like most people my age, we were taught everything through Microsoft Word and PowerPoint. Because of this, I became so comfortable with these programs and I was nervous to branch out and try new programs. Through this class, I was encouraged to branch out and try new things and because of that, I have learned that there are free versions of other programs that may even be better than Microsoft Office in some ways. For example, Google Docs allows users to type on the same document at the same time, which would make group projects a breeze for students. LibreOffice was another program that I learned about that is comparable to Microsoft Office.
- The final take away is the reminder of how important that it is to follow internet safety rules and precautions. When we created our website on digital citizenship, acceptable use policy, netiquette, internet safety, copyright, fair use, and plagiarism, it reminded me how important it is to teach these topics to your students starting from the first time you introduce a new form of technology to them.
Favorite Assignment:
The assignment that I enjoyed the most in this class was the video assignment. Before this class, I had a little experience with creating videos using Windows Movie Maker. In my teens, I used to mess around with it and create lyric videos for YouTube. I also created videos during EDM310 in undergrad. Though, programs have changed since I created my last video, I was still able to create a video that I was pretty proud of. I chose to create a video highlighting my dogs, the topic that I chose made this assignment sooo fun! Since creating my video for this class, I have created a couple of videos for my students during distance learning. I look forward to creating more engaging and fun videos throughout my teaching career.
Two ways that I plan to incorporate technology into my classroom:
- The first way that I plan to incorporate technology into my classroom is by having students use the Alabama Virtual Library. Before this class, I had NO idea about the Alabama Virtual Library. As I explored this resource for this class, I was blown away by that amount of materials on this website. The AVL will be an important resource that is used by myself and my students in the future.
- Another way that I plan to incorporate technology into my classroom is designing assessments online. Previously, when I heard the word “assessment”, I would automatically think of pencil and paper tests. I love the idea of using Kahoot, SeeSaw or Socrative for assigning assessments. Using tools of technology rather than pencil and paper tests strikes students’ interest and it will also make grading easier for the teacher and allow more time for planning. Also, most students prefer competition or hands on assignments and most technology-based assessment tools do just that. I also love the idea of assessing as we instruct. That helps to prevent miscommunication or misconceptions as you can make corrections in real-time. I look forward to creating interactive assessments for my students!
I have learned SO many valuable ways to incorporate technologies through this course and I will constantly be trying out each and every one of them throughout my career. This course has been one of my all-time favorites. 🙂
Brandy Duke's Blog 