Reflection

I have enjoyed this course more than any other course because I have been introduced to so many different technological ideas that I are easy and effective ways of teaching students. For example, one of my favorites was the VoiceThread. I had never seen this program before but think it would be a great way to get students to express their thoughts about certain topics. It is also very interesting because students think so differently so each VoiceThread would be representing the personality of each individual student and how they interpreted the assignment. I will definitely be incorporating this program into my future science lessons.
Another type of technology that my students are probably all familiar with is blogging. I would like to use blogging to improve upon not only the subject area I teach but also their writing skills. I plan to post a question on my classroom blog once a week having to do with the topic for that week. Each student will have thirty minutes computer time in the library to respond to this question using scientific facts and even their own opinions. I will grade them and give feedback with the goal that each student will progress not only in science but in writing as well.
Two goals I would like to achieve to improve technological integration are writing grants to be approved for more technology such as computers and smart boards and learning how to use new tools such as these to effectively teach my students. To do this I will first need to research who to write to and then learn how to write a grant. I will need to decide if I would rather write a grant for a certain dollar amount to purchase these products or if I should write a grant for the products alone. I will need to find out who I need to go through to get approval to send a grant as well as find out what my department needs or could use the most in the classroom. I will also need to attend any seminars for teachers that help with learning how to use these to tools so that I can be prepared when using them in the classroom. This is a very big goal to have and will be a very tedious process but in the end it will all be worth it to be able to teach my students using a variety of technology in the classroom.