Course Reflection

Upon reflection of the last several weeks in this course I have been able to really see how much I have really grown as a teacher and professional. This course has really helped me to develop my own technology skills as a professional teacher and I feel more confident about actually implementing more of these tools in my everyday classroom. This course has shown me how to actually navigate and utilize three of today’s most used tools on the web. I have been able to learn the process of creating blogs, wikis and podcasts and how to use them in my own class and how useful they can be in the 21st century classroom.
My knowledge of the teaching and learning process has deepened since the start of this course because I have come to the realization that students today have to learn an very new set of skills in order to become a successful member in this 21st century society. I had never been aware of how the learning and teaching process has really changed. I think that for teachers to be successful in teaching their students we have to understand what skills they need to be successful.
I have now changed my perspective from being teacher-centered to learner-centered and have realized the importance in this way of teaching. It is so important that our students get the most up to ate and relevant instruction and part of that is relating what they learn in the classroom to real life challenges they face in the world today. By creating a learner centered way of teaching the teacher becomes the facilitator and the students begin to take charge of their own learning. This will ultimately help the students as they enter the real world if they have been given the proper education and experiences. I am going to continue to expand my knowledge of learning, teaching, and leading with technology with the aim of increasing student achievement by committing myself to the implementation and use of Web 2.0 tools in my daily classroom. I am also committing myself to stay focused on my Masters courses and get as much out of them as I can because I know they are going to prepare me to become the best teacher I can be and provide my students with a diverse and high quality education.

My Podcast

I interviewed two students from my school to ask them what kinds of technologies they use at school and at home. I spoke with a kindergarten student and a first grader and discovered that use computers and Smartboards quite often in their daily classroom. The technologies that they use at home are mostly computers and video games.

Here is a link to my podcast:
http://jennycook.podomatic.com/entry/2009-06-07T15_41_41-07_00