During my time in IT 365, I have learned about a
great many technology tools that I know that I will reuse in the future (when I
am a teacher). I have learned about the appropriate goals of technology through
the NETS standards for teachers, and I have learned how to incorporate those
technology goals in the "mock" assignments that I have created during
this class. Through the assignments that we have done in class, I have come to
realize that there are so many free tools out there on the web, and many times,
these tools make learning much more affective for both the students and the
teacher.
My
strongest point in this class has been the creation of the blog and website. I
really enjoy reading blogs, and so I think that is why I have really liked
learning how to create my own blog and teacher website. Also, I had had
previous experience working with the creation of teacher sites before entering
this class. (I had previously created a wiki page for another education class.)
I believe that it is for those reasons that I have most excelled in the use of
blogger.
On
the other hand, working with assistive software, such as
"Kidspiration" and "Ease of Access", has been one of my
weakest points. I think these things were my weak points because not only had I
never worked with this software during the creation process, but neither had I ever
even seen the software being used before, much less used the software myself.
Working with "Ease of Access" gave me the most trouble, but in the
end, I was appreciative for it because I know that it is something that I will
have to use again. I am glad that I will now have had experience using this
software before entering a classroom.
To
improve my personal hindrances with working with “Ease of Access” and “Kidspiration”,
I plan to work with these programs much more before I get my own classroom. I
am also considering coming back to school (after I have graduated with my
bachelor’s degree) to take more classes, possibly in areas that deal with
special education. However, if I decide to go a different route, I know that accessibility
features are something that can be incorporated in any classroom
(including the general classroom). For students who are in the general
classroom, software such as Kidspiration would be especially useful in both
gifted and special needs students. Gifted students could use Kidspiration to
become further engaged and to deepen their understanding of certain subjects,
while for special needs students, Kidspiration might provide a link to help the
student learn better from a website, game, or video. In the future, I know that
no matter whether I teach in the general classroom or not, I will have plenty
of practice using these skills to improve in those weak areas.
In my
own classroom, I plan to use technology to help students with different
learning styles. The text for this class explains how teachers can apply for
grants to purchase materials that help students to become more engaged in their
work. For example, iPods are especially helpful for English Language Learners
who can use these iPods to listen to podcasts or recordings (made by the teacher
or other) to learn the English language. Lessons can be prerecorded by a
translator so that less class time is being used in helping ELL to
understand simple directions.
-Tiffani Freeman
