Reflection What I Learned

This class was very helpful to me and I have learned so much.  The textbook was easy to read and understand and is relevant and up to date.  The course was organized and the format was easy to follow which was very helpful for me because technology seemed overwhelming and intimidating.

Although I enjoyed everything about the class, my favorite assignments were the video and developing a website.  I honestly can’t believe that I was able to complete these assignments.  Because of these activities and this class, I have gained confidence in my ability to learn and use technology.  My teaching methods will be more relevant and students will benefit from the technology that I integrate in each lesson.  

Thank you for an excellent learning experience.

 

Reflection Chapter 10 and 11

The main idea in Chapter 10 for me was a new approach of using technology  to make the classroom more multicultural.  The online language translation service is an incredible and amazing tool that I think would automatically help students and teachers be able to communicate, accept and respect each other.  I know how frustrating it can be when you  want to communicate and put the person at ease but the language barrier makes it awkward and almost impossible.  I think that having students use a language translator with each other would also be a great way to build understanding and relationships in the classroom.

I am absolutely amazed at the possibilities that using digital portfolios could bring to the classroom.  For teachers, the ease and convenience of keeping their best lessons, videos and projects in one place and easily accessible is a great idea.  Teachers could also utilize a digital portfolio to manage their professional development records and also for training student teachers.   A digital portfolio for the student does sound time consuming but I think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.  Besides eliminating all the paper that follows each student, I love the idea of a technological record of the students accomplishments and achievements.  I believe that a digital portfolio would be more meaningful to the student because they could be involved in helping develop it and also that it could be kept for a longer period of time.