Thursday, April 24, 2014

Final thoughts

People have always told me that time flies as you get older, and man, they weren't kidding! I can't believe this semester is almost over. As I reflect back on this semester and the knowledge I've gained through my technology class, CI 302, I am happy with how far I've come. I have learned so many tools and ways to incorporate technology into my classroom someday. The biggest take away for me is pushing myself to redefine teaching and learning with technology, not just substitute old ways with new ways. That is something that had never been brought to my attention before this class and I think it's really important to consider.

The learning that has happened through this class matters because it pushed me beyond my limits. It challenged my thinking and opened my eyes to technology I wasn't familiar with. I learned from my peers and was also able to teach them what I knew. More than just learning about tools and gadgets, I learned how to be a better educator; connecting with others using technological tools to gain insight and ideas. This is only the beginning, and I look to grow more in the future.

As a future teacher, I think this class helped me realize that I will never be a master at technology. There is always someone else who knows more, and as a teacher, it is my job to find and connect with that person to share knowledge and grow. I also have so many more goals for myself now, not just my students. I want to participate in twitter chats, continue blogging to share ideas and reflect, and connect with educators across the world. These are things that weren't a priority of mine until this class.

To my teacher, Jamie Fath:
Thank you for a great semester. I truly learned a lot and appreciate you taking the time to teach us. To help you become a better educator, I will provide "one glow, one grow" as feedback (one thing that went well and one thing to work on). My glow would be how you let us teach each other. We were able to share the resources and tools that we know about and teach it to our peers. This is how the real world of teaching will be and it was really nice to see that in our class. My grow would be to enhance our blogging experience. It is hard to keep up with everyone's blogs because we had a large class. I think it would be beneficial to group students and then each group can follow, comment, and keep up with only their group's blogs. This would be less overwhelming than the entire class and allow us to practice interacting through blogs.

In conclusion, I am sad to see this class end, but I am excited to continue moving closer to student teaching and my future classroom. I look forward to growing and learning more about being an educator in the future.

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