This fall I had the opportunity to start graduate classes at Michigan State University. At first the class went over a lot of technology I was use to using. Then as the week went on the technology grew and I discovered how much I didn't know about using it in the classroom. Some concepts that I integrated into my classroom this fall were RSS feeds, diigos and wikis.
The Rss feeds have allowed me to stay current in my profession and integrate new and current practices that work all around the globe. I can use my reader to gain new concepts and ideas to integrate into my classroom. This helps me meet my goal of staying current that I wrote in my technology plan.
Integrating the internet into my classroom allowed me to explore possibilities with collaboration through great web 2.0 tools such as GOOGLE DOCS and even diigo. Theses have been a great addition to my classroom because it allows students to work and research on a particular subject no matter what their schedule is. A lot of times you have other students who don't get the opportunity to collaborate with students from other classrooms or schools and theses tools provides the opportunity for this to happen. I will continue to use these great tools to help prepare my 8th graders for the 21st century. The group proposal and presentation really opened my eyes to the possibilities. For me being in another state and working on a group project with another student from another state would be impossible without the use of the internet. This assignment to me really exemplifies good teaching with technology because one of the goals in education is teaching students how to work with other people. I wouldn't have this opportunity to work with other educators from other states without technology and web 2.0 tools.
I met my goals because I started my journey in technology and have stayed current with practices and teaching philosophies. I have also taken another step in obtaining my master degree. Currently, I'm a technology coach which I love. My new goal is to become a full time technology coach and be able to integrate the new technologies to help students learn and prepare for the 21st century.
