After taking the course eme2040, I have a completely different view on technology and what it has to offer. When I first started this class I think I may have been a bit too confident, I figured I knew everything there was to know about technology and I didn't have any plans on bringing it into my classroom. Turns out I was completely wrong about both or those statements I actually knew very little about technology and now I find it to be useful. Although a lot of the assignments I had some trouble in the end became very exciting and I ended up really enjoying this course.
Although I was never a big fan of using the textbook we did a lot of our assignments using the text book including each blog post we had but it didn't contain useful information. I wont lie I dreaded the blog posts but the fact that we had to incorporate some kind of picture or slideshow made it a bit more interesting and fun. I'm sure a lot of students complained about the book but I do think its a good idea to keep this going it almost forces the students to actually learn about the chapter in depth.
I would have to say the discussions were my favorite by far. I loved the fact that it got the whole class to talk to each other and voice their opinion about the topic of discussion. I enjoyed getting the opportunity to farther my knowledge on technology for example when we were assigned a discussion that we had to select three specific best practices or resources that include the use of educational technology. This was a great opportunity for students to really understand what we can use in out classroom and what is and isn't just a distraction.
One assignment/activity I really enjoyed was the collaborative lesson plan I did not think I was going to enjoy it but it turned out great my partners were very helpful, I had the chance to create a real lesson plan which was very exciting and I experimented with teaching high school instead of elementary. One project we did that I found to be very helpful and really let us use and experiment with technology was our collaborative wiki page, at first I was very nervous and felt like I didn't know much but it turned out great and I think the fact that we couldn't talk to each other made it even better it also made it fair. When I first heard that we were going to do so many group projects I was a bit discouraged but it turned out great and I am so glad that we required to do that because not only did I learn a few things I made a view friends.
In the end I really enjoyed this class and all it had to offer, I'm actually very happy that I was required to take it. I left this course with an abundance of information and class activities that I can use in my future classroom. With or without technology this class still taught me a lot of useful information and completely changed my mindset, I now believe that technology plays a huge roll in the classroom and I think its a great thing.
It is amazing how impactful technology can be when it is approached for learning - it really can be transformational! :) However, like anything else, it often gets a 'bad rap' and can be used in very inefficient, ineffective ways. Part of your challenge as you move into your own classroom is to make good judgements about the effective use of technology and I hope that you will look back at what you learned in this class. The tools will change over the years, but the concept of balance and pedagogy will remain. Ultimately, you will help guide the future and there's bound to be technology in that future, so I'm glad this class 'opened' your mind a bit about that. I'm also pleased that you appreciated the value of community in the in-class and collaborative projects - we can't lose the human touch (even when using technology)!! :)
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