This course has been a blessing in disguise as I come to the end of my first six months as a teacher. Yes it was extra work on my plate as an already busy first year teacher but it gave me so many new opportunities to learn about technology in the classroom. I have gained a great deal of confidence because of the knowledge this course has provided. I am leaving this course with three major take away’s, first being the proper way to use technology as an assessment tool. The vast amount of websites that provide live assessment for teachers to grasp students understanding is incredible! Second, I am leaving this course with a great deal of knowledge on creating videos. Before I entered this course my video editing skills were lets just say non existent. I feel I am leaving with a better understanding on all things video editing in order to apply that to my future teaching skills. Last, I am leaving with a sense of understanding on the basic versions of the web. Before I started this course I had no idea that there would be a differentiation amongst versions of the web. It was enlightening to see thew change of the internet with the changing society.
My favorite assignment this year was the assignment regarding near pod lessons. I implemented near pod religiously in my classroom but the focus from the assignment made it simple to speak over and gave me confidence because I was so familiar with the tool. The lesson I spoke on near pod did however allow me to dive further into all that near pod has to offer and I did ultimately figure out new ways to work the tool. Not only is it a great alternative to a simple power-point but it also utilizes virtual field trips, this is a excellent way to bridge the gap between time and space that makes history hard to connect to students. Others who use this tool will benefit because of the constant student engagement it promotes, Students will truly stayed engaged in the lesson because of the interactive material nearpod allows for you to create within your virtual lesson. Especially history teachers, this is a great tool to bridge the gap we struggle with; trying to connect our students to places they will probably never visit and events years before their time. I created and utilized this very lesson within my class this week and it was a hit with my students. Especially the part where they visited the White House Virtually, and I even was able to speak about my time in Washington D.C. and Mount Vernon…and that truly helped the students to connect with Congress and the White house because they knew someone who visited that destination. We even were able to put in a funny experience from my trip that had the students laughing and engaged and therefor they wanted to hear more about our lesson! I have no faults with this tool and plan to utilize it even further in my classroom.
One way I plan to incorporate technology into the classroom is by using my newly acquired video productions skills to create video notes, videos sent home to parents for reminders, and lectures for the students whenever I am out and a sub is present. Videos are going to be my next best thing inside of my classroom. I want to use videos inside of the classroom to provide notes for the students to abide by before big tests. Also, I want to send home a how to video recording to my parents at the beginning of each year so they are aware with my policies and how to navigate through the online text book. Most importantly i want to video myself lecturing for the sub to turn on whenever I am off a day so that my students do not fall behind on the pacing guide. In addition another way I plan to incorporate technology in my classroom like never before is by using padlet to allow students to stay engaged in the classroom in an active group setting. I have never tried letting the students venture into an online note tool, padlet will have them interested for days.
Hayleigh Place, EDM 510 Blog 