Saturday, August 10, 2013

26. Course Reflection



It’s the end of the summer, and I have come to the end of this course as well.  I am very happy with what I have learned from this experience.  In truth, I enjoyed all of the assignments that were given.  Some were more challenging than others, but I learned something new with each one.  I learned about many new tools available on the web and through software, such as animation through Voki or GoAnimate or movie-making through Windows Movie Maker.  I have learned that digital communication is extremely important in the digital age and I have learned that I have the ability to communicate effectively with students, parents, and peers through different kinds of digital media.  The Internet is a place of ideas and expression with limitless possibility.
                What are my strong and weak points?  At the conclusion of this course, I can say that I remain confident in my ability to adopt new technology tools and to use them effectively.  I have always been interested in computers and I try to stay up to date on using new computer software and hardware.  I complete my work to the best of my ability, putting effort into each assignment that I turn in.  However, I am terrible with organization and time management.  Given the illusion of more free time than I actually have, I will procrastinate until the last minute – and that needs to change.  In the past, I have done very well with the use of a planner, a journal, and a calendar with all of my schedules posted in the same area.  Although there are many digital tools for this kind of thing, I perform better whenever I make myself sit down and write out my thoughts on things that need doing.  I am committing myself to making this change: as a teacher, I will fail to meet the needs of my students if I am not organized and managing my time effectively.
                In the future, I hope to continue staying abreast of news on new technology.  I want to be a teacher that provides the best possible learning experiences for her students.  I want to be a teacher that is always prepared.  I plan to integrate technology into my classroom however I can; while my resources may be limited, I can use the tools and resources I have to connect my students to technology.  Even if I have to bring in an old computer of my own, the potential of having technology in the classroom is too great to ignore.
                To be honest, I like the idea of blogging more than I like actually keeping up with a blog.  As I said earlier, I have tried many times to write in a digital journal, but I am more successful when sitting down with a pen and paper in front of me.  With that being said, I believe that blogging is an excellent tool for communicating and sharing ideas.  When I look back at my blog for this course I realize how much I have learned and I have a record of the path I have taken to explore the Internet.  Perhaps with more use, I will come to like blogs more for my own personal use.
                I have greatly enjoyed taking this course and the assignments that were given.  I go forward having more knowledge than what I started with and, to me, that means that I have achieved some measure of success.

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