Experiences with Technology

In the past eight weeks, I have used many forms of technology that I have never used before. I created a podcast, started a blog, and formed a wiki. All three of these technology experiences were new for me. Before this Master's class, I never even knew what most of these things were or how they worked. This class gave me a chance to go outside my comfort zone and experiment with different forms of technology and how they can benefit the students in my classroom. Any experience students can get with technology will help them in the future, so finding ways to incorporate technology into the class to crucial for the learning environment. This class has taught me ways to incorporate these new types of technology. I can use blogging to form communication among students and even parents about the vocabulary in the classroom and discussions about the math content I teach. The Podcast is a new and interesting way for students to convey their research of certain content subjects and the wiki is a easy way for students to stay informed of new posting of their content blogs. This experience has showed me how important it is for myself, as a teacher, to stay up to date of the new technology. I plan to do this by taking professional development classes, reading technology books, and following blogs about technology. By staying aware of the new technology, I will be able to be a more effective teacher by providing the students with the experiences inside the classroom that will prepare them for the world beyond the classroom.
I learned a lot from this Master's class. Two ways I want to incorporate the technology I used during my Master's class is by setting up a classroom blog and finding more ways to use computers in the classroom. I feel that by setting up a classroom blog, students will be able to communicate their logical thinking. So often we do not have the time to learn certain concepts and have the class discussions that I believe are an important part of the learning process. By creating a classroom blog, students will be able to discuss our classroom concepts both at school, but also at home after they have been able to process their thinking. The other way I would like to change my classroom routine is by using computers more. I do not have many math lessons that involve using the computer. I would like to come up with at least one computer lesson a topic. That way students will be able to see how technology and math interact with each other.
These are two goals that I have to incorporate technology into the learning environment.