From+My+Heart

=﻿From My Heart = This was a challenging course to complete. This course pushed me to really start thinking about what kind of teacher I want to be. This course and it assignments caused me to be more creative than I thought I could be. I am a Math major and will be teaching Math. I was unsure how that would be incorporated into a website. Many of the assignments were difficult, at first, to connect with Mathematics. I am proud that I worked hard and was able to connect these technologies with Mathematics. I learned that technology can help me engage my students in the learning process. This wiki and the assignments in it taught me that I can be more creative than I thought.

I am proud of all of the work that I have put it. I am proud that I pushed myself and was able to bring these technologies into a Math classroom. I am proud that I went out of my comfort zone and learned new ways to bring information to the students. I am proud that I have accomplished the task of creating a website for a class. The project that I am most proud of is the Digital Story. This was difficult to find a topic as well as putting it all together. I am happy with the product and the work that went into it.

I have learned that it doesn’t matter what you are teaching, or learning, you can use technology to enhance your experience and the experience of your students. I have learned that there is a great wealth of resources available to teachers. The wiki is an amazing tool that I can use in the future to connect with my students and their parents, as well as connecting them with technologies and tools that will help them learn, and enjoy themselves while they learn. These technologies have opened the door to bringing creativity into my future classroom.

Creating the unit was just as challenging as the online tools. I do not have the knowledge base for making a unit, I found it difficult. I am still unsure if I have done it correctly. It has shown me how much work is put into one day of teaching, let alone an entire semester or year. This course has helped me to begin preparing for all of this work. I want to learn as much as possible before I go into the classroom so I will be completely prepared for what I need to do. I need to start researching what I will want to teach long before I walk in on the first day of class. The better prepared I am, the smoother the class will be, and I will be able to use more resources and tools in my teaching.

The next time I write a unit with technology I will keep in mind the tools that I used in this Wiki. I will research more information about the unit and what the students need to know during that unit. Therefor I will be more prepared to find technology that will connect with the information. I will continue to research different tools and websites that will help the students grasp the information in the unit.

I want to use technology in my classroom. I think that it will engage the students in their learning process much more than worksheets everyday will. I want to continue to learn more about technology and how to incorporate it into my classroom. I want to have students who are excited about Math, instead of dreading it because it is boring and they don’t get it. Technology has opened the door for students to connect with the curriculum in a way that they couldn’t before. I am working with a Middle School class in another Course. They are starting to work with First In Math, which is a collection of several math games and skill building activities. I am amazed to see these students so focused, engaged, and excited about Math. This is an illustration of how technology enhances learning in the classroom.

The difficulties with using technology in the classroom is time and the availability of the technologies needed. There are not always computers available to every student. I need to find ways to get into a computer lab, or make computers available to students after school. There is a lot of time needed to prepare the technology and work with it. I will need to be very dedicated and prepared in order to use the technology in my classroom.

Teaching is a very difficult profession. The students can be difficult, the administration can be difficult, the standards can be difficult. I love a challenge. I am intrigued to see how I will overcome these difficulties and reach my students. I am excited to see the students "lights" go on. I am excited to see students who are gaining self confidence as they grasp new concepts. I am interested to see how I will take the standards and make them interesting to the students, technology will help me with this task. I am also interested in finding new and exciting information to present to the students.

I will be a twentyfirst century teacher. My students will connect with technology as often as possible. I will be continually learning about technologies and information that is up to date and relevant to my students. The students will not only do worksheets, they will be learning lessons in many different venues. I will have students who look forward to Math class and have fun with learning. This is the difference that I will make. I will produce students who are excited about Math and not avoid it at every opportunity.