Assignment #7

1. How have you used technology to contribute to some domain of knowledge?
In this class we learned how to create a blog as well as a website. These are great tools to be able to share with others new things we have learned, things we have found useful and things that we want others to know. I have been able to share my thoughts about teaching home economics with many of my classmates though these technology mediums. In turn I receive feedback from them that helps me to think of things in a new way and be more effective. I think over the course of this class the technology we have learned (google wave, youtube, blogs, website, videos) are all great ways to share knowledge with others. In specific I feel I have shared with others knowledge about teaching and about home economics through the technology we have become more familiar with in this class.
2. How have you used technology to collaborate with classmates?
In this class we were suppose to comment on each others blogs. I think this was a great way to collaborate. We shared ideas with each other and bounced ideas off of each other. We could see what someone else did and say, "I like that, but maybe I would change this or that". We also had a lot of group time in class to work with technology to collaborate. For example, last week we had to work together and collaborate in order to come up with a lesson plan teaching the 13th article of faith using technology. I was able to work with my classmates to come up with a plan using youtube, music and powerpoint. We worked together to use technology to our best advantage.
3. How might you use technology in your classroom?
I definitely plan on using a class website in my future classes. It makes things more convenient and clear. It is a great way for students to communicate with me, check grades and prepare for class and homework assignments. I also plan on using a blog and facebook to help me stay in touch with other teachers. It is my hope that having contact with past teachers and other teachers I know will help me become a better teacher. I can recieve inspiration and guidance from other teachers in order to help myself become a more effective teacher. In my own class I plan on using many forms of technology. I will often use a white board to write on. When talking about a specific food group I will probably use powerpoint as well as incorporate information from online sources like MyPyramid. I will also use things like youtube in order to show informational videos. I might even use movie making software to create my own video for my students to watch and learn from. There are so many different ways I plan on incorporating technology into my future classroom.
4. What did you learn in this class?
I think the main thing I learned in this class was to not be afraid of technology and to have confidence that I can learn to use technology. I think technology is great and can be very helpful in the classroom. But in order to implement it in the classroom you need to know how to use it! This class taught me how to go about learning to use a technology... looking on the internet, asking others, being patient and persistent. I learned so much about so many different technology mediums. I now feel much more prepared to use technology in the classroom.
5. What will you use that you have learned in this class?
In the future I plan on using a blog. I am now using google documents and google presentations for other classes and plan on using them in my future classes as well. In the future I am going to be making videos for my class as well as editing familiy videos. I now know how to use movie making software to be able to do this. I learned a lot about google wave. I can use this in the future to collaborate with peers, other teachers or even students about a certain situation. I also plan on using video chat for future situations, maybe a parent teacher conference, helping an at home student attend class or even just using it to speak to my family members across the country. I think that I will use everything that I have learned in this class really. It all pertains so much to not only teaching but everyday life.