Internet Tools for the Classroom has to be one of the most practical, useful classes I have ever taken. It has brought me up to speed with the integration of technology into the classroom and helped me find new ways to connect with my teachers and students. Web 2.0 tools facilitate collaboration like nothing I have seen before. I have been collaborating more with teachers and in the process, have been connecting more with students as they learn to use these tools for learning. We talk about the digital native, and our students do know how to use tools for connecting socially, but I was surprised at how clueless they are when using these tools to share information and collaborate with a learning purpose. Of course, I was pretty clueless, too, before taking this class.
Blogging was something that I struggled with at first. Soon I found this to be a great way to force me to analyze and evaluate tools, then create something from it. I like writing online and look forward to reading my classmates’ blogs and their responses to my blog. I even had one comment from a person outside the class whom I referenced in my blog. That was a nice surprise. The ELL and Lesson Plan modules were great experiences. They helped me hone my instructional technology coaching skills and also connect with the students. I got to know all the ELL students by name and was impressed by how they took Stripmaker and ran with it. I still see a couple of them using it just for fun in the media center sometimes. Their teacher was somewhat hesitant to cooperate in the beginning, but it turned into a positive experience for all. The Lesson Plan Project was also great for boosting my coaching confidence. I worked with a teacher who I knew would like using the technology. We created an ambitious plan and we pulled it off with only a few hiccups. We already have plans to do a similar project next fall.
I increased my understanding of the NETS and ISTE Standards in this class by applying them to the classroom. I am much less intimidated by them than I was at the beginning of the semester and see them more as a technology map than just a set of rules. Most of all, I have enjoyed connecting with my classmates this semester. Last semester they were just faces on the page, but now I feel that I am actually getting to know and like them. I am looking forward to working with them in cyberspace this summer. Au revoir to a great class!
Blogging was something that I struggled with at first. Soon I found this to be a great way to force me to analyze and evaluate tools, then create something from it. I like writing online and look forward to reading my classmates’ blogs and their responses to my blog. I even had one comment from a person outside the class whom I referenced in my blog. That was a nice surprise. The ELL and Lesson Plan modules were great experiences. They helped me hone my instructional technology coaching skills and also connect with the students. I got to know all the ELL students by name and was impressed by how they took Stripmaker and ran with it. I still see a couple of them using it just for fun in the media center sometimes. Their teacher was somewhat hesitant to cooperate in the beginning, but it turned into a positive experience for all. The Lesson Plan Project was also great for boosting my coaching confidence. I worked with a teacher who I knew would like using the technology. We created an ambitious plan and we pulled it off with only a few hiccups. We already have plans to do a similar project next fall.
I increased my understanding of the NETS and ISTE Standards in this class by applying them to the classroom. I am much less intimidated by them than I was at the beginning of the semester and see them more as a technology map than just a set of rules. Most of all, I have enjoyed connecting with my classmates this semester. Last semester they were just faces on the page, but now I feel that I am actually getting to know and like them. I am looking forward to working with them in cyberspace this summer. Au revoir to a great class!