I really
enjoyed Betsy Lavolette’s technology workshop last Tuesday. My personal favorite was the Jeopardy
game. The website was very user-friendly
and I can definitely see myself using it in the future. I think having technology in the classroom, as
well as being knowledgeable about technology your self, is very important. Our technology workshop made me think about a
class (CEP 416) I took this past summer.
CEP 416 is a class dedicated to learning about technology in the
classroom. At first, I was very
intimidated by the class. When I found
out that we had to make our own websites, and explore new technologies, I was a
little nervous. I had never made a
website before and I had no idea where to begin! Although I own many gadgets-
iPhone, iPod, Kindle, MacBook Pro, etc. it seems like I am never quite up to
date on all the possibilities these tools have to offer. Basically, I am not the most tech-savvy
person.
During CEP 416, we were asked to
make two websites. For the first
website, we were asked to create an “About Me” website. For example, mine had a brief summary of
myself that included my family, friends, pets, and hobbies. I also posted my teaching philosophy, my
resume, and a lesson I created that involved technology. For the second website we were asked to design
a website for your future classroom. My
website included a place for parents and/or students to contact me, a homework
page where the assignments were posted, a drop box, classroom polls, jokes, class
votes, games, a student showcase of artwork and an arts and crafts section
where students could find craft ideas to do at home or in the classroom. I created both of these websites from a site
called Weebly. Weebly was extremely helpful
and is why I was able to contribute so many items to my websites. The CEP 416 instructor gave very detailed
directions and sometimes even uploaded videos of him doing the tasks himself. He also provided examples from past students
and always made sure to give us a lot of feedback. If this class was done any other way, I do
not think I would have gotten near as much out of it. I think I would have still been intimidated
by the assignments and my work would have reflected that.
With that being said, I think if
you do incorporate technology into your classroom (which you should!) it should
be in a way that students feel comfortable with. Students should know your classroom is an
environment where asking questions are encouraged, and aware that they made be learning
from something they may have never seen/used before. Like me, other students may be intimidated by
technology at first, but if you give them explicit directions and walk through
the steps, technology can be very beneficial and easy to work with.
I also believe that exposing children to
technology at an early age will help them greatly. By exposing technology to your students in
the classroom (in elementary grades) they will be more comfortable with
technology, something that is a necessity in today’s society. I will definitely be incorporating technology
into my classroom and my lesson plans, and I liked getting more ideas of tools
to use from Betsy!
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