1. What skills, topics, or other aspects of this course did you personally find valuable and useful? - I have taken a lot of useful tips from this class that will help me better incorporate technology in my future classroom effectively. Prior to this class I was unaware of the various types of free resources available online. After researching different types of tools I found many tools that I can use in the future to not only enhance my lessons but also transform them. I took interest in watching the video on the paradigm of education and the need to transform the typical convergent style of thinking to more divergent. I think it is so important for students to collaborate and explore possible solutions and us the divergent style of thinking. I also found researching professional development opportunities to be very helpful in continuing to improve my knowledge to become a better prepared educator for my future students. I now have so many new tools that I can utilize to help transform my classroom from helping with classroom management to fostering greater student collaboration.
2. What skills, knowledge and attitudes did you learn or practice as a result of developing your course website that were beyond the objectives for individual assignments? -I really enjoyed creating my online activity using the google slide format to organize my virtual field trip. I do not usually use google slides unless I am completing a group project. I had not realized what great features it had as well as the ease of using the program. I researched examples and how-to videos to learn how to create the interactive field trip and I love how it turned out. While it was a bit time consuming to learn how to create the classroom like feel, I now have the template I can use in my future classroom's website. Now that I have a template it will be so easy to just change the content based on the lesson and add a relatable Bitmoji, of course. :) I could spend so much time researching useful technology tools in my classroom and now I have my own website with tons of resources. Throughout this course I also realized how I can make my own classroom website in the future. I now feel like I have learned the ins and outs of Weebly so creating my own in the future will much easier to navigate. Weebly itself is pretty user friendly and self explanatory. 3. How have any of the assignments changed the way you think about teaching with technology? - I always viewed technology as an enhancement to lesson and education in general. I had never thought of how I could use technology to transform my lessons. Learning about the two frameworks TPACK and SAMR got me thinking differently about how I can use technology in my future classroom. Technology should not replace teachers but it can definitely help us transform they way we teach and present the material to better engage and make it accessible for everyone. I also think technology can really help create a more individualized learning experience for students and help foster a more inclusive classroom.
4. What do you plan to do in the near future to continue learning more about the things in this course that sparked your interest? - I will definitely be continuing my education and professional development with online courses. I also had not thought much how social media could provide so many resources and help with continuing my education as an educator. I will be researching and following/joining more social media sites that will be helpful for me and my classroom. I cannot wait to take the resources and knowledge from this course and put them into affect in my own classroom.