Progresso!

How far have I come since my first technology class in January? By no means will I ever be able to call myself a computer whiz, but now I actually know how to use technology in the classroom in a way that will benefit my students. I know teachers have been using videos and presentations for a long time now, but these are in no way interactive. It's teacher-centered, and I have always wanted a student-centered classroom. I want my students to learn and teach themselves and be able to help their friends from time to time. Movies and presentations cannot offer this types of assistance.

Everything I have learned in this class-- wikis, interactive spreadsheets, blogs, classroom websites, videos, diagramming-- it will all be implemented in my classroom, someway, somehow. I want my students to be active in the learning process, so when it comes to presentations, etc, I want them to have an important part in what we learned and what we spend the most time on (within reason, of course). I also want my students to find that one part of a topic that interests them and RUN WITH IT. I want them to explore ideas beyond that classroom. THIS IS REAL LEARNING.

So as the year draws to an end, I want to say "Thank You" to Dr. O'Bannon, my course instructor, for introducing these resources to me. I am sure I will not always be successful in my classroom attempts to incorporate technology, but thanks to you, I will at least be able to try. And when at first I don't succeed, I will try, try again. And then I'll be a rockin teacher. ROCKIN.