Final Thoughts

Overall, I have found most of what we have done in TPTE 486 to be very helpful. This class has given me new resources to be able to integrate into my classroom. The idea of using more than just PowerPoint presentations is not quite as intimidating as it was before I entered this class. After completing many of these projects, I now have ideas for activities and lessons that I can implement in my own classroom. Integrating technology into the classroom can be sometimes frustrating as I have watched while observing in the schools as well as seeing in this class. However, when it is a sucess, some really neat things can be done. Students today are all about the digital world. Therefore, technology in the classroom is a great way to get them to interact with the material. Finding ways to use different programs with the content will help keep their attention on what they should be learning. Also, because so many students are very interested in technology, we can easily make material relevant to them, which I find to be extremely important to teaching. In addition, the students' interest in technology like the internet also needs to be addressed. As teachers, it is our responsibility to show the students how they are supposed to use this resource. We need to teach them how to properly evaluate a website's content, what can and cannot be used such as copyrighted music, and how to properly cite sources they have used from the internet. They need to learn how to responsibly use technology not just for the classroom but the real world as well. They will be long gone from my classroom when they are still using the internet, so it is important to teach them properly as early as we can. I am very optimistic about using technology in my class. I think it will be a fun and engaging way to conduct many lessons.

Adaptations and technology

I have been thinking a lot about the adaptations that teachers are required to make for students with special needs. After being in this TPTE 486 class, I really think that trying to integrate technology especially with students who may have a disability will help them be able to learn the material in maybe an alternate way. I have a few ideas about how to incorporate technology to assist all kinds of learners. Technology is so universal it makes it easier for teachers to supply accomodations for a lot of students. For example, the Inspiration Layouts that we made would be good for students with reading disabilities. They can actually see this digital graphic organizer and create it themselves. These kinds of projects have little wording, so they can get the gist of the information that is important. Another example of making adaptations could be presenting content in a very visual way. For students who are visual learners or even hearing impaired, digital stories would be a helpful tool to use during lessons. Even allowing students to make one as a project could allow them to become engaged very visually with the material. I really have worried about how I will be able to accommodate all kinds of different needs that make up a very diverse classroom. However, programs that I have used in this class have made me start thinking about all of the various possibilities. I am very excited to be able to use technology as a resource that will allow me to adapt to all kinds of learners. I think this class has quelled some of those fears, and I can see now options that I can take advantage of.

Building Websites

As a final project we have been building a website to showcase our projects from all year in TPTE 486. Using Google Sites has been pretty easy to figure out. I like the fact that things are so simple to use in order to make a workable site. There's no having to spend hours building html code and it still looks nice, neat, and professional. There are also decent layouts to choose for the design of the site, but it doesn't totally limit you there because you can go back and change colors too. There are a lot of choices that you can make without all of the extra work of building a site from scratch. That would be way too time consuming especially with our busy teacher schedules. So, I really liked using this site and if possible would like to use again.

Depending on the amount of internet that my students have access to, I would like to be able to use a site similar to this to create for the classroom. I think a site for the class would be good for parents, as well as students, to access because it will allow them see what I am like as well as what we are doing in class at that time. It is important to be able to communicate with parents on a positive note, and not just contact them when there is an issue with their child. Establishing positive relationships with both the students and the parents is very important to make a learning environment successful. Also, if the students wanted to get a head start on make-up work, they could to get assignments from the website and do not even have to wait until the next day. It is also kind of a fun tool that the students can interact with and engage actively in the class. I really hope that enough of my students will have access to the internet so that I may use a classroom website. It will be fun!