Final Reflection

My brain was on overload this summer. I completed 12 credits toward my MAET in 8 weeks. I learned an abundance of new and amazing information, and thankfully I wrote it all down! My notes have turned into my own personal learning tool. I have learned above and beyond what I thought I would be learning. The information and readings were all relevant and beneficial to my teaching. The past two weeks I have been up at the school putting together new lesson plans for this coming year and I am able to use technology to enhance many of them. I have also altered curriculum in my Graphic Design class to teaching Web Design and other technology skills.

My new goal is to find funding for the supplies to make my stop-motion video. I have also presented the information to my principal. He thought it might be something that could be purchased this year.

I thought that using web-based technologies in lesson planning proves to be such a great tool to create a learning atmosphere where students become active participants in their learning. When students are an active part of their learning they tend to form personal connections to their work. As personal connections are formed a student’s intrinsic motivation increases, along with the effectiveness of the lesson plan. Each new lesson I create using technology I think to myself, I wish I would have known about this technology before, it would make learning so much easier or effective for the students. I believe teaching the students how to use technology as a learning tool is such an important skill for them to have in today’s society.

Teachers are able to implement many different types of teaching strategies by integrating technology into their curriculum. These are the three strategies most used in my classroom. I am able to use collaborative learning, by placing students in groups or interacting with a computer program. In my classroom I also effectively use inquiry-based learning, where students are given directions and scaffolding to work independently through a project. Another great teaching strategy is project-based learning. In my class, most of my lessons have a project students must complete. They get the chance to interact with the information they have been taught. These are a few of the teaching strategies I find most useful when integrating technology in the classroom.