My Beliefs

Technology in the classroom is vital to the education of students and the evolving of the teacher. This is something that will continue to be more integrated in the classroom as more technology becomes available and teachers have to increase their knowledge and understanding about the current technologies that are out there. I would like to use not only powerpoints, but videos as well. I don't believe in just pure lecture or book work in the classroom, this tends to promote what I like to call "Shut Down Syndrome". Students don't like to listen to a teacher talk for eighty minutes or just assign an assignment out of the book. This bores them and they tend not to retain information that is being taught.

Technology and using new resources that kids find exciting will make them excited to learn and become familiar with the material being taught. Teaching and student learning go hand in hand with each other, both teachers and students are able to learn from each other and this increases the pedagogy in the classroom. This will benefit all parties involved and help with the curriculum and even the further progression of the students understanding about the information that is being taught in class.

My own classroom will have technology very much integrated into it and I will try to get my own students to interact with the lessons being taught. I very much believe in getting the students out of their seats and engaged actively in the lesson and with each other. I like the idea of having them create their own assignments using technology and having the proper guidance with the assignment that they can create it on their own with the help simply from the directions. Just because my classroom will either be history or health doesn't mean that they can't learn how to do new things with technology and further their understanding for other classes. Technology and the use there of makes me excited to get involved with my students and help them with their own education and use of technology.

Lessons Learned

As I had the opportunity to go through and read, watch, and partake in the surveys, videos, and news articles I found the topics to be not only eclectic but also very informative. They were up to date and on the current topics that are surrounding the new issues with technology and resources that kids are able to access nowadays at home and at school. There are beyond numerous outlets for kids and teachers to access for information in and out of the classroom. With teachers being further educated on the new technologies that are available it is a great education that helps the classroom evolve.

Some of the concerns I would have with the articles would be contained more around the new internet and social networking. These are great tools is utilized in a positive manner and for positive recreational purposes. However, adolescents are not always able to use the most accurate judgement when it comes to accessing and putting information out over the internet. Predators, cyberbullying, and addictions form very easily to the internet and the world that it provides for the users. These are worrisome especially for the students that readily access them without any parental supervision and there are new ways of bullying that basically don't let kids escape it.

Overall, the articles and videos were very informative and had many valid points that helped me to understand the different avenues that are out with technology and with adolescents and technology. I really enjoyed the social networking articles, all of them would be something that I would access again even in the health classroom. This provides educators with articles and information that will help increase students' safety and awareness, this is part of my curriculum with health education and I really think that it provided me with some useful information that I would like to use in my own classroom in the future to help educate my students with proper knowledge and safety.

Strengths and Weaknesses

When it comes to reflecting on my strengths and weaknesses according to the UNI survey and the NET Standards. My overall standing with the UNI survey was really strong as well as with the NET Standards, I have a thoroughly good knowledge about the concepts that are presented in the laws and understandings about what systems to have knowledge about. As a beginning teacher I would incorporate different types of technology to teach not only health but history as well. Both can have interactive guides and lessons that encourage student participation.

My weaknesses would be more along the lines of using valid sources and incorporating those for my lessons and making sure students understood ethics more thoroughly. As I was doing an internet search for the available workshops or tutorials that were available I found two websites geared towards technology and internet usage in the classroom. I would use http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic76.htm and http://www.internet4classrooms.com/on-line.htm. Both are geared towards the improvement of technology in the classroom. As you research and incorporate the tutorials on these websites it shows the available programs and how to best utilize them and improve the knowledge and understanding of the information.

Some of my goals would be to further my own knowledge and understanding about the available concepts with the standards and integrate them in my own classroom for my own students to understand. To be able to understand and strengthen my already strengths and my current weaknesses by accessing outside resources geared at educating teachers will help me to further my own understanding about technology and stay caught up with my students. These are extremely vital to maintaining credibility as an educator and evolving as new information evolves.