Monday, July 26, 2010

Final Blog Post

Words on reflection


I can truthfully say that I have learned more in this one semester than I have learned in any other class.......ever. I know I have discovered some great people that I will look up to from now on having known them as my EDM310 classmates, and how often does that happen in other classes? Not only have I learned to use so many new tools for my teaching, I have learned much about myself. I want to first say thank you to everyone who participated in this class and made this the great class it was.

I never thought that there would be a class that would leave such an impact on my life and ultimately my career. I was very overwhelmed the first day of class because I didn't know what I was doing! I had never created or read a blog before this class so I was not experienced. More that half of the tools and things we use in this class I had never heard about or even used. But, with all the great people working with Dr. Strange, I found that this class was awesome!

New Tools!
EDM310 helped me find one very important part of what was missing from my whole prospective as a teacher. I know that my students have to be technologically literate! If they aren't, then I will have truly failed at being a teacher for my students. Here are some cool new things that I have learned in EDM 310......this is just a sample by the way.
  • I learned that I can use TimeToast to show my students when things happened in science.
  • I learned that I can actually teach someone that I have NEVER SEEN BEFORE!
  • I learned that a PLN can help anyone find teachers that are right for them to follow and continue their learning.
  • I learned how Google Docs can help me stay organized and can also communicate with all of my students.
  • Blogging is something new to me, but it will be something that I want to use in my classroom for my students to experience.
Our Class Participation
If there is one thing that I would say to those who will take this class next semester it would be this: Go to the lab hours! I found that so many people in this class were willing to go the extra mile and find new and exciting things. I sometimes didn't talk much in class because I was busy listening to others tell about what they had found and why it would be useful. I think each of us gave something to this class and it wasn't because it was required, it was because we wanted to learn. It is so awesome to me because so many people want to do what is best for children they will teach, and that is what our classrooms need. I want my classroom to be this way. I want my students to want to learn new things. Thank you to all my classmates for bringing out the social side of me and letting me know that there are many teachers out there that can and will make a difference.

Our Educational Guides
Dr. Strange said to me several times that he wanted to be more of an educational guide and not be known as a teacher. I know we will never get rid of the word teacher but I think he is so right, and I think he accomplished this in our class.

I want to say thank you to Dr. Strange for all the great things I have learned in this class and as I continue to learn, I will still thank him for his class because this is where it started.

Also, I want to say thank you to Jamie Lynn and Anthony for all of their great support and comments on my blog. They really have made a positive impression on me and I want to be as passionate and dedicated as they are about teaching.

What I've Learned About Myself
Where do I start? I guess I should start off by saying that EDM310 made me think about why I wanted to teach in the first place. Somehow that got lost in all of the classes I was taking and all the distractions we have as college students. I wanted to teach because many of my family members were teachers. I saw that those family members were highly respected and everyone loved them. I wanted that. I wanted to have a good relationship with everyone I affected as a teacher. Even now, being a teacher means so much more to me. Now I can make a difference in a student's life by helping them have more reasons to want to learn new things. I can change a students life by showing them the tools that I have learned to make them prosper in a changing world of technology. I think that I will show students my passion of learning and it will be passed to them. I learned that I want my students to teach me things too! I know I will probably never be as technologically literate as some people in this class, but I know that I will be willing to learn as much as I can so my students won't be left behind.

Now that I have completed EDM310 I will keep my sentence close by and maybe change it every now and then: "He helps someone feel more positive about themselves everyday."



1 comment:

  1. Well done! EDM310 certainly worked for you. Thanks for your enthusiastic participation!

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