Reflection # 3

Summary of Reflections 1 & 2:

Reflection 1 -- In all three levels of schooling I have experienced that students and teachers use technologies such as telephones, computers, electronic games, calculators, overhead projectors, televisions, and digital scales in science and chemistry.

One of the best technology integrations that I experienced in high school was when we had to re-make one of Shakespears plays using anything we wanted (including technology). My group made a movie, and one of my friends, who was in radio/tv, edited the video so it turned out to look really sophisticated. It was pretty cool to see all of the ideas that the different groups in the class could come up with.

Hopefully by the end of this course I will have a more in depth understanding about making a webpage, blogging, and using programs on the computer such as Microsoft Excel and Frontpage. I would also like to think more about integrating technology into my classroom and gain a sense of confidence towards keeping up with the new technology advances.

Reflection 2 -- My top five technology innovations are as follows:
1) Tablets
2) Blogging
3) Webcams
4) Intellegent Agents
5) Podcasting

I have thought of some examples of some ways in which I can integrate my top two technologies into my classroom. By using tablets I can have students do example problems in class and then I can get an idea, right away, of where students seem to be struggling. I can also use them for games of teams to see who can solve the equation the fastest or to do a quick homework check by having the students put a problem on their tablet. By using blogs my students can ask me questions at home or if they are absent then they can get missed assignments through the blog. Blogging also allows parents a chance to keep up with the class and make suggestions as well.

Overall, I learned that there are various technologies out there -- more than I realized. I also learned that if you don't try the technologies or if you don't know enough about them then you will never know if they suit your classroom better than something you might already be using.