Reflective blog post Chapter #Final

This semester in Eme2040 was such a great learning experience for me. I've always depended on my husband to do everything technology related for me. So this class has really opened my eyes to great technology tools for teaching and that I can use at home on a regular basis. I really enjoyed this class because it was so hands on and everything that I needed on a project was laid out so there wasn’t any misunderstanding of what was needed from me.

In EME2040 we had some really good assignments that I could use in the classroom when I become a teacher. This class has really put me in the right direction of becoming a 21^st century teacher. The assignment I was most eager to learn  was the blog post. I’ve always liked writing and a blog post was something that I always wanted to do. Throughout the semester we wrote a blog about three concepts from each chapter we were reading. We would reflect on what we had learned and we could explore more on the concepts we read about that interest us. Today I can not only write an informative and reflective blog but I can hyperlink and insert some great videos and images and other great 2.0 tools into my blog. We also had discussions which allowed us to see are classmate’s opinions and give feedback on what they posted. I really liked the class because it was smaller than most classes that I have taken. If I had any questions about assignments they were answered in class or by email. We did a few group projects a collaborative lesson plan and an instructional strategies wiki. Group projects aren’t my favorite thing to do but it gave me an opportunity to work with others who I normally wouldn’t work with. One thing that I liked was the teacher got us moving, if the class seemed tired she got us up and in the middle of the classroom to get our blood flowing. Using GPS and finding clues around campus were some other great things we did in the class.

 One assignment that I found difficult was the website evaluation rubric. I found this assignment hard because you were determining what was good about website and what was bad. Then you would make your rubric and rate that website. I tried really hard on this assignment reading the teacher rubric on what she wanted and going back on what she said in class about what makes a good website. I got an A on this assignment and really liked this assignment because as a teacher you’re going to be grading students work if you don’t have a rubric on what you want or expect how would you be able to give out grades based on work. So although challenging for me it was also a great learning experience for me.

We also learned about Web Quest which I really liked and I also feel that students in any age range would like to participate in a Web Quest. So knowing the different sections in a web quest and looking at some really good web quests and some bad ones helped determined what we needed in the web quest we would be creating. Another assignment we had and that I liked was the webpage portfolio. It was a portfolio with all the past assignments we did and was a chance for us to imagine what kind of teacher we would like to be. All the assignments I felt was appropriate and really taught me things I didn’t know how to do. A few things we learned that weren’t big assignments but that were informative like legal and ethical issues with copy right laws. Giving credit to photos and forming good habits so we can teach our students to have good habits as well. Cyber bullying and the effects it has on students as they get older and become adults.

Class EME2040 with Ms. Coleman was a great informative class for me. I learned a lot of new tools, vocabulary, and some great websites like delicious that will help me to be a better student and teacher. I really liked the course and think it is laid out well. The only suggestion that I have to improve the course in order to improve my learning would be to make the lesson plan assignment an individual assignment. I got along with my team member but it was hard to find time to meet up and I felt like if I was doing it alone I could have been more creative and it would have been a lesson plan I developed on my own. I have learned so much from this class and  I really liked this class because it gave me a respect and interest for technology that I didn't really have before. 

 photo by: U.S department of Education

Duke Ellington DNG 344Flickr

Resources:

Flickr photo by U.s Department of Education , Duke Ellington (2009,March 11.) Retrieved April 30,2015

Hamilton, P. (2012, November 21). Technology in Education. Retrieved April 30, 2015.

Maloy, R., O’Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.