Week # 3 Blog

Technology can be perceived as intimidating and cause people to turn away for fear of failure. In order to be successful with implementing technology, the user must continually use it and continue to adapt when this happens the person must work twice as hard to get back on track. That said, it can be done and when it is correctly utilized the person will be able to utilize their time much more efficiently and have more time for other areas of their life.
My own worst fears of technology implantation and integration would be looking like I do not know what I am doing. The students look to me, as a teacher, to know what to do in every situation. If for some reason the technology that I am trying to use fails or is unresponsive, this could cause the students to lose faith in my abilities. There is also the fear of what it would take to replace any broken features or components caused by myself or my students. One way I am going to overcome these fears is to realize that when the students see that I am human and make mistakes too, that they will then become more at ease around me and know that it is ok for them to make some mistakes along the way as well. In Chapter three of our textbook is states that reverse mentoring can be an effective tool to use with the students. They love the thought of being able to teach the teacher. In the past I have used this strategy when having the students tell me about a book that they have read and I have not. They become very excited about this and are able to learn quite a bit and remember facts that they might not have otherwise.

My best hopes for technology integration are numerous. One of the highest hopes I have would be to reach a student that I had been unable to reach before. To make an impact on a student’s life is something most teachers strive for and technology can enable us to include more students in our lessons. I would also love to see the day that technology utilization is the norm for all teachers. When cell phones first became widely used I hardly ever turned mine on due to the cost and other technology issues. Today, however, I use my cell phone much more than I ever use my landline and most of my friends do not even have land lines anymore. Hopefully, technology integration will also progress in such a manner. Communication with parents is always an area where most teachers need to do better. Through the use of technology there are many more ways to communicate with the parents other than on the telephone. In Chapter Three it even states that the teacher could communicate via the video camera and VCR. I agree with this that it would be very useful to show them some activities we are doing in class but on the other hand some households may not have a VCR anymore since most of the population have converted to DVD. I have found that email is an extremely valuable resource for a teacher. I have automatic documentation of the times I was in contact with the parents and can easily print them out if needed.

I have learned many things in this class. One of them is that I am not alone in feeling the occasional fear at learning a new skill or subject. This is apparently normal and by learning this it makes me feel much more at ease and willing to move forward. This class has also made me focus on what I want to implement in my class and given me the skills to use a wider variety of tools to make it happen. Being able to bounce ideas around with others that are going through similar types of experiences really helps me to get more knowledge and, as they say, knowledge is power.

In the coming year I intend to allow my students to teach me the knowledge that they know and in some areas take charge of the learning. When are doing research for papers they can not only peer tutor but reverse tutor me in the software applications that they are familiar with. Through this process I am hoping to create an atmosphere where the learning is more enriched but also where they feel confident and know that each of them possess certain skills that they can use to help others. I also want to include more technology into my everyday lessons and not be constrained due to lack of computers in the classroom. There are many small ways that I can use other technology to enhance my lessons.

I have learned many new and exciting things in this class. I know that I will need to go back through my notes and review everything because I am sure to forget some of it. I also know that to be the best teacher that I am able to be I need to continually seek out information about technology and what is offered to help my students be able to learn in the way that best suits them. After all if I do not continue to learn and expand my knowledge how can I expect my students to?