Saturday, December 8, 2012

Intro To Technology Reflection

So Long, Farewell...


a)      What are my key learnings from this course?
I learned a great deal about powerpoint and google tools.  While most people have been skilled in powerpoint for years, I have never known how to use the detailed tools in the program.  The video recording aspect with powerpoint can be very useful as well for posting long term information for both students and other teachers.  This will enable me to post information on things such as projects, teaching strategies, parent presentations, etc. that will not be lost after the face-to-face presentation.  The google tools provide an excellent way to collect information in a table and share information with both collegues and students easily.  I find both of these tools very useful.

b)      What activities and assignments were most and least useful and why?
The tech skills assignments were the most useful because they encouraged me to utilize the technology in a manner that I would be able to implement in my classroom.  This made me more likely to use the new technology ideas in the future.  New technology is great, but without the motivation to spend time figuring it out I often put it on the back burner.  The tech skills assignments forced me to spend that time trying them, so now I could easily use them again.
My least favorite assignment was the TIP project.  I understand the idea of creating a use for technology to meet a need, but the outline of the TIP project did not seem to emphasize that aspect as much as it did understanding a format. 

c)      Textbook Opinions:
I found the textbook very easy to read!  It was easy to find information and clearly written.  It also offered an extensive amount of great strategies.  I would use it again.

d)     Course Improvements:
-          In class I felt like we spent a lot of time on the same types of technology (video conferencing).  It would have been nice to practice and fully dive into a few good resources by working on assignments (additional assignments if needed) in class so that we could walk away with additional resources.  The 3rd class especially felt very repetitive, and I felt like we looked briefly at too many resources.  (I will forget most of them that I did not use myself.)
-          My district is not looking to adopt any software that costs money.  I would prefer to spend our time only studying the free online applications as a result.
-          The layout of the course was great!  (Dates of face-to-face courses, schedule of assignments, etc.)
-          I would love to spend more time using the google tools for my own classes through this course.
-          I would have preferred to have the face-to-face classes in the morning so that they did not take up pretty much an entire Saturday.
-          The coursework was very manageable, and evenly spaced throughout the course.  Thank you for that!

No comments:

Post a Comment