Reflective Essay

In what ways has this course helped you to develop your own technology skills?

This course has helped me to develop my own technology skills by introducing me to different technologies that I can use in my classroom such as blogs, wikis, and podcasts. I also learned different ways that I can effectively integrate these technologies into my classroom.

In what ways can you continue to expand your knowledge of technology integration with the aim of increasing student achievement?

One way that I will continue to expand my knowledge of technology integration with the aim of student achievement will be to continue with the courses required for my master's degree in Integrating Technology in the Classroom. Another way will be to keep up with new and emerging technologies by reading educational journals and blogs on the subject.

Set two long-term goals (within two years) for transforming your classroom environment into a place where technology is integrated seamlessly to meet instructional goals and increase student achievement. How do you plan to accomplish these goals?

The first goal that I have set for my classroom with respect to integrating technology seamlessly to increase student achievement is to create a class blog where my students will be expected to respond to an entry each week. On the blog I would also like to post class notes with examples so that students who miss class or need extra help could look for assistance. This will increase student achievement because students will be expected to read about the math that they are learning and then respond. My students need practice reading mathematics, and by writing about what they learn, they will reinforce the concepts even more. I hope to accomplish this goal for next school year. To accomplish it, I will take more time to learn about blogs and all of the various ways that they can be used. Once it is in place, I will maintain it by spending time each day as needed to update the blog and read my students' responses.

The second goal that I have for transforming my classroom is to allow my students more time for online learning through websites like usatestprep.com where they will play games, answer drill questions, and practice other various mathematics topics. This will increase student achievement by allowing them time to learn new topics on their own and allowing them to drill on topics that they are having trouble with instant feedback. I will accomplish this goal by signing up to use the computer lab on a weekly basis. I will then spend time researching websites that can be used to increase student achievement in mathematics. Students will be taught how to use and navigate each website at the beginning of the semester. They will rotate websites from week to week after that.

Technology Podcast

This is a link to a podcast that I created to gauge the amount of technology that my students have access to and use on a daily basis at home and at school. Enjoy!

http://moores.podbean.com/

Partnership for 21st Century Skills

I have just had the opportunity to browse the website of P21 (Partnership for 21st Century Skills). The url for the website is http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/. I greatly enjoyed learning about what P21 is all about.

The mission statement for the Partnership for 21st Century Skills is to "Serve as a catalyst to position 21st century skills at the center of US K-12 education by building collaborative partnerships among education, business, community and government leaders."

I feel that this is something that our schools need in order to prepare our U.S. students with the skills that they need in order to compete in the global workforce. I was a little surprised that this is actually the first I have heard of P21. I was also surprised to see that my home state of South Carolina is not on the list of states that are currently involved in this initiative.

I did not see anything on the site that I disagree with. I feel that what P21 is doing can have some very positive implications for our students. By teaching students by the framework created by P21, I feel that we will be doing a better job of preparing them for the 21st Century workplace and therefore giving them an advantage in an increasingly competitive job market.

Using Blogs in the Classroom

I teach high school math (grades 9-12) in Greenwood, SC. I have never used blogs in my classroom. However, I can see many ways that they could be useful. I hope to begin using a blog during the new semester since I will begin with new students. I think the initial purpose of my blog will be a place to basically "extend" the classroom. I will post entries that reflect on lessons and explain more difficult concepts. I will post links to sites that students can use to help them with homework as well as links to any powerpoints that were used so that students can print their notes if they miss class. I will also post about student achievements in my classroom. As I become more comfortable with using a blog, I hope to extend the purpose of the blog to have students discuss about topics learned in class. Students sometimes have trouble writing about math, but I believe that when they can explain what they are doing in words, they better understand what they are doing. By having students explain concepts and discuss concepts through a blog, I believe that they will gain a deeper understanding of the material.