My Beliefs

My beliefs when it comes to using technology in the classroom, is that using technology is something that will make the entire classroom a better atmosphere. There are proven studies that show that students learn better and enjoy learning as a whole when technology is involved. I really was this for myself when I was in field. The kids absolutely loved when we used technology! They even knew how to use the smartboard when we were a little unsure the first few days ourselves. One experience that was great was we used Google Earth. The kids loved it. They found it to be so interesting and later in our assessment, they remembered what we taught them when we were using Google Earth.
I think that technology in classroom is so important. We need to learn how to use technology no matter what our age because that is where everything is headed. We need to be able to teach our students, who will be the future gerneration, how to be the best possible amongst their peers and technology is a huge key in order to achieve this. I can't wait to use technology in my classroom. It really makes learning more fun, and in my experience it makes teaching more fun.

Lesson Learned

There is always so much to learn when it comes to technoloy. The video that I enjoyed the most was titled "Did You Know." I knew some of what they put in the video, but the majority of it was new information-and the video was made in early 2007! Just think of all the changes in almost 4 years! One thing that is almost mind-blowing is that our world continues to move so fast, technology is getting more and more advanced every year. If you do not stay up with it then you will get left in the dust. I also thought the video titled "Why Integrate" was very interesting. What a neat opportunity for those students to be able to go to a school that offers so much technology. I hope that all schools will be able to increase their technology and realize the benefits of it. I myself learn better with technology and I have seen evidence that students also learn better with technology. They are more engaged and excited to learn. I think some of my concerns is that I won't be able to stay on top of technology or that my students will be smarter than me when it comes to technology. I am also concered about being able to integrate technology, sometimes I think it will be pretty easy, but you also have to be in a school that has technology available. Overall though, I have learned that technology is a very valuable tool that will make learning and teaching a better experience fore all involved.

Strengths & Weaknesses

I ended up being right in the middle in almost every question in the UNI Survey. I feel like I could be able to do everything on the NET STandards. I feel like I have some good strengths. Beacuse I work with a computer everyday at my job, I feel like I have some advantages. I know that technology is a very, very important part of business and if we don't teach our students about technology we are doing them a disservice. Some of my strengths is that I am pretty computer savvy. I usually know how to fix things. I also think that technology is very valuable and so I know I will always use it and learn new technology. I am also able to operate any kind of technology. I also feel like I could teach my students how to use technology totheir benefit.

Some of my weaknesses are that I don't always remember all of the copyright laws. Sometimes they are confusing to me and I forget what exactly you have to do if something is copyrighted or what you can use it in. I also don't think I would be able to adapt technology to students with special needs. I also think I need to make sure the things I find on the internet are accurate, because sometimes it is hard to know what is credible.

Some goals that I have for my future teaching career is to make an effort to use technology in everything possible. I think kids have a lot more fun when technology is integrated into teaching. I also think I need to work on my weaknesses. I will need to study up on copyright laws so that I will be able to know what I can use. I also want to learn how to accommodate students with special needs when it comes to technology, because I will have students in my classroom with special needs and it is important to know what to do. I think one place that woule be great ti imporve my weaknesses is http://www.copyright.gov. I also think it would be great to take an online tutuorial on students with special needs or listen to a podcast.