Reflection

Looking back...

It's hard to believe that eight weeks have flown by! Prior to taking EDU 776, I tried to incorporate technology as much as possible within my lessons. Nevertheless, I was always unsure as to what kind of technology to use. Throughout these eight weeks, I have learned new tech tools, researched the impact technology has on students today, and immersed myself in projects to stay educated on technology. As mentioned in my previous post, I teach 1st grade. Throughout these eight weeks of school, I have noticed my students love using their iPads. They love listening to reading, posting assignments on SeeSaw, and coding using Scratch. Although they love using their technology, it is oftentimes difficult when they do not have a component of technology to use or visualize with when I teach a mini lesson. It is very difficult for them to listen and focus in on a mini lesson that is more than 10 minutes on the carpet. Thus, I will begin to implement videos where I will record myself reteaching the mini lesson to post these learning videos on SeeSaw for my students to revisit. Our classroom is part of the dual language program, meaning 70% of our day is in Spanish and 30% is in English. Oftentimes, the focus of the lesson does not come across because of the language barrier and students still trying to understand the vocabulary. Hopefully, with these videos, students won't feel lost or behind. 

I really enjoyed taking this course because not only was I able to collaborate with other educators of different schools, but because I was able to learn about different technology each week! My school district recommends all educators to have a Twitter. Although I had a professional Twitter prior to this course, I wasn't using it as much as I would have wanted. A project throughout this course that stood out to me was the PLN Assignment. The Professional Learning Networks (PLNs) gave me the opportunity to tweet and communicate with educators all over the country about a topic on Twitter. I was able to join the PBIS chat and bounce ideas with other educators who implement PBIS in their school. This was a lot of fun and very informative because I did not know much about PBIS. Now, I am able to view how I can increase fidelity and impact positive reinforcement has with each student. 

via GIPHY.com


Looking ahead...

Overall, I think all educators should incorporate technology in education. Many educators are still skeptical about using technology in their classroom or just do not know how! 

 In my final project, I decided to do more research about Classkick. This application was widely talked about by all teachers in my district! After my research, I found out that it may be beneficial in my classroom. Some of my students work faster than others. Many students notice they are taking longer than others and then begin to guess with their responses because they do not want to be behind. With Classkick, students are able to work at their own pace privately. They are not given access if they are ahead of other students, creating less stress for them in the classroom. Something I also liked about this app was that it was eco-friendly! I am always running to the printer before school, during lunch, and after school! With Classkick, I can take pictures of the worksheet and have students respond online! I hope to use Classkick for our first formal assessment in reading that will involve students to retell the story and provide the characters, problem, solution, setting, and the theme of the story.  

 In my first post for this class, I posted this GIF to represent how I was feeling. I decided to keep it the same after this course because I am still so excited about incorporating technology in my classroom! I hope to continue to grow and learn more about technology to implement it in my classroom.

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