I really enjoyed going back over my blog posts. When we started this class and started keeping our blog, I considered it a place to complete my assignments. It wasn’t until this week that I realized the benefit of keeping a blog all semester. I realize now that it was a place for me to reflect each week on what I was learning. Prior to this course, I was not integrating technology into my classroom because I didn’t know where to start. The lingo (blog, wiki, etc.) was confusing and I was unclear of the function of each. This class has helped me develop a clear understanding of the technologies available and their uses in my classroom. The next step for me is to move forward with some of my ideas and to foresee the problems that will be a challenge, so I can work around them.
I would like to have my students use e-portfolios to organize their work and then be able to re-visit their writing and improve it. My school is suppose to have Moodle up and running 2nd semester and I envision this as a medium for this organization. I also think that reflecting on their work is very valuable and I would like to have that be a practice in my classroom.
As I mentioned in our class discussion, the e-portfolio or blog almost serves as a pre-writing assignment. I found that I was able to go back through my blog and use several of my previous ideas in my final project. Therefore, I think that having students use a blog throughout a novel would prepare them to write. For another class I did a unit where my students were analyzing the writing techniques of the author of a book as they were preparing to write their own short story. I had them keep a journal throughout the unit. I think I would change the journal to a blog. I also hope to use the wiki I am creating in my classroom. Lastly, I would really like to do literature circles using technology. I don’t think I can currently use a Ning site in my school, but I am hoping that the Moodle can be used similarly.
I have really enjoyed this course and I look forward to gradually adding many of the technology tools into my classroom.
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Trista,
ReplyDeleteHurray for technology! :-) I hope the Moodle can fulfill all of your teaching dreams; I wish my district would invest in such an organized system. Thanks for sharing all of your ideas. It's been nice working with someone who teaches a lot of the same units, even though we're teaching different grade levels.
Christine
Trista,
ReplyDeleteIt's exciting how much we can learn in such a short time and how it can feel like a major transformative structure. I've enjoyed reading your thoughts each week. It's clear you've taken time to consider each area and really apply it.
I wish you all the best!