Week 1 Post 1 - I made it through the first class!

I made it through the first class! Yipee! The class was excellent, interactive and I really am looking forward to this semester. We were asked to talk about our KWL's of class; what we already Know about teaching technology, What we would like to learn more about throughout class, and what we have Learned at the end of class. Not being in the education field currently, and working in the IT field as a Billing Systems Analyst (creating and building system codes, campaigns, etc for a major cable company), it is interesting learning about technology I use everyday, and implementing that technology into the world of education.

My Knowledge of technology in the classroom is limited in terms of what is actually used (outside of the obvious with computers, etc), however, endless within my imagination, hopes and dreams for students. I remember being in 8th grade computer class, and the highlight of the class was playing Oregon Trail; now kids are surfing the Internet for endless amounts of information, Skyping with other students/classes around the world doing joint lessons, and using technology as a common means of learning. It is also interesting to see how technology has helped drastically in Special Education; the use of Ipads, for example, have given autistic children or non-verbal children a way to express their thoughts and feelings as they never have been able to before. It is pretty awesome and incredible.

I am very interested in learning how to teach students how to utilize technology in a responsible way; to learn about Digital Citizenship, and how bullying can show the words can hurt and is not acceptable. I am also interested in learning more about how technology plays a role in the world of Special Education, and how it is improving the lives of those students. How does having a computer at a student or teacher's fingertips (in the classroom, for each student, or in the school community) enhance learning? How does having that same technology affect students negatively? How do we as teachers go about teaching students general tasks like writing cursive or writing a letter when they are growing up in a different era? These are all questions that I ponder and try to find a balance for. I hope some of those questions are touched upon and /or answered this semester.

Using technology every day, from webinars to databases and so on, is second nature to me due to my current career. I am really looking forward to integrating my current knowledge base and personal use of technology into my growing knowledge base of learning to be a teacher. I am excited and ready to go!