Midterm Review: We're halfway there!

Wow, these last 6 weeks have flown by. It is amazing how in such a small period of time, how much knowledge has been presented to us. I have learned about many tools that can be used inside the classroom, and outside the classroom with my children, however, I have also learned so much about digital responsibility. Technology has integrated so much into our daily lives, we often forget how much information we put about ourselves online. It becomes second nature to post everything about our day-to-day (ok, let's face it, minute-to-minute) activities on social sites such as Facebook and Twitter; all the while we are leaving a digital footprint we don't really think anything of. That has been one of the most eye-opening lessons I have learned so far in this course.

I think we have touched upon many of the objectives laid out for this course. We have touched upon objectives #1 and #2 in learning the different tools out there that can be used in the classroom. Sites such as Scratch, iGoogle, and Diigo can be so useful in the classroom.  Class wiki's and prezis can be great alternatives to PowerPoint presentations or the old school overhead projector.  I enjoy learning about all the features Google has to offer, as I use Gmail as my personal email site. Since being introduced to the documents and reader, I have done exploration on my own and now utilize the Google Calendar and other items Google has to offer. As a result, I think it will be easier to organize assignments and notifications to parents by using the Documents tool or reader tool. Having the communication between teachers and parents is so important, and this is a better way to keep the communication alive.

We have also touched upon objective #3 by creating our Scratch PSA about cyberbullying, blogging, and reading about the different roles technology plays in the classroom. We also hit upon Objective #5 in learning about digital natives, digital immigrants, and so on. It is important to discuss where students are today in comparison to where the teacher may be, and to also understand the rules, regulations, and expectations of being online. We need to understand that first as teachers before we can introduce anything to our students. The more knowledge we have, the better apt we are to be able to assist our students.

Overall I am really enjoying this class. As someone who works in IT in the business world today, I have learned many things that I look forward to applying to my classroom in the near future, and items that I can use in my current career today. As a parent, I have also learned many ways that can help my children learn and play, and they are a great way to try out different sites and techniques before implementing them in the classroom.