Final Digital Blog Post

A Course to Reflect

Whether I was sitting in the coffee shop or relaxing at home, writing this blog on EME 2040 has truly enhanced my capability of teaching. The IGeneration of students continually increases and so does improvements in technology. Chapter 1 of the textbook "Transforming Learning with New Technologies", informed me that computer time using technology-based teaching tools can be beneficial to students and teachers as well (Maloy, Verock-O'Laoghlin, Edwards, & Woolf, 2014). To recognize the IGeneration in my future classroom, I will do a "computer center" in which students can participate in interactive online activities. Here is ABC Mouse, one of my favorite online activity websites that I have mentioned throughout the semester.

Behaviorism, a term mentioned in Chapter 3 of the textbook, was a term I was familiar with and I found interesting to be acknowledged in a technological way. Improvements and updates in technology in the classroom serve as part of the environment for the students. Behaviorism, as defined by the textbook, "maintains that learning is a set of changes in human behavior created as a response to events in the environment" (Maloy, Verock-O'Laoghlin, Edwards, & Woolf, 2014). Here is one of my favorite comics I created over the course of the semester regarding Chapter 3.

Over the course of the semester, collaborative lesson plans and teacher web pages taught me learning objectives such as "analyze and evaluate a selection of technological tools for assisting students who are English Language Learners, and link the technology to strategies for teaching these students." I was able to assist and evaluate on how to incorporate diverse technological needs in the classroom for students. Whether it be through learning styles or developmental delays, technology can be used to positively improve teaching students. One tool I found very successful and will be helpful for presentations in the classroom is Prezi. It is a presentation website designed for a different appeal. I believe it takes a creative approach on lecture time. Here is one I made on Chapter 11, "Engaging Students in Performance Assessment and Reflective Learning".



My favorite discussion post throughout the course was Discussion Post #3: Assistive/Adaptive Technologies. With having experience of volunteering at a special education school, I found this discussion topic interesting to see the perspectives of my classmates and how they would help their physically/mentally disabled students adapt to the classroom. I think it is extremely important for a classroom to feel like family; every child should feel like a friend. Even as a teacher for voluntary pre-kindergarten, I call each one of my students (and encourage them to do so) my "friends." I wrote in this discussion post, "As a teacher, I would provide my student with a hearing disability plenty of resources so he/she feels respected and treated equally as other students" and I still believe that very thing.

Along with some of my favorite chapters such as Chapter 11 and Chapter 7, this class served as an eye-opener to using technology in the classroom. I always found it important to have one-on-one basic instruction with students but I had not realized how important it was for students to also have computer time with engaging activities. The course also explained to me how it does not have to be just computers, but there is a large abundance of technological teaching tools and opportunities for the classroom. I hope to gather the information I learned this semester and to incorporate it into future classrooms!

References
Hunt, Alaina. (2015, September 20). "Technology for Students" Bitstrip. Retrieved December, 10, 2015, from https://www.bitstrips.com/user/JJ784S/read.php?comic_id=QQVM3&subsection=1.

Hunt, Alaina. (2015, November 2). Chapter 11:. Retrieved December 10, 2015.

Maloy, R., O'Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.