Skip to main content

Things I Know Now, That I Didn't Know Then


Before Starting EDU 585


I thought that I was pretty up-to-date with technology in general and as a learner I always tried to push myself to look for new ways I could to make my classes more interactive
and student oriented. However, I would have a hard time sometimes figuring out some of the technology that was available out there all by myself. So when I heard I had to
take EDU 585, I got excited because I knew that this course would provide me with more than what I was looking for. And it sure did.
As a learner, I couldn’t wait to master new ways I could help my students not only reach their goals but also I couldn’t wait to try new technology that would help me as an educator,
and reflect on them on a daily basis.

What I gained and What I know Now


Once I started taking this course, I realized how behind I was with all the technology that is currently available for educators. Looking through my blog posts, I realized how
much I’ve learned by taking this class and by reading my classmates’ blog posts. I realized there are so many technology experts out there that I can reach out to and learn
from every day. I used to rely only on Youtube, or just “Google” it really quick, but now I know a couple of people that I would follow to keep myself updated with what is out
there technology wise for educators.
Some of the things that I was able to learn more about were there following: blended learning, hyperdocs, how to create embedded posts, etc. In addition, I didn’t know there
were so many different tools or apps that I could use to create videos for my students, such as Edpuzzle. This course also helped me realize how amazing is to be a collaborator
and learn from other collaborators. Throughout the course, my classmates and I were able to collaborate with one another through blog posts, trying new technology together,
helping one another when we were stuck and also encouraging one another to do better. It was truly a safe and amazing learning experience that I would use for my own
classrooms.
Moreover, the most important thing that I’ve learned was how to be a better blogger and how to connect with my audience. I realized that by making this blog better, I will be able
to connect with other educators in the digital world in a positive way, have a record of how much I have grown as an educator, and it will help me to continuously reflect as a learner.

What I Hope to be in the Future


I think this course helped me be more aware of what I need to do in order to stay connected to the digital world. Some of the ways I know I can stay connected are through
my blogs, following other bloggers and Twitter! I was surprised to see how amazing Twitter is and how much it will help me to keep my creativity in check and to be inspired
by so many other educators that are amazing at what they do. Thus, all of this reminded me how important it is to know and teach digital citizenship to my students. It is
important to always inspire one another in a positively way and to responsibly participate in the digital world.
Overall, I believe that all that I have learned and continue to learn, in terms of technology, will help me to be a facilitator and serve my students the best possible way I can
through all the technology that is available for them to grow and be successful in this fast paced world. Therefore, I will continue to work hard as an educator to foster an
environment where it is safe for my students to take ownership of their own learning through all the technology that is available today.



Comments

  1. Rod CarnillDecember 11, 2018 at 5:52 PM

    The cycle of doing, reflecting, improving is the difference between the good teachers and the great teachers. As that cycle continues for teachers, sooner or later, they have to look strongly at the effective use of technology to engage learners and enhance instruction.
    As you say in your post, staying connected to other teacher learners helps inform, inspire and affirm our teaching and learning. Practice these three Cs...connect, collaborate, and contribute...this will help you find value in others and others to find value in you.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pear Deck Part II

Exploring Pear Deck Part II Pear Deck is a Google add-on in Google Slides that makes your Slides much more interesting and it helps with student engagement. It is a really easy to use add-on, but you might have to spend some time getting used to some of their features. Some of the things you have to remember is to sign-up and start their 30- day free trial. This way you will be able to get a real taste of using Pear Deck. I made the mistake to not signing up for their 30-free trial last time. After I got a taste of their premium membership, I like Pear Deck a lot more. Now, I keep extending my free trial but there will be a day that they will stop me from extending it. I am considering showing Pear Deck to the rest of my team and convince them to use it as well. Hopefully, we will be able to get their premium membership soon paid by our administrators. Here is an image showing you what each membership allows you to do: This time around, I chose to use Pear Dec
6 comments
Read more

Google Slides Part 2

    I believe that teachers should always try to improve their skills as much as they can by evaluating  themselves in a regular basis. I struggled a little last time to make my Google Slides a little more  interesting, and that helped me to become better at Google Slides! I know you have to move backwards  a little to move forwards sometimes. I was frustrated but I was able to learn a valuable lesson. This time around, I was able to analyze what I did and change it a little so that it flows better.  In addition to making some changes, I added some more slides that will allow my students practice  their prepositions. I think they will have fun doing the activities and it’s an easy way for me to check  if they understand how the prepositions “in”, “on”, and “at” work. I will have to try it with my students,  and I will report back to you! :)  Here is my Google Slide! Enjoy and please let me know what you think!
5 comments
Read more

Exploring Seesaw

This week, I've decided to give Seesaw a try. I heard about it so many times that I wanted to see why teachers love it so much. Also, I've learned a lot from Ms. Dana Dembecks's presentation that it was a no-brainer to try one of the many tech tools she mentioned. One of them was Seesaw. Seesaw it's a great tool for students to keep a journal of everything that they do in class daily. Teachers can also use it to assess students' knowledge and skills by uploading or adding activities in Seesaw. Moreover, parents can even log in to Seesaw and see what their children are doing on a daily basis.  Getting started with Seesaw wasn't hard at all. I think, overall, that the creators of Seesaw took a lot of things into consideration. They make it super easy for teachers to create an account and to help you immediately start by adding a class. Also, they give you tips and tricks on how to get started by sending you an email right after you created
4 comments
Read more