Final Comments

Here we are, coming down to the end of my first technology class. What an experience! I never thought that I would ever be on a blog, but here I am putting on my 5th posting. I have done a wiki page, podcast, and other great tech items. So, I would like to reflect how this experience has changed the way I approach teaching.

This course has definitely helped me to develop my tech skills for teaching. I had always thought of myself as an "old school" teacher. I was taught in a traditional way and that was just fine with me. I loved to just get down and dirty with a pencil (wooden) and paper and work through some math. But students are not like me, they need some more stimulation with their instruction. This class has given me many different options to do this. This course has shown me the different ways to involve students in the learning process. My new skills with wikis, blogs, and the like will allow me to revamp my lessons. I can't wait to employ my new skills which I have developed in this class.

I believe that this class has also changed my view on how my students learn and their learning processes. Are students' minds some how different because they are digital natives, I don't know. But, I do know that students are coming into school with a different set of skills. They are multi-taskers. They have an incredible ability to take in media, and they have a much better grasp of technology. Teachers have to tap into these skill when teaching today's students. I have to keep the students busy. I cannot drone on with lecture. I must give the students as many opportunities to learn as possible.

And that leads me to how I have changed the orientation of my classroom. I have started to change it from a teacher-centered to a student-centered classroom. This is difficult to do because I have to tap into my students' natural inquiry. And, that inquiry is hard to find, especially in a math class. I have to some how get the students moving in the right direction and them keep them rolling in math. Honestly, this will be a big challenge for me, but this class has shown me the importance of a student-centered classroom, and I hope that I can accomplish this someday soon.

This class has also shown me the need to keep up with the changing technology field. This is how I will continue to expand my knowledge, which should help my students. I need to always be looking to find the next best thing that will help my students learn. I need to be on the cutting edge of the technological advances. This will also help me teach some of my other colleagues some tools to help them.

I have two main long-term goals when it comes to technology. My first goal is to have an outstanding website for each of my classes every year. I want it to have links everywhere. I want all of my notes loaded onto it. I want it all! This will greatly change the dynamic of my class for the better.

My other goal is to be a leader in technology policy and implementation in my school and district. I am currently on the technology committee for the district and I would like to be a fixture on it for a long time. I also want to lead some professional development on technology. I want to help other teachers learn the advantages that I have learned in this class.

Well, there it is. I hope that others have enjoyed the class as much as I have.

It's been fun!

Tyler

Hello Class,

Here is a link to a teacher tube video that I put together rather than a podcast. I have Notebook 10 from Smart Technologies and they have a video recording program that works great. So, I thought that you might like to have some graphs along with my boring monotone voice:

The link is:

http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=9f75d1bb84ea4bed6423

Enjoy!

Tyler