My husband runs his own business, but when it comes to the computer, he hands things over to me. He frequently tells me that I am so good at working the computer and using technology. I have to disagree! There are some things I am pretty good at, but only because of what I have learned as a teacher.
According to the ISTE.Nets, I feel I am strong in some areas, but very weak in others. Most of my strengths in technology are in the area of creativity, communicating with parents, students, and teachers, and bringing real-world issues into the classroom via the internet. Some of my weakness are being able to use technology in the classroom and using the wide variety of tools available to enrich the learning that takes place.
As an educator, I plan to use my strengths with the school and community. I consider myself pretty creative and enjoy creating music, videos and working with photography on the computer. I currently help out with the cheerleaders at our school and put music together for them using Garage Band. I have taught myself how to work this program and now work with students to help them learn the program as well. Along with the music, I have put together slide shows and videos for various assemblies for our school.
Another strength I bring to my classroom by use of technology is discussions of real-world issues. The use of articles on the internet is a daily activity for my students. Current events are posted on the SmartBoard and research is required through use of laptops. My goal is for my students to be exposed daily to technology and what is going on in the world outside of the classroom.
Communication has been a challenge for me, but through collaborating with other teachers, we have set up a Facebook page to communicate with students and parents. Along with the Facebook page, I am currently working on a teacher web-page which will be very helpful as well.
To overcome my weaknesses using technology, I definitely need to not be afraid of it. To accomplish this, I know that attending workshops and using the tools and skills available to me will have to be used. The first time my students and I used the new laptops in class, frustration set in! One by one, I began to have my students work on alternate assignments because of MY lack of experience and confidence. I tried to make the classroom a technology enriched place of learning, but I found myself spinning my wheels.
In order to improve my instructional strategies by use of technology I would like to learn more about how to troubleshoot problems that occur. I would also like to learn the most effective tools to use to engage students and how to better communicate with my students and parents. I do plan on using the blogger.com that I am currently learning with my students.
Sometimes I feel as if I am in a state of limbo; I know that there are tools available, I just have to get to them and use them!
Resources
ISTE-Nets-t. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/nets-t-standards.pdf
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