Final Reflection

At the beginning of this class I was intimidated by all of the new technology that has come out since I was an undergrad. I realized how behnind on the times I really was. Now I have a new found confidence that I hope I can keep up with in the coming years. I feel like technology is something that is just pushed to back burner and it shouldn't be. In fourth grade we have three EOGs, reading, writing, and math. From November to March there is such a huge push on the Writing test then as soon as that is over the march to the Reading and Math test starts. Everyday I have to do an EOG in with reading classes and my homeroom. I'm so frustrated with that. With all of the pressure and prodding to do well on the EOG I feel like I haven't been able to try out as many things I would have liked with my students.

I did get to start Gaggle with my students and suprisingly only got complaints from other teachers who thought I was trying to one up them or wasting my time on things that were not going to be tested.

The screen capture feature was also handy when giving directions with a tutorial. If I were staying in 4th grade next year I would probably create one on Gaggle and Power Point.

I used the movie maker to make a movie that my students and others were able to enjoy. My students now request that when we have down time. What a motivator it has become. I don't think I would have the patience to create one of those in the classroom. It just takes too long and is too stressful to have to do the entire thing on one computer.

I like the idea of creating a digital text after returning from a field trip. We only went on one during this semester and I'm waiting until after the EOGs to create a digital text about it. For next year I plan on creating some for my little Kindergarten students.

I don't think that Social Networking is appropriate for students my age. I had them create profile pages and they seem content with that. As far as my social networking pages I have chosen to keep those private and for social reasons. I just want parents and my friends mingling in the same area. My entire life is not school and I in order to keep my sanity it must remain that way. I feel like through my webpage, e-mail, phone, and ability to meet face-to-face, I have made myself available enough. As far as blogging goes to keep in touch with parents I'm comfortable with the webpage I have now. I have been working on that page for the last 3 years. To move everything over to a blog would take an enormous amount of time. I like using FrontPage. I like have the freedom to design my site the way I want it and not have to worry about losing it because a site goes down. When I move to Kindergarten I plan to continue using FrontPage to create a user friendly webpage. I may include a link for a class blog within the webpage but the entire page will not be a blog.

I look forward to creating a Voki that I can use at the beginning of the year to introduce myself to my new little ones. This year I'll probably show the site to my students and allow them to create their own Voki for fun after the EOG. I hate how everything has to take its place behind the EOGs. I can't wait to get out of a tested area.

One thing I have tried to this year that was inspired by you Dr. K is using PowerPoint to type up notes. When studying the Lost Colony I used a website that I had bookmarked to show students how to take notes from text. After reading a small section of the text I then worked with the students to write notes on the important topics. Everyday when we returned to the text we used the already typed up notes to review. When questioning students on how well they liked this new way of note taking they said that it was easier to read than my handwriting and they thought using the laptop was cool. Right now we are studying Blackbeard and I'm doing the same thing but with a book. The students seem to enjoy this kind of work and it is an important skill they will need in life.

I am definitely going to use podcasts to record books on a MP3 player and to record daily/weekly announcements. When I move to Kindergarten I won't have to worry about doing all kinds of EOG review so I'll have time for technology. When I first tried to let my students listen to the podcast I created, I learned that our county blocked Gabcast. What a disappointment. After several e-mails it was finally unblocked last week. I have not had a chance to use it with my students yet because it just hasn't been available for very long. I would like to try it out with my students before the end of the year. Maybe I'll think of a way to use it as an EOG review and get to do it soon. There is just something wrong with having to relate everything from March to May to a state test. It doesn't make teaching very enjoyable. I hope that things change very soon.

Overall this has been a very helpful class. I have enjoyed trying new things and talking to others about ideas. It is nice to have people to share ideas with and gain some in return. I wish it were like that in the school setting. I have been talking to our media coordinator and periodically to my principal. It's really weird that everyone seems to understand the importance of integrating technology but at this time of the year, its not what can we try that the students might find useful but what can we try that might boost tests scores. Sad. Maybe in time the pressure to do well on the EOGs and make AYP won't control everything we do in school.