End of semester reflection

 What have I learned regarding technology in education this semester?

• Second grade students are capable of much more than one might think in regards to technology, including creating a link on a blog for a video they recorded themselves.
• Power Point is not the only program on which to make a presentation; others include, Prezi, Smartboard, Flipsnack, etc.
• I can do frog dissections on Smartboard's Smart Exchange.
• One can make sweet illustrated books on Storybird.
• There are an ever-growing assortment of web tools to have one's students climb the Bloom's taxonomy hierarchy.
• Classroom blogs are a great way for students to get involved in authentic, meaningful communication with their classroom, peers, teachers, families, communities, country, and world!
• As a teacher I plan on using a blog myself to communicate with students, and parents.
• I am excited about potentially connecting with schools around the world through quad blogging and skype.
• Technology might have expansive applications, but it is not limitless....yet

I am a digital native. I have grown up with technology always being around me, but people twenty years older than me have not, and thus are digital immigrants. Technology is something that has always been in my world, thus I have a different understanding of it. Students of mine will be natives of a whole new technological realm of which I will be an immigrant, who knows where that will be or what it will look like. I will do my best not to tie down the space shuttle, but encourage and guide its launch from the command center!

What progress have I made on the NETS for Teachers that I focused on this semester?

Teacher NETS #2: Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments.
I have come to a new understanding that technology can really be a way for certain students to learn and express themselves. For some students nothing I have them do in a class will engage and equip them like technology.

Teacher NETS #3: Model Digital-Age Work and Learning
"Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society." With the exposure I have received through this course I will be able to make my class a much more technologically savvy environment where my students will engage in global efforts and interactions. The world is becoming a progressively smaller place  which makes introducing my students to the workings of schools and students around the globe so critical.

I love the diverse technological applications that are available to my students and I. I will try to incorporate it in with traditional methods of seventh grade science instruction to create a challenging, fun place where students will be empowered to live in a ever changing, complex, wonderful world of technology and biology.