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IT 645 has been an incredibly relevant and helpful course in learning about how to utilize and integrate technology within the classroom in relevant and meaningful ways. I have thoroughly enjoyed creating the projects within this course as it has drastically increased my technological literacy. I have used different technological tools such as Google Docs, Google Slides, and Google classroom along with online resources for research and curriculum development purposes. I now have much more experience with technologically interactive tools that provide engaging learning activities that I know my students will enjoy participating in. I have learned that integration of the technology we have become familiar with this semester will allow me to deliver content in a much more meaningful and dynamic way to my students. It will also help them take ownership of their own learning and success.
There were many projects that we created that allowed us to see exactly how to utilize technology within the context of learning. We developed a lesson plan and then tailored a course website with many, many tools to enhance student learning. Each project was a piece of the overall puzzle that we would create over the course of the semester. I found that, throughout this process, I wish to create my own course website for the subjects that I teach.
The first project was to create our Blog website and lesson plan. The Blog project is significant in reflection of learning experiences in an online group setting. Our peers read our blog posts and provided helpful comments and feedback. The blog project allowed my colleagues and I to meet some of the standards that are required within this course, such as, reflection of learning, sharing technology, and collaboration. I enjoyed creating the blog, however I am not sure if I will use this tool going forward, but I will not say I won’t ever use it. The lesson plan was created in an effort to provide experience creating a lesson plan that integrates technology into subject area content. This lesson plan provided the framework for the course website and other projects to come.
The second project was to create a technology survey within Google Forms. This survey was created to serve as a tool to learn about the technological needs of students. It allows a teacher to know where they stand with their students in technological aspects. It helps identify areas of ease and difficulty to integrate technology within instructional design. Surveys are easy ways to obtain data in a relatively short amount of time. I have used surveys in the past to obtain learning style preferences and study habits of my students. I will continue to utilize this technology in my classroom.
Project three included the creation of a Google Slide presentation and a Google document that was complimentary to the presentation. This was very easy for me to complete, as I am MOST familiar with utilizing these technological tools. I have used the Google Platform for my classes this past year as I was assigned Google Chromebooks for my classroom. I used Google Classroom to post assignments, presentations, and announcements for my classes. One feature I love about Google Apps for Education is that it stores and saves your work automatically. It can also easily be shared with peers and teachers. I will continue to use Google Slides and Google Docs in my classes, as they are great tools for presentations and assignments.
Project four was to create an audio podcast. I utilized Vocaroo to create my podcast. This is a wonderful tool to use to create learning tutorials for auditory learners. I was a bit shy to record myself, however it turned out much better than I anticipated. I am not sure if I would use an exclusively auditory podcast unless I had a student that was strictly an auditory learner. I have not had a student like this at this point in my career. Also, if my students wanted a podcast for their own personal use such as to listen to lecture or discussion of content at a later time I may consider developing them on an as needed basis.
Projects five and six were the creation of a tutorial video and an interactive tutorial video that integrated quiz-like questions within it. To create the tutorial video I utilized the Wevideo online video editor. This was a useful tool to easily make a tutorial video for the first time creator. The main issue with this was that I could not slow the video down just a bit so I felt rushed when narrating the video. The interactive video was made through Edpuzzle. Edpuzzle allowed me to easily make an interactive tutorial video that had quiz-like questions embedded throughout the video. The only issue with this online tool was that when I tried to make a voice note at some points it sped my voice up so that I sounded like a chipmunk. Therefore I did not add any voice notes to the video. I do plan on utilizing Edpuzzle in my classroom to create fun, interactive learning lessons.
Project seven and eight were the creation of an embedded quiz within the course site and a discussion forum and the course website. These were also projects that were easily created. I did not like the fact that only five questions could be used for this quiz, however it has its uses to obtain an overview of student learning of major concepts. The discussion forum was a neat feature to add to the course site for class discussion. This would be a good tool to use for higher order thinking questions for students to think about and discuss with their classmates and with the teacher. I will utilize the discussion forum within my classes throughout the semester, however it probably will not be often. If I had to give a frequency I would probably say once per unit of instruction. The course site was created to provide a place for all of our projects and assignments to be located. I loved creating the website as I now see how easy it is to do. It does require some time to create, however, what better way for teachers to provide students, parents and other involved persons with a place for all of pertinent class information such as lectures, notes, resources and course work to be found. It makes it easy for students to keep up with their coursework and easy for parents to monitor what their student should be doing in their class. I do intend on creating a course website for my classes this year.
Project nine asked us to create a quiz utilizing Quizizz and a rubric using Rubistar. I loved the interactive quiz that I created through Quizizz and I am confident that my students will also enjoy using this technology for learning concepts and reinforcing what they have learned from class instruction and studying on their own. I will utilize Quizizz in my classroom to provide fun reviews of fundamental concepts. Creating the rubric from Rubistar was easy, however I did have difficulty with sharing the file generated by the Rubistar website to share on my course website, therefore I duplicated the rubric within Xcel myself. I have had difficulty in the past with creating rubrics on my own, therefore this is a website that I will use for projects that I assign in my classes.
Project ten included the creation of an interactive image via Thinglink and a resource page through Scoop.it. The interactive image provided me with a new tool to add to my technology toolbox that I would implement for students to use for study purposes on their own time or maybe at the end of class activities as we are supposed to teach from bell to bell. It provides students with an interactive study tool that I believe with careful thought and planning can be very engaging and useful. The resource page created via Scoop.it was easy to create. However, I may or may not utilize this technology within my classes. It could be a useful activity for those students that need a challenging activity or as an assignment for students to obtain bonus points for researching a topic provided through the resource page.
The final project was our Blogfolio. This is a culminating activity that was to be completed after all other projects and reflections were completed. This links both the course site and the blog site together and has shown me how to incorporate everything that has been learned this semester together. The fact that the standards were included in this project gave me insight on how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together. This is an excellent assignment to show overall performance in a subject as well as understanding.
Over the course of the semester, I have identified points of strength and weakness with integration of technology into my instructional design. Some projects were completed with ease and some were completed with some technical difficulty. Nonetheless, they were all completed and turned out very well. My strongest points are creating and finding appropriate ways to utilize most all of the projects assigned this semester. My weakest points are that I am new to utilizing the technology and I would like to become more familiar with them and develop even better resources for my students.
The major takeaway from all that was learned this semester in IT 645 is that we use technology that fits with our instruction to provide meaningful learning activities that our students can utilize in relevant and meaningful ways. Also, it allows them to take ownership of their own learning. I believe that the creation of a class website would be the best manner for me to show students how to use technology and to set them up to be responsible for their own learning. I believe that the resources allow students to pick and choose what is best for them to use to enhance their learning experience within the subject matter and can increase their success in the classroom. Furthermore, I have gained many new tools that I will implement in this upcoming school year. I am excited that I had the opportunity to explore many technological tools that I was unfamiliar with in this course and I look forward to using what I learned this fall at PHS.
There were many projects that we created that allowed us to see exactly how to utilize technology within the context of learning. We developed a lesson plan and then tailored a course website with many, many tools to enhance student learning. Each project was a piece of the overall puzzle that we would create over the course of the semester. I found that, throughout this process, I wish to create my own course website for the subjects that I teach.
The first project was to create our Blog website and lesson plan. The Blog project is significant in reflection of learning experiences in an online group setting. Our peers read our blog posts and provided helpful comments and feedback. The blog project allowed my colleagues and I to meet some of the standards that are required within this course, such as, reflection of learning, sharing technology, and collaboration. I enjoyed creating the blog, however I am not sure if I will use this tool going forward, but I will not say I won’t ever use it. The lesson plan was created in an effort to provide experience creating a lesson plan that integrates technology into subject area content. This lesson plan provided the framework for the course website and other projects to come.
The second project was to create a technology survey within Google Forms. This survey was created to serve as a tool to learn about the technological needs of students. It allows a teacher to know where they stand with their students in technological aspects. It helps identify areas of ease and difficulty to integrate technology within instructional design. Surveys are easy ways to obtain data in a relatively short amount of time. I have used surveys in the past to obtain learning style preferences and study habits of my students. I will continue to utilize this technology in my classroom.
Project three included the creation of a Google Slide presentation and a Google document that was complimentary to the presentation. This was very easy for me to complete, as I am MOST familiar with utilizing these technological tools. I have used the Google Platform for my classes this past year as I was assigned Google Chromebooks for my classroom. I used Google Classroom to post assignments, presentations, and announcements for my classes. One feature I love about Google Apps for Education is that it stores and saves your work automatically. It can also easily be shared with peers and teachers. I will continue to use Google Slides and Google Docs in my classes, as they are great tools for presentations and assignments.
Project four was to create an audio podcast. I utilized Vocaroo to create my podcast. This is a wonderful tool to use to create learning tutorials for auditory learners. I was a bit shy to record myself, however it turned out much better than I anticipated. I am not sure if I would use an exclusively auditory podcast unless I had a student that was strictly an auditory learner. I have not had a student like this at this point in my career. Also, if my students wanted a podcast for their own personal use such as to listen to lecture or discussion of content at a later time I may consider developing them on an as needed basis.
Projects five and six were the creation of a tutorial video and an interactive tutorial video that integrated quiz-like questions within it. To create the tutorial video I utilized the Wevideo online video editor. This was a useful tool to easily make a tutorial video for the first time creator. The main issue with this was that I could not slow the video down just a bit so I felt rushed when narrating the video. The interactive video was made through Edpuzzle. Edpuzzle allowed me to easily make an interactive tutorial video that had quiz-like questions embedded throughout the video. The only issue with this online tool was that when I tried to make a voice note at some points it sped my voice up so that I sounded like a chipmunk. Therefore I did not add any voice notes to the video. I do plan on utilizing Edpuzzle in my classroom to create fun, interactive learning lessons.
Project seven and eight were the creation of an embedded quiz within the course site and a discussion forum and the course website. These were also projects that were easily created. I did not like the fact that only five questions could be used for this quiz, however it has its uses to obtain an overview of student learning of major concepts. The discussion forum was a neat feature to add to the course site for class discussion. This would be a good tool to use for higher order thinking questions for students to think about and discuss with their classmates and with the teacher. I will utilize the discussion forum within my classes throughout the semester, however it probably will not be often. If I had to give a frequency I would probably say once per unit of instruction. The course site was created to provide a place for all of our projects and assignments to be located. I loved creating the website as I now see how easy it is to do. It does require some time to create, however, what better way for teachers to provide students, parents and other involved persons with a place for all of pertinent class information such as lectures, notes, resources and course work to be found. It makes it easy for students to keep up with their coursework and easy for parents to monitor what their student should be doing in their class. I do intend on creating a course website for my classes this year.
Project nine asked us to create a quiz utilizing Quizizz and a rubric using Rubistar. I loved the interactive quiz that I created through Quizizz and I am confident that my students will also enjoy using this technology for learning concepts and reinforcing what they have learned from class instruction and studying on their own. I will utilize Quizizz in my classroom to provide fun reviews of fundamental concepts. Creating the rubric from Rubistar was easy, however I did have difficulty with sharing the file generated by the Rubistar website to share on my course website, therefore I duplicated the rubric within Xcel myself. I have had difficulty in the past with creating rubrics on my own, therefore this is a website that I will use for projects that I assign in my classes.
Project ten included the creation of an interactive image via Thinglink and a resource page through Scoop.it. The interactive image provided me with a new tool to add to my technology toolbox that I would implement for students to use for study purposes on their own time or maybe at the end of class activities as we are supposed to teach from bell to bell. It provides students with an interactive study tool that I believe with careful thought and planning can be very engaging and useful. The resource page created via Scoop.it was easy to create. However, I may or may not utilize this technology within my classes. It could be a useful activity for those students that need a challenging activity or as an assignment for students to obtain bonus points for researching a topic provided through the resource page.
The final project was our Blogfolio. This is a culminating activity that was to be completed after all other projects and reflections were completed. This links both the course site and the blog site together and has shown me how to incorporate everything that has been learned this semester together. The fact that the standards were included in this project gave me insight on how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together. This is an excellent assignment to show overall performance in a subject as well as understanding.
Over the course of the semester, I have identified points of strength and weakness with integration of technology into my instructional design. Some projects were completed with ease and some were completed with some technical difficulty. Nonetheless, they were all completed and turned out very well. My strongest points are creating and finding appropriate ways to utilize most all of the projects assigned this semester. My weakest points are that I am new to utilizing the technology and I would like to become more familiar with them and develop even better resources for my students.
The major takeaway from all that was learned this semester in IT 645 is that we use technology that fits with our instruction to provide meaningful learning activities that our students can utilize in relevant and meaningful ways. Also, it allows them to take ownership of their own learning. I believe that the creation of a class website would be the best manner for me to show students how to use technology and to set them up to be responsible for their own learning. I believe that the resources allow students to pick and choose what is best for them to use to enhance their learning experience within the subject matter and can increase their success in the classroom. Furthermore, I have gained many new tools that I will implement in this upcoming school year. I am excited that I had the opportunity to explore many technological tools that I was unfamiliar with in this course and I look forward to using what I learned this fall at PHS.