I'm a Technology Savvy Teacher. . .almost :-)

I’ve been working to earn my Master’s degree in “Integrating Technology in the Classroom”, through Walden University. When I first started the course Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society, I felt like I was well on my way to being a technology savvy teacher who was doing a great job at integrating technology in my classroom. Throughout the weeks of this course and with each new assignment I was given, I realized that maybe I didn’t know all there was to know about integrating technology into my class.
In my course DVD resource, Dr. David Thornburg quoted some teachers that he had asked about technology in their classrooms. They stated, “It has allowed me to move from a didactic teacher-driven world to a more inquiry-driven, project-based world” (Laureate, 2008). This is exactly how I feel. All of the technology that I was using in my classroom before, like my SMARTboard and computers, was completely teacher driven. I never allowed the students to explore and create student driven projects. After taking this course, I have learned about so many new fun and exciting things in technology that will allow me to create a more inquiry-driven, project based classroom, i.e. blogs, wikis, podcasts.
There was a time when I dreaded taking my work home each night and creating lesson plans for the week. During this course, I have learned many new things that I am trying to integrate into my classroom, and now I actually look forward to exploring and creating new ideas and lessons for my class. To teach technologies effectively, educators must learn to use them effectively (Richardson, 2006). I have realized that in order for my students to understand and be excited about the new technologies I am teaching, I have to truly understand it also. I don’t want my students to just understand how to use the technology, but I want it to drive them in their academics and have a positive effect in their learning.
One goal I would like to set for my classroom is to create a class webpage. I am fortunate enough to be at a school where 95% of students have computers with internet access at home. I’d like to use the webpage to post assignments, links and resources for projects, and even a resource page through a student created wiki. My second goal is to create a classroom blog. I would like the blog to be used in our class from the first day of school to the last. I’d like this to be a place where students can communicate with one another and build a classroom community. It can also be used for nightly reading responses. Parents will be able to actively participate in the blog as well. I believe that a class webpage and a class blog will be a great way to integrate technology in my classroom and truly open up teacher/student/parents communication.
As I said before, I once thought that I was a technology savvy teacher, but I am quickly realizing that I have a lot more to learn when it comes to technology. At times it can be challenging and difficult to understand, but I accept the challenge and am excited about all that it left to learn when it comes to technology.
Resources:
Laureate, Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). “Bringing the Fun into Teaching with Technology” [DVD]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Richardson, W. (2006). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

And the technology journey continues. . .

In just a few short weeks I have created a blog, contributed to creating a wiki, and now I am learning how to create a Podcast! This whole road to becoming a technology savvy teacher has been quite an experience. I have enjoyed every minute of it! The best part has been taking the things I have learned and integrating them into my daily lessons in my classroom. This week I created a questionnaire for my students regarding their use and knowledge of technology. I am still in the process of interviewing the students and creating a podcast. I have created a website through Podbean and hope to have my podcast up in the next few days.
Here is a link to my podcast site. Enjoy!
http://ahanes.podbean.com/