Final Blog Reflection

One of the most important concepts I have taken away from this class is that integrating technology needs to be congruent with effective teaching strategies rather than simply change without a difference. Especially since all of my students have laptops, the challenge that I and the rest of the teachers in my school have faced is finding ways to integrate the technology in a way that increases students' knowledge of the subject matter and the use of technology at the same time. The creation of the StAIR and the WebQuest I think really helped me learn how to do this at least somewhat effectively. I plan to use both applications with my students and I would like to create more of those over time. Creating these online experiences helped me really think about and evaluate the types of teaching strategies I use and incorporate some that I haven't used in the past. The WebQuest evaluation assignment helped me get ideas for my own WebQuest but also helped me develop a critical eye for what works and what doesn't. I also appreciated learning about the Quest Garden site for finding WebQuests that will be applicable to my subject.

I think my personal goals for learning about technology integration are a work in progress. I sometimes feel overwhelmed with learning so much in a short time and I know I need more time to explore and just play around with some of the applications we learned about. I also feel that I need to select and focus on 2 or 3 ideas or applications that will be most effective for my students and really learn those well rather than trying to dabble in several things without really knowing them well. Even though I have struggled with integrating technology in my TPRS instruction, I would like to find ways to use technology effectively while sticking to the tenants of the TPRS method as much as possible. Perhaps I could use some pod or video casting activities with recordings of the words and phrases I want my students to learn; if I record them myself, I'll be able to keep the concept of comprehensible input in mind and not overwhelm students with too much vocabulary. That will be my focus for the near future as I continue to make my way through the EduTech program.

I have really enjoyed this course and will surely rely on a lot of what was taught these last weeks. I have already bookmarked many of the sites that my classmates posted in the Tips and Tricks discussion forum and I know I will refer back to many of the articles we read for the class. (I'm old school--I printed them all!) Thank you for the guidance and opportunities!