some final last words to live by....

• you can't teach creativity or imagination .... but embrace what is there and what you can find
• create a book list this summer to read...engage yourself in teaching material and keep yourself updated with the educational world
• diversity is a strength that we can build upon in the classroom
• KNOWLEDGE BUILDING is key to learning & teaching
• technology can be an enabler and give everyone a voice in the classroom. Kids that normally can't be heard are heard
• scaffolding means that we provide continuous feedback over time and opportunities to improve learning. We as teachers improve our understanding as well

and so it comes to a close....

PROFESSIONAL GROWTH PLAN

Goal: To Better Integrate Technology Into The Classroom

One of my greatest fears as a teacher is that I will get lazy and not plan lessons to my best potential. I want to excel at lesson planning and do the best job I can all the time. I think that I didn't try as hard as I should have in order to incorporate technology in my practicum classrooms because I was lazy and didn't want to go that extra mile to come up with something creative and technologically based. I want to introduce a lot of technology into my future classroom settings so that my students are engaged in their work and have the opportunity to work with technology. I want my lessons to be engaging and I want to thrive in being comfortable with being constantly surrounded by technology in the classroom.


Objectives To Reach Goal: 

1. Think outside the box. When I am coming up with lesson plans for the day I need to be able to think of every possible way to bring technology into the classroom.
2. Get help. I don't want to be afraid to ask around and see what my colleagues or other teachers in the school have done in the past with their classrooms.
3. Plan and be very organized. Organization is key and I need to be very prepared when planning for technology to be in a lesson.
4. Research. I need to be constantly researching on the Internet different ideas and methods of technology that can be used in the classroom. What would be the best learning experience for my students? What would the best form of technology be for a given lesson?
5. Find technology that is easy to use so that my students are comfortable with using it in the classroom. 

Presenters.....and the marvellous Amy Park...

As this course is soon coming to a close, one thing that I need to mention is that I absolutely loved when we had presenters from other schools come and share their experiences with our class. I loved these presentations because it didn't just teach me about technology, but also about teaching techniques in general.  Speakers shared their wisdom on numerous topics. One topic in particular that a learned a lot about is assessment. The speakers would share their experiences with us and would not only give examples of how to assess a class, but would show us how to implement it in the classroom. I learned a lot from what they had to say and I think that I was very fortunate to have been in this technology course to have the opportunity to listen. 

I was personally blown away by Amy Park's presentation and Amy Park in general. I was engaged in what she had to say and the examples she shared mainly because her demeanour was strong and she seemed extremely wise and experienced. I love the way she uses "hands-on" engagement in her teaching and the way she incorporates technology into her lessons interests me. She uses both old school teaching and technology which I respect and hope to do when I have my own classroom one day. 

I have my prof to thank because without her, there wouldn't have been the opportunity to have these great speakers and I wouldn't have been exposed to the wonderful things that i have learned this past semester. 

INQUIRY project reflection!

I am overall, very proud of myself and Kali for our work on our inquiry project. I think that it was a unique concept and it was engaging to work on. I definitely learned a great deal. Our project was an example of a topic that can withhold numerous curriculum subjects. I think that this is very valuable and that a lesson is powerful when there are numerous subjects incorporated into one lesson.  Instead of sitting here and thinking of things to write about the project, what I could do differently and what I wouldn't change; I instead want to take this opportunity to express how privileged I think our class is to be able to have the opportunity to explore other group's projects. I enjoy seeing what other groups came up with because I see new ideas and thoughts and examples of things that I wouldn't think of on my own. I have been told by numerous professors and teachers that "teaching is about begging, borrowing, and stealing". There are only so many ideas that you can come up with on your own. Being creative can be an exhausting thing, so seeing the different ideas presented in this class is a wonderful opportunity for growth. I will remember what my colleagues have taught me and carry those creative ideas with my as long as I'm an elementary teacher...