Ending Well... and Just Beginning

As we wrap up the final assignments for EME2040, I can’t help but feel that this course, albeit it’s crazy pace in Mini B format, has been one that has added so much value to me in my journey to become an elementary school teacher. Creating the WebQuest and Collaborative Lesson Plan allowed me to really explore what it would be like designing the methods with which I present curriculum to my students, and made me really excited about pursuing creative teaching with technology. The collaborative learning process simulated working with other teachers to design an effective lesson, and I was grateful for the chance to share input and receive feedback from my peers. This class helped me to become familiar with some of the legal and ethical issues such as informed consent, student privacy, cyberbullying, and copyright laws that need to be considered when using technology, and how to manage those issues in my future classroom. We were presented with bountiful technology tools to explore and save for future reference and use in our classrooms. I love that early on we were introduced to the social bookmarking site Delicious, because I was able to save so many things to further explore later as I continue on the path to my degree and career as a teacher. I love the way that we were given so many resources to teach to the diverse learning groups in our future classrooms, from differences in format preference (audio, visual, tactile) to accommodations for English Language Learners and Special Needs students. I have formed the opinion that any step we take as educators to meet the needs of one of a specialized group of students usually is helpful to the rest of the class as well. The more that we can diversify the methods of delivery that we use to convey information to students, the more likely we are to reach all students and to help all students retain the information they are learning. I also love that technology can play a huge role in getting students active in the learning process, so that they are the information assemblers and creators. These roles are more likely to engage students and motivate them to learn. Overall, I feel that this class has challenged and stretched me to become a teacher who embraces technology to take learning to the next level for each of my students. I want to set an example for my students, being unafraid to try new resources and continually assess and evaluate their effectiveness. I also want my students to be unafraid to participate, to create, to sometimes fail, to revise efforts, and to ultimately reach their goals and be successful. This class has given me the motivation, basic knowledge and desire to learn more, and the tools needed to bring technology into my classroom.


Wilhelm, Janelle (Producer). (September, 2012). Why you should use technology in your classroom. Video retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGTTThlKYQ8