Final Reflection

What did you get out of this class? Will you use tech in your classes?
I really enjoyed this technology class. I learned a lot about different technology that I have never used before. I really liked learning how to use imovie. I also think it was good to learn how to make a website. And I guess studiocode was important to learn since I will be using it next semester, but it wasn't as fun to learn. I will definitely use technology in my class. I would love to have a class website to keep students and parents informed about what is going on in class. I think it would be cool if I gave the students the ability to edit the website so they could add stuff to it. I think it would be fun to assign students to create an instructional video like we did in class. It will be good for me to know how to use imovie so I could help students.

How has this class changed the way you think about teaching? About technology?
I don't think this class has really changed the way I think about teaching. I still want to teach and coach. I think I still think about technology the same, I am just more confident in using technology. I am more comfortable with technology and think it is a great tool for enhancing teaching.

VoiceThread

VoiceThread.com is a really cool web2.0 site. It is an audiovisual tool used to upload images or video files. Its a multimedia slide show that holds images, documents, and videos. People can view pages and leave comments. The coolest part of this website is that you can leave a comment using voice with a mic or telephone. VoiceThread can also be embedded to on other websites to receive comments. But also text or video comments. I think this would be a cool tool to use for teaching. Students could be assigned to post something on VoiceThread and then leave comments on other students submissions.

Skype

I have only used skype a few times while at my parents house but I thought it was awesome. I called my sister in Hawaii using skype and was able to talk to her and see my nephew. Skype could also be used for teaching. It could potentially help improve class participation and collaboration. This is kind of a stretch but it could even be used for virtual field trips, which would not be near as fun as a real field trip. Still I think skype is a really cool technology.

Web 2.0

I had no idea what web 2.0 was until we talked about it in class. I thought it was really interesting to see how many sites out there are considered web 2.0. I never realized a site is web 2.0 if you can add a comment to it. I think wikis sound really cool. I think it would be a great tool I could use in my classroom. I could make a wiki for a new section we are in or a new skill we are learning. I could have students even help edit and comment on the wiki page created for my class.

Studiocode Reflection

I have never used studiocode before so it was good to learn how to use it. I like that I can evaluate different aspects of my teaching and record exactly when and what I did. I had the instruction and management for the main buttons. Then I focused on Cues, Demos, and Feedback under instruction. And Formations, Signals, and "When before what" under Management. I was able to code these things and see how I do when instructing my class and how I use management. I like that you can get a matrix that will show you how many times you coded demos or signals. I think that it is helpful when evaluating myself so see how many times I do something.
I learned that I am good at using signals for instruction. I use my whistle signals consistently throughout the lesson. I saw that I used when before what to give instruction most of the time but that there are times when I don't use it. I do well circulating around the class and giving feedback to the students for management. I also use the cues to help give specific feedback to the students. I also learned that I give fairly good demos with cues, but I think I could get more specific with the cues.
After evaluating myself on studiocode I can see things that I want to do different next semester. I will definitely work on cues. I will use cues that are short and to the point to make it easy for the students to understand. I will work on saying "When before what" more so students know when I want them to begin. I want to keep giving specific feedback to help students progress and become better at all skills.