Final reflection

Coming into this class I was bit, bored, I should say because I have taking so many computer classes that were just boring and dull. I am glad to say that I have learned some new things in this class and they are things that I will use in my future classroom. My favorite things that I have learned in class are all of the web tools, google groups and the assistive technology project. The AT project is a big thing for me being a special education major, because the odds are I will use all of the devices we covered in the power point. My favorite web tool would have to be the word cloud and the online story book. I have seen several teachers use the word cloud for motivational posters or for word review after stories. The storybook to me was just very cute and I think it would be neat to do and exchange with other classes in the nation or globally. Kind of like pen pals, but story pals instead. 

            My strong points deal with things in word, power point, movies, and any other basic Microsoft functions. I have made plenty of rubrics and I have used turnitin.com before this class in high school and in college. My weaker points deal with anything that requires a lot of linking or clicking back and forth between pages. I tend to get lost, confused, or skip steps that make big deal. I also tend to over think assignments or want to add to much detail and it ends up causing mine to be different or not work the right way.

            Microsoft is a lifestyle in college and in high school so I have always been exposed to it and had to learn to use it at a young age in computer classes. My weaknesses are mainly there because the lack of using complex programs or software. My outlook is, if I can do it on word then let’s uses word, compared to using something else. 

            I would say I need to keep up with all of the new things out there to use in the classroom and how they work and what students they would benefit the best. Is there a newsletter or a club? Haha!  Something that is a weakness, mainly because lack of exposure and use, is using all of the new types of smart boards in the classrooms. We haven’t been taught how to use them and none of our teachers in the classes here use them. I have had one chance to play with one in a math class out in the field, but that is it. I wish we could have taken the time to use  them in this class or something to that nature.  I plan on integrating technology into the classroom by use of power points and using the web tools we learned how to use. I will especially being using all of the AT items in the special education classroom. And if my class has a smart board I will learn how to use it one way or another, because that is a great interactive tool to use in the classroom.