I did it!! It is the end of my first "teacher class" outside of college. Wow! How differently you learn when you have your own class to go back and apply the information to. At the beginning of this class, I assessed myself on the ISTE-Teacher standards and stated that overall I was approaching proficient in most areas. Did I learn a lot if this class? YES! A LOT! Did my proficiency level change? No, because now I am aware of even more possibilities with technology for my classroom. Of course now I have a better understanding of the standards but I am currently trying to process how I can take all of this information and effectively use it in my classroom. I still strongly feel that technology should not overwhelm my time in the room and if it complicates the task, then it is not the best resources.
Throughout the course, there were several times where I felt that the material was too advance for my Kindergarten students. I could always envision upper levels using these tools properly and efficiently but had a hard time grasping how my little ones could do it. First off, legally they cannot have a Google account so they would not be able to use Google Docs unless their parents have an account. Furthermore, I do not think we have the resources such as computers and server strength for our students. This is why while completing several Google tasks, I asked myself how my students could use them realistically. Most of the time, I came up with that they would have to use Google at home.
Even though I do not think Google is completely appropriate and independent for my students, I have concluded that it will be a great tool for myself to learn and grow. I still really hope that my school becomes a Google School because I think it will bring staff and the community together. Since this class started, there have been several times where I thought it would have been helpful to have Google in my everyday work world. For example, every month, we share our classroom calendars with the other teachers to make sure we are remembering all of the upcoming events. Wouldn't it be helpful to have a "Building Calendar" where we could post every upcoming event. This would help staff communication tremendously.
Again, I truly learned a lot in this course that I never dreamed existed. Google is very FULL and I hope throughout the summer, I can go back and play with the different components. In my mind, this will help me organzine my thoughts and plan for my future. This class has really inspired me to explore different options for my teaching approach and has motivated me to push through my goals and to truly use more technology. Thanks for a great class. I feel as if I am still processing everything because it was such a jammed packed topic. My next step is to go back and review the information several times.
