From+My+Heart

I didn’t have to take this class, but after hearing about what was created and learned I decided to take it out of pure curiosity and I’m glad I did. I’ve already taken EDT 3610, although it reinforces Microsoft applications it real doesn’t use technology to aid and benefit a 21st century classroom. I’d heard of wikispaces through other classes, but had never seen or worked with one before this class. Through the creation of this wiki I’ve learned that all disciplines can incorporate technology tools and a wikispace is a wonderful place to organize units and individual lessons in order to engage students and unlock their full potential.

I first began designing this unit during my classroom management class last fall semester and have now started to revise it this semester for this class. This is a lesson that every future teacher will have to learn that even when you think you have a lesson dialed in to perfection, you don’t. Units and lesson plans must change and adapt which each new classroom of students. If this isn’t happening a teacher really isn’t doing their job in my opinion, because every semester there is a new pedagogy of technique that can be incorporated into what we believe is our perfect lesson. Anyone who disagrees with these ideas should rethink their career choice. This one thing I’ve learned throughout the program at Metro, but this class has reinforced the importance of professional development.

At the end of the day looking through my wiki I notice the importance of podcasts and instructional videos in the foreign language classroom. Both of these tools are great even if they are not created by the teacher themselves, because it gives students an outside source to clarify information that they may have not understood in class. Every classroom has a student who thinks their questions are stupid so they neglect to ask them. These tools give all students a safe place to get their questions answered with out the ridicule of there classmates. Our job as teachers is to create critical thinkers by guiding them towards answers not giving the answers to them.

This class has shown me that the incorporation of technology is more important then ever and ignoring its importance of it is irresponsible. Although wikispaces gives teachers a way to create this powerful teaching tool it is not a user friendly as I would like especially for the middle school demographic that I plan to teach. So the thing I would do differently is to create a wiki that is easier navigate with instructions that always ask for students to have two internet server windows open at all times while doing wiki assignments. The annoyance of opening a web 2.0 tool while being directed to follow a link to a website could lead to frustration and in turn giving up because it’s too complicated. Assumptions of what we think students know how to do could make an @$$ out of you know who on both sides of the spectrum so making directions clear and easy to follow is essential in a good wiki.

I applaud the education department in creating another Ed. Tech class that actually will be used in the field. The understanding of applications can be acquired by sitting down with a help menu over the course of a weekend. On the other hand, learning to create and use a wiki is beneficial to all parties involved in a student’s education. A teacher can communicate what their classes will be doing and learning not only to their students, but the student’s parents, other teachers, and the administration as well. Wiki’s are tools that we as educators should be using and if our colleagues aren’t they will hear the benefits from me.