Class Assessment

Through this class I have learned how to engage my future students in technology. I have really enjoyed learning how I can use technology for all that it is worth. In specific, I am really excited about having a website I can refer back to in the future for students and parents to see. I am eager to continue adding resources and activities to my website over the years to come. I also enjoyed learning how to make a flip chart and am excited to use it in my class for the future. The digital story was also very interesting to learn how to use, and I am excited to practice those skills for educational purposes and beyond.

Overall, I have enjoyed the clear expectations set for us by Dr. O'Bannon. Because of the clear guidelines, I have been able to fully apply myself and work efficiently. Each project we did had such a specific and beneficial purpose to it. While I have my favorites, there is not one project that was a waste of time.

Because of this class, I feel more equipped to use technology in my classroom from the daily exposure of interactive boards, to ipads, wiki sites, blogs, and my own website. As a result of this class, I feel better prepared for incorporating technology in the classroom, and confident enough to help those around me.

How Interactive Boards Assist Teachers in the Classroom

Chapter one of Blanche O'Bannon and Misty Anderson's book, Engaging Learners with Interactive Whiteboards, discusses multiple benefits, challenges, and training for teachers seeking to integrate technology into their classroom. Interactive Whiteboard Systems, otherwise known as IWBs, were created and are primarily used in classrooms to promote interactivity.

How IWBs can be used in classrooms vary in an incredible range of activity. IWBs are able to highlight, color, annotate, or zoom important content. IWBs also hide or reveal text and photos, drags and drops information, and matches items such as terms and definitions. IWBs import pictures, share reading, encourage peer teaching, use multimedia content, provides feedback that is activated by touch, and finally, uses student response systems.

Important instructional benefits to IWBs in classrooms include active learning, classroom management, lesson organization and flow, flexibility in handling lesson materials, multimodal presentations, and enhanced interaction with peers. Ultimately, IWBs have the ability to draw learners' attention by enriching instruction through motivation, participation, and collaboration.

While there are many benefits to IWBs, there are also some challenges to using them in one's classroom. Studies prove that while IWBs are very beneficial, educators fail to use these boards correctly or effectively most of the time. This limits the beneficial ways the IWB can be used, and builds frustration among not only the students, but the teacher as well.

Teachers also struggle with changing their traditional ways of teaching, and incorporating interactive whiteboards into their methods, so continued teacher training is necessary. Teacher training assists teachers in how to use the boards in effective and efficient ways, and helps teachers discover the quality of activities that IWBs can add to a classroom setting, and learning processes.

Digital Storytelling

Digital storytelling has previously been a foreign concept. However, through my technology class at The University of Tennessee, and a site on digital storytelling, I have become much more familiar with the topic.

Through looking around on Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling, I found myself gaining tremendous amounts of knowledge on this subject. One aspect that I really enjoyed was that the website had tabs running across the top of the page. This allowed me to quickly--and easily--access the information I wanted, and as I clicked on the 'About Digital Storytelling', the first sentence clued me into just what this topic entails. According to this site, digital storytelling is simply, "The practice of using computer-based tools to tell stories". What a cool way to engage students in the classroom! Digital storytelling opens up a whole new aspect to learning about things in a new, and interesting way, otherwise impossible to accomplish without this method!

To further help viewers understand what exactly digital storytelling is, there is another tab labeled, 'Example Stories' where those wanting to see digital storytelling in action can watch and gain ideas on possible topics. There is also another tab, 'How To' where a list of steps are shown to help teach how to create a digital story. 

If you ever need help on figuring out not only what digital storytelling is, but how to make one yourself, this is the website for you! From this website I have gained new knowledge and now am excited to apply what I have learned and create a story myself! 

The Value of Analyzing Teaching Blogs

While exploring educational blog posts, I found one that was very intriguing. In Ms. Cassidy's Classroom Blog, Ms. Cassidy updates her feed by keeping readers up to date on what is going on in her classroom. This was done in a very organized and fun layout by intriguing the readers eye with multiple pictures and minimal words. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing pictures of the activities taking place! Because of Ms. Cassidy's blog layout, I was better equipped to understand what her students were learning.

This approach to a blog not only helps keep parents informed on their child's academic life, but expands teacher resources by allowing other teachers to borrow ideas and lesson plans for their own classrooms. I particularly like the 'dot activity' Ms. Cassidy posted about on her blog. I have previously read The Dot by Peter Reynolds while babysitting and loved it. What a great way to incorporate multiple learning activities of art, color, reading, and writing into one fun exercise that the class can do together!

Another thing I found fascinating about Ms. Cassidy's Blog, was the multiple pages dedicated to each student. In these student pages, one finds the progress of assignments and quotes from the individual student. However, I am curious of the student's understanding of their page. Did they sit with Ms. Cassidy as she created their page, asking for their input? Do the students have access to it or know that it exists? I would be very interested to talk to Ms. Cassidy and discuss her pattern of blogging with her students. However, overall, I was highly impressed with this blog, and would love to practice this in my own classroom one day!

About me!

Hello! My name is Anna Brinson. I am a student at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, in my Junior year, studying to be a Special Education Teacher. I desire to be a Special Education teacher because I believe that every student should be given the ability to excel in school. My wish is to be that encourager to those that have disabilities, while at the same time individually pushing students past comfort zones to better prepare them for life. 

I am not a tech savvy person, so I am very excited to take this course to further my knowledge on technology. My hope for this class is to be able to continue the practices I learn this semester on into my professional career as a teacher. I believe this information on technology to be very helpful in my career, and I cannot wait to apply it!