My previous experience with an
educational media course (EDM) was nothing compared to this course. The lessons
I learned this semester will benefit me far into the future of my career. One
of my three major takeaways from this course is that it IS possible
to implement technology in my classroom. I have only been in the resource room
for 2 years, but I have always struggled with how to utilize all of the amazing
resources available with technology, such as computers or iPads. Most of my
instruction consists of intense interventions, but I learned that I could use
technology to introduce new material, progress monitor, and assess my students.
Another takeaway is all
of the programs and applications I can use to do all of these things. From
presentation programs (like Prezi, Powtown, Nearpod, and Padlet), to assessment
programs (like Kahoot!, Quizizz, and Socrative). My final takeaway (and one of
my favorites) is how to create, edit, and publish videos! I was thrilled to
learn more about iMovie and screen recording. I do not plan to make many videos
of myself, but I have always loved the thought of being a technology teacher so
these tools may come in handy for that one day!
Choosing my favorite
assignment of the semester is a tough thing to do. As I mentioned, I loved
learning about videography, but it was just one of my favorite
assignments of the semester. If I had to settle on one favorite task, I would
have to say that blogging was my favorite thing about this course. I grew up
during the beginning stages of social media when Myspace was cool and Facebook
was only for college students. Growing up during that stage of the internet
taught me to love learning how to use simple coding to tweak websites to my
liking. Therefore, I thoroughly enjoyed creating, writing, and sharing media on
my blog each week. Not only did I enjoy creating my posts, but I also enjoyed
responding and collaborating with others through the weekly responses. I am a
visual learner and I do not find myself very creative, so it was interesting to
see the levels that my peers went to on their assignments.
As far as implementing
technology in the classroom, I plan to use applications such as Quizizz and
Kahoot! to assess student learning. Some assessments will be to track mastery
of a skill and others will be to monitor understanding of new skills through an
exit ticket kind of assessment. Along with assessing student learning, I would
like to use videos and online presentations to introduce new material (perhaps
to review a skill as well). Prezi and Nearpod are two of my favorite resources
that I plan to use in my classroom to introduce new material. To me, those
resources (and many of the others we learned about) can be used to make
learning fun (not to mention technology is one of the best ways to reach this
generation). To achieve these goals, I am going to dedicate some of the
upcoming teacher workdays this holiday season to digging into my spring
standards to incorporate technology into my lesson plans.
Another way I would like
to implement technology is through my quarterly special education team leader
turn around trainings. I attend quarterly meetings to stay up to date on
special education regulations, changes, and resource information in Mobile
County. When I am done with each training, I provide my department with
turnaround training so that they are up to date as well. I usually make a
Powerpoint and then print it off the slides for my team to follow, but I would
like to utilize some of the presentation applications (especially Prezi) to
ensure engagement in the material. In the past, I have been asked to share
special education news (such as evaluation information) with the faculty during
faculty meetings, but I never felt confident in presenting the information.
Now, I can take advantage of the online tools I have explored this semester to
share information with my fellow teachers in a more appealing way (rather than
printing out packets of paper for them to follow along with). There is no doubt
that I would be interested in taking another EDM course!
