FInal Reflection CEP 811

Wow! It has been a great summer of learning after finishing CEP 810 and wrapping up CEP 811 and CEP 812 this week. I have had the opportunity add so many new tools to my technology toolbox and think of new ideas how to integrate technology into my teaching for this upcoming school year.

Technology is a great way to enhance the teaching and learning that is going on in your classroom. It not only allows you to make your lessons interactive and engaging, but it gives the content the 'cool' factor. Using these new tools will make students want to learn and in turn will allow them to absorb and learn the information in a 21st century manner. By utilizing the technology tools we have available, we not only give students better opportunities in the classroom, but we have an better opportunity to hit various learning styles, reach students that may get lost in a classroom, create lessons, projects, assessments, etc with universal design principals so we accommodate every type of student.  I think learning about Universal Design, I had the opportunity to better evaluate what I have done in the past and what I can do in the future. I have also reinforced my skills with technology tools that I have recently learned about in other courses. During this course, I have strengthened my collaboration skills not only with others in this course, but in the wider educational community through MERLOT. By having the ability to share resources with colleagues all over the world with the ability to give and receive feedback is a great tool for any educator.

In CEP 810, we set forth a personal growth plan. One main goal was to continue to build my technology toolbox and delve into Google Docs. Through this course and CEP 812, I feel that I have thoroughly explored and utilized Google Docs and many of the features it has to offer. I am looking forward to introducing this software to my students this school year and to use it as a productivity and collaboration tool. One goal that I scratched the surface of is the utilization of cell phones as educational tools. I would like to explore this area more as I continue my studies and search for the ways to harness the capabilities of cell phones to further student learning instead of writing discipline referrals for students having them out. In the long term, I am continuing on at Michigan State in the MAET program. I also plan to be an advocate for technology in my district and continue my learning in how technology can enhance what is going on in the classroom.

Here is a brief video summing up my studies in educational technology this summer. I created this video with animoto for CEP 812. Enjoy.