Week 5 Reflecction

This class has been all about what I would consider self- discovery and collaboration. We were asked in week two  to create a logo for ourselves. Involved in this process was a lot of self reflection and self-discovery. One of the strategies for doing this assignment was asking other what three words best described me. I was humbled by some of the answers but mostly importantly to me were the answers I didn't get. It was an eye- opening experience. In week 3 we created animations using Web 2.0 tools and in week 4 we worked collaboratively on a web site. The group I worked with worked very well together and we created an outstanding website which can be view here. Although I sometimes find working in a group challenging, this particular group/ assignment was great. We all seemed to have different strengths that meshed well together. One of the points Dr. Borel made in her Week 5 overview was  that working with an online group was important in today's technological world. I couldn't agree me.  Collaboration, especially online collaboration is quickly becoming an important skill in our ever increasing technological society. Allowing students to collaborate on projects provides students with valuable real world experience and it enhances learning. Both students and teachers can benefit from these experiences.
I know I've said this before, but it deserves repeating, I am so proud to be involved in this experience. I feel that not only am I accomplishing a personal goal of completing my masters degree in pursuit   of my ultimate goal of teaching, but I feel that my future students are going to benefit from a teacher who wants to make teaching with technology a part of the classroom experience. Bringing technology  into the classroom can be achieved simply by creating class wikis, using web 2.0 tools for collaborative learning, creating videos/ podcasts of your lessons for students. These are just a small example of the many things you can do and as we advance in technology, there are likely to be many many more in the months and years to come.