Reflective Essay

"Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society" has been a wonderful class, full of great learning experiences. I have enhanced my knowledge of technology from participating in the weekly discussions and completing the weekly assignments. There are so many things you can do with technology in the classroom that I was not aware of before taking this class. One thing that I have learned and plan to incorporate in my classroom is how to set up blogs and use them as a tool for learning. I have always tried to make my class learning-centered and not teacher-centered, because it's not about me, it's about the students. In the future I hope to be able to attend some workshops or training on using different forms of technology in the classroom for my content area of Math. Two long term goals I have are to try to do a technology-based lesson at least twice a week and to somehow make it where students can complete and submit their homework online. To do these things I will need access to technology which will come from my school upgrading the technology.

Evaluating 21st Century Skills

The "Partnership for 21st Century Skills" website is a great website and resource for teachers, students, schools, and the community. It was surprising to see the number of states that have take the initiative to join the Partnership for 21st century skills (14 out of 50). There was nothing on the website that I disagreed with. As I stated before, this website is a great resource for students and teachers. AS a teacher I like that fact that they have "Tools & Resources" on the website such as Professional Development Assistance. This shows that they are committed to the professional development of teachers in my opinion.

Using Blogs in the Classroom

I currently teach Math I to 9th graders. I think using a blog in my classroom would be a great idea! The blog that I create would serve as a place for my students to ask questions about the lesson in class and to get help with homework. It would also be a place for students and their parents to see upcoming events such as major tests, homework assignments, etc. and preview upcoming topics that will be covered. I will also use the blog to give kudos to students. Using a blog enhances the lesson by giving students a way to express themselves or ask questions that they may have been reluctant to while they were in class.

I am going into my 4th year in the education field. I teach math to high school students, all 9th graders. Our county has recently moved to the GPS Standards in Math. What I have discovered from my experience thus far is that many of my students are not motivated to learn math. I work an inner-city school that serves students of low socioeconomic status. I find that most of my students lack that basic math skills which makes it hard for me to teach them the curriculum. My question is what do I do? How can I motivate my students and get them to the point where they need to be? This is one of the things that I have found that makes teaching hard.