This weeks tech task asks us to think about our future classrooms. To think what it will be like, the must haves, the pedagogy and the overall learning environment. To be honest, this is something that I have been thinking about for the last four years since the beginning of my journey through becoming a teacher. Although I have been constantly thinking about it, my ideas are constantly changing. There are always new ideas and teaching 'must haves' popping up that I know I would enjoy using. If there is one thing that is for sure, my future classroom will be very tech friendly. I've always imagined having a well connected classroom and using technology in my teaching and ECMP355 has given me many resources and tools to work with to achieve that goal. I want to lay out what I have learned in this semester to paint a picture of what my future classrooms may look like.
BLOGGING - I hope that blogging will be a big part of my future classroom. Through this class I have been able to explore many classroom and student blogs and have really enjoyed it. The process for students is so engaging to having their own blog as well as it lets parents explore their child's learning process. Sue Waters did a wonderful ETMOOC presentation on Student Blogging. I would highly recommend anyone wanting to start student and classroom blogs to check out the session.
This semester in ECMP355, I myself, have learned the importance of blogging and staying connected. The benefits I have experienced would be the same for student blogging. Some benefits I have noticed are that I've grown my personal learning network and it keeps growing! Things like reading other blogs, commenting, receiving comments and making connections through Twitter all have expanded my learning network. Genuine writing experiences are created through blogging. My blog allows me to write whatever I want to write and student blogs will allow them the same opportunities, it's also a great way to get students writing who don't like using a pencil and paper. They also have an audience to read their writing which makes the experience motivating!
GOOGLE - This semester I have really learned more about Google- that it is more than just a search engine. I've gone from using it only as a search engine every now and then to using it daily on my phone and computer on Google Drive, using Google Hangouts to connect with others, keep track of the blogs I follow with Google Reader and much much more. I've been able to use Google Drive everyday whether it was taking quick notes of things I need to remember to essays to major projects. What I like most is that it saves without me having to remember to hit save and that it syncs immediately to my phone and other devices. I will definitely be using Google Drive in my future classroom with students. One tool in Google Drive that I will find myself using often is the Google Forms because there is so much I could do with the forms for my students, parents and staff. Also Google Docs is a great way to have student collaborate on any project or assignment.
TWITTER - I enjoy using Twitter, it's a great way to stay connected. I struggled at the beginning of this class thinking of how I would use it in a classroom because I felt that it wasn't particularly beneficial for young children. My opinion was completely changed after listening to one of our sessions #6 Technology in the Primary Classroom, where some wonderful teachers (@techieang, @kathycassidy and @KLirenman) who explained how they used Twitter DAILY in their classroom. They were using Twitter in creative ways which I wouldn't have even thought of before! One mentioned that they would read tweet each day and do grammar and spelling checks on the tweets. Now that I have followed classroom tweeters, I feel like it is something I would want to bring into the classroom.
These three things, blogging, google and twitter, will form the base of my classroom. My classroom will be emerged into technology and be well connected. The possibilities are endless, which is very exciting!
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