Professional+Growth+and+Development

When I started this class, I was quite nervous because I really felt I had very limited experience with technology. I was very worried when I entered the computer lab and realized that all of the computers were Macs. I have only used PC's so this was another stressor that day. When Professor Donna Schnupp mentioned that we were going to be working on several projects my affective level was really bad. Then as the class progressed and we started working on all of these projects, I realized that I would be able to do well in this class. I have to recognize that Donna is a very patient and positive teacher. She explained everything very well, and repeated several times until we all got it. I personally need a lot of time to read and absorb what the new technology is all about. As I continued learning about Web 2.0 tools, I started to see the possibilities. I consider myself a very creative person, so discovering all this tools made me want to know more about them and start trying them on different ideas I had. I enjoyed working with Glogster and everything kept getting better after that. The Flip video camera was amazing. I loved its simplicity and started taking all kind of videos. Pretty soon I had the idea of the Autumn poster, and soon after other ideas started rolling in my head. It is hard to believe that three and a half months later I have created, edited, and added subtitles to a movie, created a classroom website, a blog, a PSA, and a Webquest. I feel like I am ready to continue learning more about other tools and using them in my teaching.

As a Spanish teacher, I want to help my students learn 21st century skills. I believe technology is one of the best tools to help students get as close as possible to real world environments. Speaking one language only, is passe. We need to teach our students foreign languages. Technology makes it so much easier and attractive,

The technologies I see myself using more are: blogs, Glogster, Podcasts, and WebQuests. They add so much to a class, and since I have used them, it is going to get easier to use them. The WebQuest requires a lot of time for research, planning, and the actual designing. One I don't see myself using a lot is Second Life. I find it too artificial and unrealistic. Still, as a Middle School teacher, I know I have to be current in what my students use. I guess I would have to spend a good amount of time learning about them, for me to decide to use them.