Week 2

This was surely an enlightening activity. I thought that my lessons, in terms of the use of technology, were higher order and really addressing what the students knew and needed to know. I was wrong in some aspects. I feel that I was concentrating too much in the “safe zone” when using technology. Using PowerPoint to create presentations does not stretch their minds, nor introduce them to cool technology such as Prezi. I must commit to utilizing technology to the best of my abilities to increase the learning of my students. If I don't address these issues with my students they may go into their college or work career lacking the fundamental technological skills needed to thrive. 

I also need to have a more clear and strict focus on the types of information the students can access on the web. If students don’t understand the difference in quality primary and secondary sources they will expose themselves and others to improper data. I do address this in my classroom, but I think I could do a much better job in this area. I think this is really important since my students are leaving me and going straight into college-level classes.

I use many different types of internet based programs with my students such as Edmodo, BlackBoard, Dropbox, Prezi, and Corkboard.me. I think that I can find other ways to utilize these pieces of technology in order to attain higher order thinking skills. I am going to set a goal for myself to reach this goal.