E-Portfolio/Final Blog

I learned a great deal from taking Educational Technology. While I am from the net generation, I still acquired many skills from taking this course. This course helped me review both excel and PowerPoint and how I can use these effectively in the classroom. I learned how to use the Smartboard software, and I think this is a great way to provide students with interactive lessons and truly get them involved in the learning process. I also learned how to make a movie which taught me programs like Movie Maker and audacity. These tools will be helpful if I want to have students do a similar project. I also learned how to social bookmark and the importance of it. Social bookmarking is a great way to store websites, and it would be an interesting way for students to keep track of their online sources for research papers and projects.

Creating my digital portfolio also taught me a lot. It was a lot of fun to make even though I got frustrated a few times when things did not format the way I wanted them to, but I got it straightened out. My digital portfolio can be found at www.jbilello.weebly.com. Since I am going to be a secondary English teacher, I think having students create their own digital portfolio would be a great idea especially as they prepare for high school or college. It is a helpful and a creative way to monitor progress and reflect on growth especially on writing assignments.

I will definitely make a conscious effort to integrate technology in my classroom because I do feel it is valuable and important. Nowadays, students are familiar with different types of technology, and they would appreciate it if teachers used it in the classroom. If technology is used effectively, students can be engaged in the lesson, and they can be active learners. There are many forms of technology that can be used in the classroom, and these are wonderful tools for teachers to have and use at their own discretion. It is not imperative that teachers use technology every single day; it should be included in the classroom, and I will try my hardest to incorporate all the tools I have learned from this class in my classroom.