We were also fortunate to have two guest speakers this semester, John Finch and John Evans. John Finch introduced us to the Literacy in ICT continuum. I found his presentation very useful as he taught us the features of the continuum and how to work alongside it with the curriculum. John Evans presentation about Maple and Personal Learning Networks was useful, as well as his tips and tricks about technology.
Movie making was by far the most educational fun I have had all semester. Our group put together a "#buparkingprobs" video, and I feel our classmates enjoyed it. We used our iPhones to video our movie, and iMovie to edit it. I was very happy with how our video turned our, considering the amount of time we had. I feel in high school making a music video was a memory I will never forget, now I can add this as another memorable experience. I know that if I had this much fun making a video, my students can as well. I think it is important to take time to allow students to record, edit, and present videos because of the learning that coincides with movie making. It is a fun experience, and if planned correctly by the teacher, one can meet both the curricular outcomes and the continuum stages as well. I feel as teachers it is a necessity to make learning fun and engaging for our students, and I feel movie making definitely achieves that.
Reading the book titled "Powering Up" definitely added a new perspective to my view on technology and the integration of technology in the classroom. I particularly enjoyed Kathy Cassidy's section about making global connections. Connecting our student with experts, other children, and people around the world is a type of learning that is like no other. Making connections and connecting our students locally and globally is not only interesting for our students but intriguing. These connections allow classroom teachers to maximize learning. For my future classroom, I feel this will be a goal of mine, connecting my students not only locally, but globally as well because I feel it is very beneficial for students.
In all, there were many important applications, websites, speakers, and assignments in this course. I feel what we learned about curation in the beginning of this course will help keep all our resources organized into appropriate subjects/headings. Technology along with the internet can be very overwhelming, that is why I believe keeping organize and a clear purpose in mind is essential. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog, and follow along with my journey about technology in the classroom.
