Personal Learning Reflection.

• What are some things that you have learned about effective teaching strategies when integrating technology?
• When technology is integrated into instruction, many effective teaching strategies occur.  By integrating technology, students of more learning styles will benefit.  By using the Promethean Board, teachers can uses algebra tiles to represent expressions and solving equations on the board as students work at their desk.  This helps the tactile learner see understand variables.  Additionally, it i easier to show real world linear problems.  For example, I can go to the Pizza Hut website and show the additional cost for pizza topping, and then make an equation that can be used to evaluate different situations.  This brings algebra to reality for students. 
• Integrating technology also makes learning more engaging.  If students are not engaged, then learning is not taking place.  I have learned through our assignments and the SIG's about different technology sources that can be utilized by the students and me.  I have learned about different websites to stream to the Promethean Board, different presentation methods like Google Docs and Prezi, animation creations by http://www.goanimate.com/ and http://www.xtranormal.com/ where students can create short clips about the material they are learning, and voice threads where students can record and share information about solving an equations.  Through this class, I am inspired to do more projects in math where students can demonstrate their knowledge in ways beyond homework, tests, and quizzes. 
• How did integrating the Internet help you think about and evaluate uses of technology?
• Before this class, I never realized how useful the Internet is.  I used the Internet as a means to view information: when does the movie start, what's going on around the world, what is happening on Facebook, and what information is being communicated through email?  Through this class, I have learned about a variety of websites that can be used for instructional purposes.  The next project can be assigned through Google Docs and I have way to see everyone's participation.  Prezi can be used as a new way to present information.  I have learned how to create short animation clips on goanimate and xtranormal for my classes.  On Monday, I will be showing a video that I made.  It is nothing big and profound, but it brings creativity into the class and students are not sitting and watching me do problems on the board.  This class has broadened my view of the Internet, and through time I AND MY STUDENTS can utilize what I have learned about free and "always accessible" application available on the Internet to enhance learning and the uses of technology. 
• Which of the assignments that you turned in do you feel really exemplifies good teaching with technology and why?
• Throughout the class, I learned about different technologies that can be used.  One of my goals for this class was to get students more involved with technology (not just about what I can do with technology) and to keep parents informed.  After this class, I will convert this blog from a personal reflection place to a blog about my class.   I will open up the blog for students to post questions and comments.  My Honors Geometry class often quizzes on Fridays, and I start a post on Thursdays about the quiz.  From there students can write in questions where I can answer or another student can answer.  When students are able to help another student and write about math, it truly shows a deeper understanding of the material.  Additionally, I will blog about what is coming up during the week.  Through this blog, I can give an abundant amount of information to the parents and it will be there at anytime.  This blog was the best because it can easily be converted into something to use with my students, it allows for discourse in math, it is readily accessible to students in the classroom and beyond, and students are actively using the technology with me.  Lastly, I have been trying to YouTube videos about my topics covered in class and I can easily embed them here.  The other day, I asked a student why he doesn't use the videos more often to help him and he stated that the last time he searched for the videos for class, he couldn't determine which one to use.  Now, I can do it here and link it to the actual day it was taught.  I am excited to change this blog over!
• How have you met your goals established in your Personal Growth Plan?
• My first goal was to use technology to make a difference in education. I wanted students to be more involved, open communication with parents, and become familiar with the technology students are using.  I do not think that I have accomplished this goal today; however, I am walking away from this class with many ideas to help me accomplish them.  Throughout this class, I have learned so many things, but I have not had the time to process everything and determine what is the most beneficial for meeting my goals.  Over the next month and a half, I hope to explore everything more and have a better understanding so that I can apply things for the second semester and make my goal a reality.  In order to do this, I will be using my blog, YouTube, the Promethean Tools and the website Xtranormal.com.  I will use the blog to get students involved and communicate with parents, YouTube and Promethean Tools to create videos to help me students, and Xtranormal to create animations for my students and to have them create video clips for reviews. 
• In my second goal to increase my skills in using technology, I feel that I have partial accomplished the goal.  I have learned about Prezi, Google Docs, and Xtranormal.  This week I will be showing the first video that I made on Xtranormal.com to make things more engaging for students.  Geometry is spatial and I want to incorporate a vocabulary video for the students using aspects of Prezi.  For example, I can put a set of parallel lines and a transversal and then zoom in on the transversal and it will show the word transversal.  I could also use it for other vocabulary words such as the exterior angle of a triangle and so forth.  I am still working on a way to be more accessible to my students for help other than email.  My last goal was to become more organized in a central location.  I have done this partly but with some reservation.  I was hoping that Google would be the one stop shop, but I have so issues trying to format things as I would have on Microsoft.  I also find that it is delayed, and it can become difficult to work with.  I have found the calendar to be extremely beneficial, and the fact that my husband and I both have the Droid Incredible phone.  All of my school emails are forwarded to a Google account which has an application on my phone.  Through this, all meetings or scheduling things that I put in my outlook calendar also get on my phone calendar through the Google account.  Additionally, my husband and I are able to send our schedules or calendar appointments to each other through our phones.  This has been extremely helpful for me to combine my personal and professional calendar into one place, my phone, which I often have with me. 
• Do you have any new goals? What are your plans for reaching your new goals and your long-term goals after this course is over?
• My new goals are not really new, but rather to implement what I have learned from this class and maintain what I have created.  For now, I can not try to learn and successfully implement new technology strategies.  I need to focus on a little more mastery of what I have learned.  Someone once told me that multi-tasking is to do multiple things without ever committing yourself to the success of either one.  Currently, that is where I find myself.   As of today, I have decided not to continue with the program so my goals from a week ago are not the same.  My husband will continue and I hope to learn many things through him, but I need some time to process all that I have learned.  I want some time to use what I have learned.  I find myself consumed in school work and work for this class that I am not able to be creativity and actually use what I am learning with out the stress of being on a timeline.  Not having time to master what I am learning really bothers and frustrates me.  Ultimately, I would love to have my own website where teachers go for interactive lessons and where students go for assistance.  Someday, I will use what I have learned from this class and what I will borrow from my husband expertise and make it a reality.