Reflective Blog 8

What a wonderful beginning!! In the last few weeks I have learned some new ways to apply technology tools that I have previously studied and ways to utilize ones I haven't. I would have to say my biggest Aha! moment was discovering how to create my electronic portfolio. This was the first time I had ever created a portfolio and had never heard of Google sites until this class. I became so frustrated with trying to figure it out and was not a happy camper. I struggled with learning how to use the site in the beginning but when I finally figured it out.... whoohoo!!! I was so excited and now I am very pleased with my final product. I guess you could say I put my computer attack skills to test while working on my portfolio. What an awesome feeling! I have mentioned before that I am looking forward to developing my wiki further and adding more lessons to my lesson plan blog. Overall this class has been a pleasant learning experience and I have come away with some great resources that I can definitely use in both my personal and professional life.

In this reflection I wanted to incorporate something to signify what this course has meant to me. I would like to share the following video called A Brief History of Technology in Education by eduTecher.

Reflective Blog 7

I developed a lesson to create a restaurant business that focused on designing a menu, calculating expenses, and potential profit. My learning objective focused on giving students the opportunity to research in groups and create a business idea utilizing technology. I wanted the students to use and develop a group wiki in order to brainstorm their ideas. This allowed them to create a written documentation of what they wanted to do and everyone in the group could present a different perspective or build upon an existing idea. I created a list of Internet websites to get them started in their search for information. This list also included short video clips about starting and operating a restaurant business for possible resources. In order to demonstrate what they learned the students would develop a business presentation using Microsoft PowerPoint and Glogster EDU. Each group would present their findings in a professional manner (Microsoft PowerPoint) to the class and also have the opportunity to implement and use a new technology (Glogster EDU) which will allow them to design a digital poster. My expectations for the students are to learn basic business concepts along with effective ways to implement and use technology.

My idea of instruction is still under development because I am new to the field of education. I am open to all ideas and suggestions because I realize that this is a daily process and I find myself learning something new constantly.