Reflections

Reflections
I have learned that I know very little about technology, but that I need to keep pushing myself and keep trying new things. Unfortunately, I am not a "digital native" like the students of today. I am a true foreigner when it comes to technogical inventions and applications. In order to enhance learning as a teacher though, it is imperative that I learn the the multimodal languages and literacies that children of today speak. As an aspiring teacher, I feel that it is important to let my students showcase their abilities with technology. Afterall, it is hard to ignore that recent technological innovations have helped lead and inspire fundamental changes and advances in nearly all aspects of our lives. So why do we fight this once we enter the educational domain? Why not embrace it and try to capitalize on this? With proper use in the classroom, student centered learning can be fostered through the use of technology. Examples of some of this technology are: media type="custom" key="3516802"
 * Blogging - here is my blog that I have been trying to work on since class has begun -- [|My recently created blog]
 * Google - Gmail / Google Scholar / Google Reader / Google Docs / Google Images Google ... check out the 2009 document that we worked on through Google Docs Class Project:
 * Microsoft Suite - Word, Excel, PowerPoint Speech-to-Text/Text-to-Speech [|Microsoft Office] Speech Tools
 * Podcasts - through iTunesU, you would be amazed by the amount of topics and lectures delivered by noteworthy speakers the world over, all available for FREE!
 * Wikis - c reating a wiki for educators: [|Wiki for Teachers] Wiki Help

These tools and applications should be promoted to help build a student's independence and help them feel increased levels of ownership in their education. They can help students combine and lever their strengths and specialties to accomplish their goals.