Reflecting over the past seven weeks, there were three assignments that impacted my future instruction for the better.
The first was the overview of the ISTE website. I am familiar with our Texas state organization of technology, and I had heard of ISTE; however, I had never investigated them further. What I learned from this assignment was the vast number of resources they have to offer, for example, EdSurge and other podcast or their ISTE Live conference that I plan to attend one day in the future.
Another assignment, the web-based assessment, helped me to develop a web-based, Google Classroom project, that I will implement into my instruction this fall. It was exciting to create a project sample from start to finish, including a rubric – making this assignment ready to be assigned.
With a background in graphic art, I was excited to complete the infographic assignment. It allowed me to be creative while showcasing some of education’s top tech trends but also gave me great insight into where the future of technology in education is headed. I am not sure I am ready for AI to be teaching my students or even my own children one day, but the thought of being able to use Virtual Reality to assist my students in better understanding mathematics is a unique concept.
These assignments and many others challenged me to incorporate more technology-based lessons into my lesson plans – I am currently planning at least one form of these assignments every week. They opened up many more options of academic reinforcements to be added to my educator toolbox and have changed how I will assess my students and consider assessable options for all learners.
I am taking away a lot of new knowledge regarding educational technology and I have already begun to share information with my teaching team. I’ve enjoyed becoming a better tech-savvy teacher.