Integrating Technology Across the Content Area Reflection

When developing the GAME plan in the beginning of the course, I created an accountability piece of my own for this course. Through the work completed in this course, I believe I have begun to develop a strong beginning to improving the teaching methods in my classroom. I have a better focus in terms of where I started this course and where I want to go. I really feel that I have a stronger knowledge base of technology and how to integrate it into the classroom as a result of my GAME plan. It has challenged me to locate new resources through the course materials, colleagues and conducting my own personal searches.
Overall, I feel the idea of collaborating on a networking site such as the wiki we completed in class gave me the opportunity to work with classmates from across the nation. This piece had a huge influence on my unit plan, because I was able to get the perspective and constructive criticism from people who do not know me on a personal or professional level. I think it helped take down barriers that might be up when asking colleagues for advice, and gave me a true insight into how I can better my instruction. This is one area I would like to take with me from this course. The use a social network system in my classroom to give my students the opportunities to interact with people all over the globe and gain new perspectives.
On area I would like to make an immediate change is encouraging other teachers to be creative with technology. I think most teachers get stuck in the realm of power point, videos and interactive gaming sites for students and do not truly incorporate it into the classroom. I would like to immediately start using the wikis, digital stories and so on in the classroom and invite teachers to observe. I would also encourage teachers to seek help with using technology and be an aide to anyone that wants to incorporate technology into their classroom and does feel comfortable.