Blog Entry #1: General Thoughts on Educational Technology

Welcome to my blog!


EDT 619 is one of my first classes in the Ed Tech program.  I am looking forward to learning a lot of basic information that will make the rest of my studies much easier as I progress in the program.  I hope to learn more about integrating technology into my classroom in a way that really helps my students learn better and helps me teach more effectively.  Even small lessons related to Google searches and practice with blogging can help me be a better teacher.


Since I teach Spanish from 1st-8th grades, I have diverse ways that I have tried to integrate technology into my classroom.  I use programs like PowerPoint, Word, and iTunes extensively in planning and presenting for my classes.  I enjoy using YouTube for music and audio, since there is lots of Spanish-related content online.  One cool tool I utilized a couple years ago was Mi Vida Loca, by the BBC.  Outside of my classroom, I use facebook, GoogleDocs, Gmail, Skype, and blogging as daily ways to keep in touch with friends and family, as well as to keep myself organized.


I would definitely want to use the Technology Integration Project as a way to enhance one or more of my classes.  I write my own curriculum, so I would want to find something in my own curriculum that I could improve through adding technology.  One goal that I had for next year with my middle schoolers (part of the 1-to-1 laptops initiative) was to have them create blogs for class.  On their blogs, they could give examples of what we are studying in class and respond to each others' work.  I know this could really help them develop their reading and writing skills in Spanish, and that it would motivate them to think about Spanish as a way to express themselves.


I see myriad of ways to incorporate what we are studying here into my own classroom.  I am always looking for ways to make my classroom more effective and more engaging.  By using technology, I can see that students are often more motivated, and I can be teaching them valuable technology literacy skills that they can use outside the classroom.  It's important that what I am doing inside my classroom is relevant to real life (it's one of the main goals of foreign language teaching), and technology is one great way to do that.