Blog Post #10

            I think that when teaching, I will use data collection tools such as Excel to keep track of students’ grades and their overall progress in the class. For a specific middle school history class, I could use it to present data and statistics of certain things in history to my class, and I can use it to track the behavior of my students if I have a group that has behavior problems. I can use data collection tools such as Excel to turn in to my boss to show the different assignments and the grades my students received on them. I would also use survey programs such as Google Forms in class as a form for evaluation at the end of the semester, or for choosing a movie to watch or book to read so that my students have a say in the classroom. These tools put a lot of information into one document that is easy to read, and they are an easy way to gather information from students, which is why they are beneficial and will be used by me as a future teacher.

               Reviewing my classmates’ blogs throughout the semester, I found that I highly enjoyed topics where they posted new or interesting technologies that I had not heard of. It was interesting to learn about new things, hear how they would use it, and be able to follow a link to it and research the new technology, program, or tool myself. One of these was Diigo. These topics on the blogs were not only interesting because the technologies students talked about were just really amazing, but hearing how the other students would use those technologies gave me ideas of how I could use them so was beneficial.

                I would like to learn how to work better with computer software. I am not comfortable with installing and downloading computer software or working with it to create something that could be used in my classroom to teach. I think that becoming more comfortable with current computer programs, I will be better prepared to learn new computer software programs when they come out in the future so that my students can have access to the most recent technologies through my classroom.

               I think that in order to keep up with the newest technologies and educational technology changes, I will need to take part in workshops and lectures or conferences about new technology and how to use it in the classroom. I hope to stay up to date on new technology and ideas for using it in the classroom through social media like Twitter, and by reading teacher blogs and looking out for workshops in my area. I wish to use technology to the fullest in my classroom and I want to be comfortable with it so that it can have the greatest positive impact on my students.