Final Reflection

What are some things that you have learned about effective teaching strategies when integrating technology?

What resonated with me the most throughout this course were the UDL, WebQuest and StAIR lessons.  I feel like these three lessons provided such great tools that I will use in the future not only integrate technology but also to make sure my lessons as accessible to students of all learning types.  The UDL guideline checklist is a great way for teachers to systematically go through their lessons and ensure that all different types of learners will be able to connect and learn.  I really love the idea of using WebQuests to reinforce a topic, it gives students the opportunity to work at their own pace and explore.  Finally, the StAIR assignment gave me many ideas on how I could change up my lectures into presentations that will allow students to learn at their own pace and provide them the time they need to really understand a topic.

How did integrating web-based technologies help you think about and evaluate uses of technology?

In the past to incorporate technology I have just added in some YouTube videos or created a presentation on PowerPoint to mix things up however now, after learning about all these different options for technology I've come to realize I could be doing a whole lot more to improve my lessons.  There is so much out there and its important that we introduce all these different techonologies to our students because it is essential for them in the future since our lives are only going to be more and more reliant on technology. 

How have you met your own personal goals for learning about technology integration?

Yes I believe I have met my goals for this course.  I learned about many different ways to integrate technology into my classroom and I had the opportunity to learn how to use many different websites and programs I previously had never even heard of.  However, as always in education, I still have more to learn throughout this Masters program.

Do you have any new goals? What are your plans for reaching your new goals and your long-term goals after this course is over?

A personal goal of mine as a French teacher is to try and find some way to involve my classes in some type of webcast with a class of students from France.  I think that a webcast such as this would be such a valuable resource for my students because they would have the opportunity to speak in French with French teenagers from the other side of the world.  Not only would it be great for their listening and speaking skills but it would also be such a great cultural exchange between the two classes that you can't learn in a book.  In order to reach these goals I hope to get in contact with a English teacher in France who is willing to put the time and effort into this exchange and go from there.  In order to reach my long term goal of simply becoming more fluent with technology I plan on continuing my coursework with the MAET program and keep researching different sites online.