Portfolio Showcase

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Thoughts about technology integration

I think that with the growing dependency on technology, the use of technology is almost necessary in education Technology is becoming more prevalent in our student's lives with computers, internet, Smartphones, iPods, iPads, interactive video games, etc., so why not integrate technology to enrich our lesson plans and engage our students in creative and thoughtful lessons? Technology can really be a great tool to use in the classroom because it can be so interactive and versatile. I believe that technology not only benefits students, but it also engages the teacher into the lesson and allows for learning for both the students and the teacher. I hope that as I develop into a more experienced educator, I can learn how to integrate many types of technology into many of my lesson plans! 

Wikis

I think a Wiki is a great resource to have in the classroom! Wikis are versatile because unlike a standard website or a blog, a wiki can be edited by all members. This could be a great way for students to create their own pages, add content to them, and have other students in the class view them. I have used Wikis in the past, for some of my teaching classes, and they are a really great tool for sharing lesson plans, digistories, etc. I think that I would be able to use this in the same way in my classroom.

I also think that a Wiki would be a great tool for parents of my students. Parents could have access to the Wiki and post questions or comments that they have for me, view their student's work, or even use it to sign up for parent teacher conferences, holiday parties, you name it. I think that a Wiki could be a very beneficial tool that could be used for ultimately anything in the classroom!

I have started a Wiki for my own use! You can find it here

Google Docs

Google Docs is a great resource that can be easily used in the classroom. I can see myself using Google Docs in a variety, both with students directly and indirectly. In the classroom, Google Docs or Google Spreadsheet can be used to write stories, write science reports, enter data, etc. and then it can be shared with the entire class. You can also use Google Docs on any computer that has internet, which is good for classrooms that only have one or two computers.

Google documents can be a great way to collaborate with other teachers or parents, very easily. You can share Google Docs with other teachers for planning lessons, sharing student data, important dates, etc. For parents, you can share student work, parent teacher conference times, weekly or monthly newsletters. There are really endless ways that you could use Google Docs in your classroom. The great thing about Google Docs is that you can share your documents with any email address. This is definitely a resource that I will be sure to use in my classroom!

Here is a link to a Google Form that I created on my website!