From+My+Heart

 1. What did you learn about yourself (as a person) as a result of doing this wiki and the technology products? I learned that contrary to everything I would have and possibly did say about my computer skills at the beginning of the semester, that I am completely capable of learning how to use technology in a variety of ways to assist teaching and that I can actually excel at using computer technology creatively if I am patient. I learned that as a person I am creative and more audio-visual than I would have suspected.

 2. What did you learn about being a teacher from writing your unit? I learned that time management is absolutely crucial to any teaching success and that the foundation of lesson planning is listing student objectives. Really focusing on what I want students to learn and gain from a lesson almost creates the lesson itself.

 3. What you are most proud of as a result of doing your products? I am exceedingly proud of the entire Unit of Instruction section but particularly my digital story. I love that I learned how to upload to youtube without instruction, and that it was painless and so so simple and that I can combine images, music, and voice recordings creatively to tell a story that is fun to watch. I am proud to say that I actually completed all the assignments and finished this course given how far behind I fell!

4. What you would do differently next time you write a unit and use technology? I would spend more time on the order of lessons and how they work sequentially and build off each other. I would also spend more time experimenting with web 2.0 tools. I would like to have a unit scope and lesson sequence really solidified first before adding technological assistance rather than creating lessons with required technological elements simultaneously.

 5. What you are most concerned about with using technology and how you will overcome obstacles with technology? I am concerned with my time management skills and levels of technological frustration. To overcome these obstacles, I will absolutely employ a timer for how long I will give myself to create projects and learn to use them. If a project or tool will not work after given time, I will let it go and use something else. I have to remain extremely flexible.

 6. What you are most concerned about with teaching and how you will overcome obstacles? Again, time management skills. See above question.

 7. What you are most excited or intrigued about with regards to using technology? Web 2.0 tools and how many presentation makers there are!!! I am intrigued by how technology can employ various senses for students and make lessons and assignments more engaging.

8. What you are most excited or intrigued about with teaching? That with the use of technology especially web 2.0 tools that learning can be far more collaborative a process for the kids.

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;"> 9. Which century will you teach in--the twentieth or twentyfirst and what indicators will be present that most epitomize your classroom? <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">The 21st and my indicators will be taking down walls put up by past educational practices like dictating to students and not engaging them. I will really make my classroom interactive and enable students to take charge of their own learning. I will still give them assignments and establish order, but I want them to learn from themselves and each other, and the creativity, control, and excitement of so much that's out there right now on the internet has shown me how effective available tools can be.

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;"> 10. What difference will you make? <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">I will enable students to create projects and express themselves in ways that they can be excited about like I myself did for this class. I will challenge them to think and to question even within academic curricular requirements.