As with every course I have taken, I feel that I grow as an instructor throughout the duration. A lot of my teaching focus has been on teaching the basic literacy skills, however it is now apparent to me that I have been missing a very important component. In order to properly prepare our students for the world and work force it is very true that they have to be able to read and comprehend written information. However, it was not initially clear to me how important it is for my students to be able to use the internet as a tool. Knowing how to effectively and efficiently locate information is a key life skill that is often neglected in the classroom. Students need to be exposed to the safe and proper way to utilize social networking and general web sharing through modeling and direct instruction in the classroom.

I have already made several updates to my teaching practices. Instead of using technology as a presentation method, I have made an effort to structure assignments so that students are interacting with the technology. Allowing my students to interact with technology has been very motivating and I have noted increased class participation. I have also taken steps to get my students more familiar with using technology in the classroom. After reading a novel, instead of taking a traditional printed test, I have created a web-quest to allow students to use online resources and their creativity to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding. Hopefully I will be able to expand my horizon into blogging, social bookmarking, and other medias as they become available in my school district.

My professional development goal is to continue to learn about the educational uses of technology and their importance in preparing students for their future careers. Even though I am only three courses away from maintaining my masters degree, it is my intention to continue learning and attend classes and professional development on classroom technology. I would also interested in learning more about the use of technology with special education students. Teaching an individualized technology based intervention has really sparked my interest. I have found that through the use of technology, content can me more specific and individualized then any one teacher could ever imagine. I also plan to subscribe to informational resources that publish about new and interesting educational technology in order to keep abreast on new resources.