Reflection: Final Blog Posting

I have learned how to create a Podcast and post it to the Internet so others can listen to it. I also learned how to create a Blog and Wiki in order to share information easily with others and for others to share information with me. All three of these items I had never done before and I was a little nervous at first. However, I have had some experience with similar things before like recording audio on my computer just for fun and creating websites for my classroom and school. The Podcasts were pretty simple for me, but that is because I have experience with recording and ripping audio files. I think that creating and posting podcasts is a technology tool that is not for a beginner, but just like everything else all you have to do is play around and give technology a try in order to become better with it. The Wikis and Blogs were extremely easy to use and I could see many teachers and students using this technology piece as long as it is used appropriately.

This course has helped me develop my own technology skills because before taking this course I have never created a Podcast, Wiki, or a Blog. I am happy to have taken this course so I could be exposed to this great technology.

I have deepened my knowledge of teaching and the learning process. I know that it helps to actually be hands on with an assignment. I would have not have learned as much if I only read about Podcasts, Wikis, and Blogs. I know that I learn best by actually creating these pieces for myself. I also realize that having the support of others and being able to ask questions and having quick in depth responses helps with the learning process.

I definitely like the learner-centered approach. I was able to create and produce my work and assignments with my own personal touch. I was given guidelines, but it was up to me to create the final product. I think this is a great approach as long as the students are motivated to work on their own and that teachers have resources and ideas for those students that are not that motivated. If students have more say in their assignments, then students will take more pride and ownership in their work and this may increase the quality of their work and their learning.

There are many ways that I can continue to expand my knowledge of learning, teaching, and leading with technology. I must not get intimidated by new technology and must continue to give it a try even if I do not understand it entirely at first. I can continue to take the classes that are offered by our school district to keep up to date on technology. I need to continue to integrate technology into the classroom and not give up if it does not work the first time. The main goal is to help students succeed and be future ready. Technology is a great way to accomplish this goal.

One goal that I have is to create a blog for the students in my classroom. I want students to be able to share ideas ranging from a simple classroom assignment to what they like to do for exercise, fun, and physical activity. I already have a classroom website, so now all I have to do is get permission from my administrator in order to set up a blog. I will need to make sure that I monitor the comments so they are appropriate and stay on topic.

Another goal that I have is to create podcasts of different skills that students can do at home in order to improve themselves. For instance, I want to create a "Basketball Podcast" where the different segments would be broken down by dribbling, passing, and shooting a basketball. I think this would be very beneficial because students only get one hour of Physical Education per week and podcasts could be a great tool students could use in order to improve their skills. I already have a camera, I just need to find the time to record the different tasks. There are so many ranging from A to Z and it seems kind of overwhelming at first. However, if I can focus on creating a podcast for one skill per week, then I will slowly build a great set of resources for students to use and learn from.

My Podcast for Walden University

I posted my podcast on two different places. Click on the links below to listen to it and then let me know which one you like better.

http://www.gcast.com/u/brianj711j

http://brian-vacyt.posterous.com