As I reflect on this course, I recall an interaction I had with a gentlemen one morning before school. Like most mornings, I would stop at a local Wawa to get my morning coffee. Dragging myself to the coffee area, I looked up and noticed an older gentlemen looking at me as he prepared a cup of coffee. I gave him a friendly, yet non-energetic, "good morning" and he answered with a reciprocal good morning and asked how I was doing. I replied with the usual, "good". To be polite I asked him the same question expecting a normal "good" or "fine" but instead he replied, "Doing the best I can with the tools I got". This immediately took me by surprise since I was expecting the usual "fine" or "good". As I continued my commute I thought about what that gentlemen had said. I couldn't tell what profession this man was or what tools he had that were determining how well he was performing at his job. This lead me into contemplating about my profession.

 

Am I doing the best I can with the tools I have?         What tools do I have to help me teach?

 

As I went through answers to these questions I kept coming back to tools and resources that involved technology. Yes, teachers do have non-technological tools they use such as classroom management strategies, building rapport with students, etc. But personally speaking, implementing technology has helped me improve in every aspect in being a teacher. Does that mean if a teacher does not use technology they are a bad teacher? Of course the answer is no. I have had plenty of good, effective and engaging teachers that did not use technology in their lessons. But I do know that technology is helping me become a more effective and engaging teacher.

 

Taking this course has helped me by adding "tools" to my repertoire (which are allowing me to feel as if I am doing my "best"). I'm motivated by the new resources and applications I have learned in this course. I have always had a strong urge to use technology in the classroom. However, sometimes that urge/drive needs a little guidance. This is where technology courses like EDT 500 help. Courses like this help direct that drive by teaching me how to implement these resources as a teacher. Often I find myself excited about using technology but I'm unsure on how to exactly implement them in the classroom. This course help facilitate those ideas.

 

Besides just learning new resources, this course has helped me relate more to my students and focus more on their learning than my teaching. Sometimes I forget what's it's like to be a student. This course has enlightened my perspective  on what it is like to be a student. I think about assignments that I had to do (and dreaded) as a student. I think about how much more I would have enjoyed it if I was given the opportunity to choose the method or how the project was to be presented. I've learned that having multiple choices and allowing students to use every resource at their disposal, creates an environment in which a student can become fueled by new tools and creativity. For example, in creating this website/portfolio I knew how to use google sites and honestly if I was forced to use google sites I would not have enjoyed it as much as I did, The process of creating this website using wix has added yet again another "tool". I hope that I am able to continue to learn about how to use more technological resources effectively in the classroom.