What skills, topics, or other aspects of this course did you personally find valuable and useful?
I personally found many of the websites and online tools we had to research to be useful. I now have a better understanding of online tools, and I think I will be using some of them in the future. At first, the idea of teaching online was a little overwhelming for me, but I feel better prepared to teach online and to incorporate more technology into my future classrooms.
What skills, knowledge and attitudes did you learn or practice as a result of developing your course website that were beyond the objectives for individual assignments?
I learned that there are SO many technological tools for education, especially free ones. When researching tools for assignments I found myself going down little rabbit holes of educational tools. I found many tools that were not useful for the class assignments, but I still think I would use them in the future. I created a folder for myself of useful websites and tools that I came across and might use in the future. I also think this class has helped me think critical of which technological tools that I choose to use in my classroom. I have a better understanding of how to successfully incorporate technology into the classroom, and how I can use technology to enhance lessons.
How have any of the assignments changed the way you think about teaching with technology?
Overall, I feel more comfortable and confident about using technology in the classroom now. I am now more aware of some of the many tools that exist. I think creating a website has been a good experience for me because before this class, creating a website is not something I would have done. However, I think a website is a great way to keep all your information in one place, and it is easy to keep updated. I could see myself creating a website for future classes. Another specific assignment that was useful was creating my own interactive video. Once again, prior to this class the thought of creating an interactive video would have been intimidating. But I now know that there is no reason to be intimidated and that they are useful tools that can help me.
What do you plan to do in the near future to continue learning more about the things in this course that sparked your interest?
I hope to get more familiar with some of the tools I researched, and eventually incorporate more of the tools into the classroom. I would like to research more tools and websites that are specific to my area of concentration. I also plan to continue to search and join a couple of online forums and groups that will help improve my PD. The internet is a great place for connecting with educators across the globe.