Ashley Cleveland #281634 Main Campus Elementary Early Childhood Education/Reading Gone are the days when a teacher

stands in front of a classroom using chalk on a chalkboard. Childrens attention spans have grown shorter and learning standards have grown higher. With this situation, a teacher may feel that they should give up. Fear not, for technology has opened new doors into the world of learning. In the course EDU 360 technology, along with the other domains of conceptual framework, were covered to help me become a better prepared teacher candidate. Online classroom shell, technology assessment one and two, digital media project, digital portfolio, Web Quest, and the list continues as projects to be completed for this class. Two hours of class in a classroom and one spent online. This type of schedule and academic freedom may make some students shake. What this list of artifacts really did was make the student in this class work on their management and organization. Add in the extra factor that many of these assignment required collaboration with fellow teacher candidates, and the class is starting to sound as terrifying as a methods course. I took this as a challenge to work on these skills, to refine them to make sure I was capable of managing my time wisely to meet deadlines that didnt occur until a later date. Working with other peers who are also working on their management and organization skills proved to be a learning experience in itself. Working with others using technology made me learn more about technology to meet their expectations.

Cleveland 1

Technology allows for a more diverse way to assess students in the classroom. Through the creation of a Web Quest, I learned that children can be anything the teacher can think of. I had my students become travel agents where they had the option to present the designed trip in a brochure, poster, or presentation. The teacher would still be assessing the same objectives, but in a diverse way that made student achievement equal for all types of learners. Another tool discovered in this class was the Smart Board. With this tool students would have multiple modes of representation to reach all types of learners. The teacher can create many different types of formative assessment for students to do on this technological tool. With all of this use of technology to create projects, my content knowledge and pedagogy in this topic area has increased. Through this class I have worked with many different programs. I created my own online classroom, which made my understanding for the amount of time it takes online professors to create these classrooms increase. When creating the Web Quest I was able to work with technology to create an understanding of design and user friendly navigation to create an online experience for students to learn and grow. Gone are chalkboards as the Smart Board makes its way in to the classroom for multiple modes of representation. Childrens attention is kept with the use of technology through online experiences, games, and activities. Technology has opened new doors for learning enhancement, and the teachers are ready. With the completion of EDU 360 I feel that I am a prepared teacher candidate.

Cleveland 2