I feel that I have grown exponentially in my confidence and ability to integrate technology into

my classroom as a result of participating in this course. I have become more confident and proficient in
using various applications to produce resources for my students to use both in and outside of the
classroom. Comparing my pre- and post-assessments allowed me to see improvement in twenty-three
of the thirty-three digital skills that 21
st
century teachers should have to be successful according to Clive
Young. 21
st
century teachers have a responsibility to provide their students with the skills they need to
be successful in a world that is very different from the world they entered after graduating from high
school. Students must learn to use digital technology to help solve real-world problems. We use to
develop in students a passion to learn all the right answers. We want twenty-first century students to
develop a passion for asking the right questions (Robinson, Teacher Education and 21st Century Skills).
I have realized how crucial it is to provide opportunities for my students to use technology to create
unique works, make connections, and build new knowledge bases. Technology can help students learn
critical thinking skills if teachers truly integrate rather than just use technology in the classroom (Dunn,
12 Ways To Integrate (Not Just Use) Technology In Education). Technology must be used with a specific
educational goal in mind and should not be used solely for entertainment purposes.
Completing the module readings and participating in class discussions has opened my eyes to
many different ways that technology can be integrated into my chemistry classroom. Module two
focused on the use of mobile devices. How much nicer would it be to ask your students to take out their
cell phones to participate in a survey using an app like polleverywhere.com rather than to always be
asking them to put their phones away. Texting questions or a summary from the previous days lesson
at the beginning of class allows the teacher the opportunity to change the direction of a lesson
(Wessling, 2013). In this way, real-time assessment can be used to better meet the needs of the
students. Having students sign up for a texting service like Remind 101 helps them to be more
organized and better prepared when they come to class. It also allows the teacher to hold the students
more accountable because they cant say that they didnt know about an assignment. Remind 101 can
be helpful with communication to parents as well. I am hoping to get approval for my students to use
their cell phones in class in the future and to be able to use a service like Remind 101 to help engage
them in the learning process by allowing them to use the one device that they just cant seem to
separate themselves from.
I found Kathy Shrocks video Infographics as a Creative Assessment to be particularly
interesting and informative. I have seen and used various infographics, but had not considered using
infographics as an assessment tool. In order for students to create an infographic, they must gather,
interpret, and organize information to create a product that demonstrates their knowledge of a
particular topic. Students are more engaged and learn more when they use technology to construct
something meaningful. Shrock also suggests that students analyze and critique other infographics in
order to enrich their learning process. Using Piktochart gave me practice creating infographics that
could be used as examples for my students and helped to give me ideas about various topics in
chemistry that lend themselves well to either an informational or a process infographic. Many topics in
chemistry are abstract or difficult to explain and processes are lengthy and detailed. An infographic is a
good visual way to represent these topics without getting overly wordy. Digital storytelling is another
type of technology that can be used by students to creatively demonstrate their understanding of a
topic. In addition to requiring critical thinking and creativity, digital storytelling can address multiple
learning styles and intelligences, which makes learning more personal and meaningful to the students.
Speaking on multiple intelligences, Morphew says the following:
These intelligences exist in all of us to varying degrees. Although an individual may excel in
two or three intelligences and have, therefore, great intellectual power in these areas, he or she is
thought to have some degree of intelligence in the other areas. Teachers may have a limited role in
personality structure or in specific domains, disciplines, and fields, but they have great potential to
promote intellectual power by providing rich and varied experiences, opportunities, and interactions to
help students exercise their intellectual power (17).
In addition to addressing multiple intelligences, the use of digital stories can foster collaborative learning
if students work in groups to produce and publish a digital story. Each student can work on the part of
the story that showcases his or her talents, but all students in the group must share ideas and
communicate effectively in order for the project to be successful.
Researching classroom badges has helped me to clarify the difference between games and
gamification. I think that both can be used successfully in the classroom. Using badges can provide the
motivation that some students need to complete assigned tasks. It allows the teacher to recognize the
achievements of a student without using a traditional grade. The student is rewarded for completing a
task, much like they would receive a reward for completing a particular level in a game. The difference
is they are not actually playing a game - following a particular set of rules and competing for a prize.
Playing an actual game can be much more rewarding, more motivating, and a more enriching
experience. The most important thing to keep in mind when using games in the classroom is that the
games must be addressing educational goals. The students should be practicing critical thinking skills,
and at the same time learning through communication and collaboration with their peers.
The first artifact from this course that I have chosen to include in my e-portfolio is a concept
map that I created on Mindmeister.com. I have used many concept maps as visual aids for my students,
but using mindmeister.com has helped me to realize how much easier this can be using a computer
application. This course has helped me to see that concept maps can also be used as an excellent
assessment of student learning. In chemistry many concepts are interrelated and each concept builds
upon the previous one. When students create concept maps, it demonstrates their understanding of
the relationships among various concepts. I like using apps like mindmeister because students can add
to their concept maps or alter them as new concepts are learned throughout the year. The second
artifact that I have included is a bard that I created on Pinterest.com. I have included this artifact
because it demonstrates my newly acquired skills in site curation. I was not familiar with Pinterest
before taking this course. In addition to being easy to use, I found that Pinterest offers a uniquely visual
way to organize resources on a particular topic. I think that Pinterest could be a valuable tool for my
students to use when working on a group project. Teachers could also have students contribute to a
classroom resource page where they could add interesting resources for each topic of study. Many
students are already familiar with Pinterest, which would make it easy to introduce. The final artifact
that I have included in my e-portfolio is an annotated image of Table G of the NYS Chemistry reference
tables that I captured and edited using Skitch. I have included this image to demonstrate my ability to
capture and annotate images in order to enhance my presentations. It is often time consuming to have
students refer to their reference tables during class, and when they do, it can be difficult for them to
visualize how to use the tables without a projected image. Being able to customize the image,
highlighting specific information, and even color coding certain items makes the information easier to
understand. I was also able to design an activity where my students would use Skitch to illustrate their
understanding of Le Chateliers Principle, which I included in one of my lesson plans.
I have experienced many new technologies during this course and have learned a lot about
integrating technology into my classroom. I used Camtasia Studio to record and edit my lecture capture,
which was a first for me. Using Weebly.com was also my first experience with creating a website. I
found it to be very user friendly. I also uploaded my very first video to YouTube. What I found to be
most helpful was creating a lesson plan for each module that was based on integrating these new
technologies into my classroom. It was interesting to read about these technologies, discuss them, get
feedback from others in the field, and to see the potential that they have in the classroom. However, to
see how I can actually use the technology with my students was probably the most gratifying part of the
course for me. I have already used a few of the items that I created for the practicum assignments, and I
look forward to more fully integrating the technology by having my students use it to demonstrate their
learning.









1. Young, Clive. 33 Digital Skills for 21
st
Century Teachers. June 15, 2012. University College London.
http://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/ele/2012/06/15/33-digital-skills-for-21st-century-teachers/
2. Robinson, Dr. Sharon P. Teacher Education and 21st Century Skills. July 16, 2009. Pearson Foundation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eGHAuV5yLo
3. Dunn, Jeff. 12 Ways To Integrate (Not Just Use) Technology In Education. April 24, 2013.
Edudemic.com. http://www.edudemic.com/integrate-technology-in-education/
4. Wessling, Sarah Brown. Text What You Learned: Using Technology to Assess. 2013.
Teachingchannel.org https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/texting-to-assess-learning
5. Schrock, Kathy. Infographics as a Creative Assessment. http://www.schrockguide.net/infographics-
as-an-assessment.html
6. Morphew, V. N. A Constructivist Approach to the National Educational Technology Standards for
Teachers. Copyright 2012, ISTE.