Final Reflections CEP 811

1. What are some things that you have learned about effective teaching strategies when integrating technology?

I have learned that its important to integrate technology into lessons but not just for the sake of technology. The technology has to be well used and integrated into the lesson. I also learned about the importance of making sure that not only is technology used in lessons but that they provide students with increased ways of learning. Its important for students to get the topic in different ways, through doing, seeing, and hearing. No two students learn exactly alike. Thus its important to embed the different methods of teaching into the lessons and using technology can make the process more smooth.

2. How did integrating web-based technologies help you think about and evaluate uses of technology

Using websites help me think of new ways I can help my students. I didn’t know how to make web sites before. Their pretty easy! It’s important to make sure that there is enough content on the site and that it is easy for students to navigate. Using web sites also can help students because it can allow them to not only work at their own pace, but also provide different means of learning. The web sites can have buttons that allow students to modify the look of the site to better suit their personal wants. The web site can have visual and auditable lessons as well. Using web sites lessons can easily be linked or contain links to more information that’s students can further their knowledge if they are interested in a certain topic.

3. How have you met your own personal goals for learning about technology integration?

          My goal was to get some new ideas of technology to use in my class room.

         This semester I have not only learned about some new technologies but also better ways of using  them.  I have learned about web sites and wikis, but also learned more about integrating them into my     lessons. CEP 811 has helped me think more about technology and not just using it for the sake of using technology but how it emerge it into the lesson to better help the students learn.

4.      Do you have any new goals? What are your plans for reaching your new goals and your long-term goals after this course is over?

My new goals include taking some of the ideas learned in this class CEP 811 and integrating them into my classroom. I would like to start making more STAiR lessons to help the students in my class keep up with the flow of class. These small refresher classes can help my students that for one reason or another don’t know or don’t remember certain topics. I would also like to make a couple web sites for my classes and or students to link them into activities that our automotive program is doing (auto shows, current projects, high school college drag days). The web sites can not only keep the students interested in our program but might also allow them to send in comments or ideas about projects the automotive department is working on.

Wikipedia edit

I added to the WCC Wikipedia site with some facts on the number of credit courses and locations Washtenaw Community College has.

Lesson plan UDL review

This is the review on my ball joint lesson plan based on UDL standards. Click on me to see my review

Creative Commons and Media Use

My picture,

Photo Attribution:

Original image: "Steven Adler"
http://flic.kr/p/8Ynasm

by: Steven Adler
Released under an Attribution-Creative Commons License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Pictures can be incorporated into my curriculum for use in teaching students about new technologies in the automotive world. I can take images of components and situations I’ve encountered and then embed them into the lesson or lecture I’m teaching on a given day.

PC Maintenance and Security

.I chose the tutorial on malware on the atomic learning site.


I thought I was pretty confident on what I knew about PC security. Little did I know there was so much more! I learned about two different resources that are free and I plan on using on my computer to clean it up. The first is Windows Clean up found on Google, I can install it and It operates fast to remove unneeded software and spyware on my computer. The second is system configuration I didn’t know it existed, using this software can help me make my computer run faster. Both of these programs I plan on shareing with my family and friends.

I was surprised about something’s that can have spyware or malware attached to it, like instant messaging

Social Networking

Social networking helps me keep in touch with all my friends and family. I have a very busy life and have a hard time keeping in touch with all the people i know. Using social networking sites like Facebook, keeps me informed on what the people I know are doing, and helps me remember when everyone’s birthdays are :).
I'm sure many of my peers use the social networking sites in similar ways.

Social networking sites can also help me in my teaching, I can be members or followers of other professionals in my field and get new ideas as well as calibrate about ideas and processes I use now.

Personal Learning Reflection

-During this course i have learned many effective teaching strategies when integrating technology. I have learned that you need content and expertise as well as a strategy of teaching before you adapt in a technology into your lesson. I also learned that it just because you have a technology doesn’t mean you have to use it. There are an ever growing amount of different resources and technologies out there that can be adapted to whatever your lesson is about. But it is very important that you have a goal of what you want your students to get out of using that piece of technology. It is also important to be flexible in your implementation of the technology, you might expect or want your students to use a specific technology for one thing and it either might not work the way you expected it to or your students might have ideas of other ways it could be used.
-Integrating the internet opened up new resources and ideas of new and old technologies. The internet allows you to research a technology and then see how others that might have different ideas and/or more experiences are using the same technology. The internet also allows you to look into what other people might have had issues with, and depending on the solution they reached might push you to another technology or allow you not to have the same issues in your implementation of the new technology.

-I feel that the assignment we did on RSS pages exemplifies good teaching with technology. It is a new technology to me and I have been using it to keep up on new technologies and news related to the automotive Field that I'm teaching. It gives me new news that i can look at at a glance and if it might be interesting or have information for my class.

-In my personal growth plan I stated that I wanted to integrate more 3D learning. Through my class CEP-810 Ive gained knowledge on smart-boards and would like to integrate one into my classroom. I and one other class member I work with are also thinking about making a digital lesson or pod cast for a group of lessons for one of our auto classes.

-I’m well on my way of meeting my goals I set forth on my personal growth plan. I have started using more online resources and “cloud networks” in my teaching rather than just paper print outs.

-In the long-term I would like to get a smart-board for my classroom and transfer more of my lectures to online and “cloud networks” so I have access to them form more places.
I also plan on continuing on in the CEP classes and completing my masters’ degree.