Reflection - New and Emerging Technologies

I have learned so much in class that I will take forward and implement in my classroom. One thing I have learned is that I can take my love of American History and social studies and turn it into fabulous technological experiences for my students. I enjoyed creating this lesson plan, and cannot wait to introduce it to my students. Sometimes it is not easy to incorporate technology with younger grades, but I have found that there is a plethora of programs - websites, tools, software, etc. that can be used and adapted for younger grade levels. I loved browsing through Second Life, and hope that soon it can be used for younger ages too. I also enjoyed the virtual field trips and instructional tools such as Moodle that I can use in my classroom.

My completed assignment incorporates the change agents as it challenges my students to create a voicethread in which they will draw a picture and describe one of Benjamin Franklin's inventions/ideas they researched in the library using the internet and encyclopedias. They will collaborate with high school students in the computer as they create their voicethreads.

I would like to introduce ways my collegues can use emerging technologies in their classrooms. A lot of my collegues would consider voicethreads and webquests as new technologies because they are not commonly used at my school. My computer lab teacher does a phenomonal job with introducing new technologies to the students, as teachers I would like to see more of our faculty utilize these technologies in thier lesson plans.