As I reflect on our last class together, and more importantly the entire class as a whole, I realize how much I will actually take away. I was slightly frustrated at first when it seemed like all we were doing was project after project, but then I came to the realization that you were teaching in a constructivist style, a style in which I use quite often (even though have not really realized it).
I thoroughly enjoyed working on the physical model project with my students and I think they had quite a bit of fun with it as well. I've struggled this term in finding interesting labs for my CISCO students to work through actually hands-on (most of their labs are done using a simulation program, PacketTracer, on their computers). This project proved to be a perfect opportunity to get these guys out of their seats and think creatively. It was a success- I look forward to doing this with students in future courses I teach.
It was very beneficial to me that you had us develop technology mini units because it really got me thinking about preparing for my courses next semester. I hardly ever repeat courses, so I am continually developing new curriculum and introducing new projects and activities into my teaching. I initially thought I would do my technology mini-unit on podcasting, but didn't have the resources to complete it quite yet. Consequently I decided to develop the newsletter unit that I had initially developed off of a project I did in high school. I look forward to doing the unit and actually distributing the handout to the various business classes next term.
Our community building technology lesson was a repeat of a lesson I have done with my students previously, but I enjoyed sharing the idea with Candy, Tika, and the other teachers in our class. I love teaching Adobe programs - probably because it's impossible to learn everything each program has to offer. It was neat we were able to collaborate together all of the technology tools we could (laptop, camera, voice recorder, etc) into one lesson. The students love it...after all, they're multitasking like crazy. The assignment itself proved to be very valuable- it was neat to see the software and tools the other group presented to us.
I dreaded working on the metaphor paper from the instant you presented the assignment to us, but as I developed my ideas and started to write it down on paper it actually got to be pretty exciting. I asked lots of my friends and coworkers how I could further develop my idea and before I knew it my mind really got creative (so I thought). I think now that I'm actually done I am proud of my metaphor. I joke about it quite a bit with my roommates, who heard me complain about it quite a bit as I was starting off!
Overall, this class has already been a valuable learning opportunity. I constantly think about my classroom and what I can do to establish more of a community within it's doors. I've thought about this many times in the past working as a RA/CA, but it is slightly different working in a classroom and working with an entirely different age group. Thank you for your dedication in helping to further my professional development. Good luck with everything at Ties!
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