Midterm Questions
Which artifact do you feel stretched your knowledge and skills and why?
process) if you had to do it again
- The artifact that I feel stretched my knowledge and skills was the newsletter. I had never made a newsletter before and it took me a while to get everything formatted the way I had envisioned it. The thing I struggled with the most while creating my newsletter was making it visually appealing and getting everything I wanted on there to fit. I am thoroughly pleased with my finished product and will be able to use these new skills to develop newsletters for my class on a regular basis.
- If I were to redo any of these projects it would be the video production assignment. Although I did enjoy the video I made, I would have preferred to use better quality videos and have them seem more connected in their transitions. I also would have used better props in my video but was limited at the time to what I had available to use. I would also probably change the music that accompanied the video. The song I chose did represent the topic of my video very well but may not have gone well with the video itself.
process) if you had to do it again
- If I had to do anything differently I would definitely not procrastinate as much. Instead of waiting until a day or two before the project is due I could get a head start on them earlier in the week. I could then use the time before the projects are due on Sunday to make sure they are designed and edited to my liking and also verify that they are meeting the required criterion.
Final Reflection Questions
Explain in detail how the artifacts collected in your portfolio contributed to your learning?
How does the portfolio and the process fit into a larger framework of life-long learning which goes beyond simply completing graded assignments?
- The artifacts that I collected in my portfolio serve as examples for all of the different assignments and projects I have developed over the semester. By completing these projects I learned about various instructional technology tools that I can utilize in my classroom as a teacher. For a majority of these assignments, the best way to learn about them was by doing them. These assignments have taught me different methods to utilize in order to make what I am teaching fun for the students through interactive and blended learning lessons. Through these assignments I have also learned about various tools that I can utilize in order to more effectively communicate with parents and other education professionals. These methods of communication include building a newsletter or utilizing online conferencing tools. I have also learned different ways to test my student’s knowledge by using tools for building surveys, quizzes, and flashcards. Through the completion of this portfolio I have also learned about the different uses of educational games in a classroom and how they can be used by teachers in combination with a lesson in order to allow the students to demonstrate their levels of understanding in a fun way.
- One of the main things that I have learned from the process of building this portfolio was that in order to be an effective teacher it takes a lot of time and dedication. Putting together all of these projects took a lot of time and effort. However, I think that going through all of this work is worth it once you see the effect that it has on the students. Being able to create new and exciting ways for the students to learn will have a more positive effect on them than just making them recite and memorize basic facts. Through the use of these instructional technology tools you can make the students learning come to life and encourage them to think outside of the box as they complete these lessons and activities. As a teacher it may take some time to put together all of the components of a technology infused lesson plan so it is important to work efficiently and give yourself plenty of time to ensure that everything works the way it is supposed to.
How does the portfolio and the process fit into a larger framework of life-long learning which goes beyond simply completing graded assignments?
- Building this portfolio allowed me to explore various instructional technologies that I can use as a teacher. Although all the assignments I completed for this portfolio were for a grade, they helped me familiarize myself with these tech tools so that I may utilize and implement them into my own classroom. The process of completing this portfolio helped me work on my time management skills as I worked to complete each of the assignments and submit them by a certain time. I also got to further develop my website building skills as I built this website portfolio using Weebly. Having the opportunity to explore all of these tech tools has inspired me to want to look into even more examples of instructional technologies to use as a teacher. The process of building this portfolio has made me realize how important it is to have a collection of artifacts readily available to attest to my capabilities as a teacher and has therefore inspired me to continue building my portfolio throughout the remainder of my time in the teacher preparation program and into my early years as a teacher.