EDT 620-01: Incoming Reflection

I'm known in my building/district to be a techy guy.  Why? Probably because I taught in the computer lab my first four years and tech doesn't scare me.  I can troubleshoot very basic problems, also known as amazing technological feats by those not so techy. 

My only formal assessment of technology was in my undergrad at GVSU during my Computers in Education class (this was 1999, mind you).  Currently, my "expertise" is finding new tools by following other techy folks on Twitter, Pinterest and Scoop.It.  I read their reviews, review the website/tool myself if I see benefit, and I try it out.  Nothing formal.  Just an idea of how to apply it to my students.  My "review" is more of a, "yeah, I could use this."

The problem with all of this is that these people I follow, some educators, some tech educators, and some just techs, it's often their job or position to just report on new tools.  They don't necessarily evaluate either; to my knowledge.  They'll write about possible educational implications and uses which is often based off of the websites description of the tool and an idea by the author describing the tool.

Another problem is when a new tool is discovered there is often another that comes along shortly thereafter that does something very similar; leaving one to wonder which is really the most useful for me and my students.

From this class I hope to learn how to properly evaluate online classroom tools.  Instead of doing trial and error all the time with these tools, I'll have the knowledge to evaluate them before putting them to the test with my students. 

I believe my application of media resources is fairly good.  My principal commented during my evaluations last year that I was using technology to be useful to my students, and not just to "impress" her. However, I know I can do more and I love learning and implementing new technological tools and websites into my lessons.  The students find it engaging and I enjoy teaching with them and get excited when teaching with them. 

My hope for this course is to further learn how to better implement these tools by using them together to create multimedia presentations that engage students as well as encourage interaction.