From+My+Heart

Alexa Meyer's From the Heart

As a result of this creating this wiki I have learned that I do not fully know about or understand how to use many of the resources that are present on the internet. I had never before heard about Web 2.0 tools or many of the other resources that we used to create interesting projects and assignments for our fake students.

I also learned that a teacher has a much bigger job creating a Unit that will count and actually help the children learn than I thought. I realize now that I will be spending a great deal of time making sure my lessons count towards my students future. It will take practice.

I am most proud of the finished product of the total wiki. I think it came together very nicely, even though there were many weeks where this wiki caused me much frustration.

Next time I might try to find technology that I know my students will be able to use on their own and efficiently. I think this will take more time and focus. I also will need to make sure that each of my Units are meeting criteria and content standards for my grade level which will take more time. Mostly I just want to make absolutely sure that each technology used is easy to understand and appropriate for my students.

Mostly I am concerned about the use of technology and how it will affect students who have exceptionalities that make them unable to use the technology. I want there to be as much accommodation and understanding as possible for those students, so on my part learning about technologies that will enable those students to use the same technology as their peers. I will need to do some research depending on each individual child and their disabilities.

The thing that I am the most concerned about for teaching is correctly teaching my students in a way that they will benefit from my lessons and be able to learn. I don't want to be an ineffective teacher that has students leaving her grade unprepared for the next grade level. In order to overcome these obstacles I am going to need to stay up to date on all current teaching methods including technology, I am going to need to stay open minded and accepting of feedback from my peers and students. I will also need to find a method for evaluating myself based on how my students are reacting to my methods.

Overall I am going to need to stay flexible in all areas of my teaching life. I am most excited about using technology that will excite my students and increase their overall understanding by providing hands on experiences for them to relate to. I am excited to see how the next generations are going to be even more efficient at navigating new technology, than my generation who grew up during the beginning innovations involving computers.

I am most excited to see the effect that I have on my students as the grow up. I have strong memories about my favorite and most influential teachers. If I ever saw those teachers again, I would thank them for their time and methods used to get me here today. I am excited to see those same experiences in the eyes of students I teach. I just hope that I am effective enough to have that influence.

I will teach in the 21st century because there are so many advantages we have today that students even twenty years ago did not. Some of the indicators that will epitomize my classroom start with the technology. I will use it every day to further and strengthen the learning in my students. Some other indicators are how I will treat all my students as individuals who are equal but unique. I will not discriminate and will do whatever is in my power to help all children learn. I will also be a teacher who can teach all exceptionalities, meaning that there will be no obstacle too high for me to overcome. Our future generation is to important to waste time making up excuses. I will also be a teacher that is constantly looking for new ways to teach material in order to reach all students no what level or understanding is present. Walking in to my classroom you will see a safe area that enables and fosters teh growth of our future!

I hope that I will be able to be effective and that students will come back to me years later and say what a difference I made in their lives. I hope that they say that I changed the way they thought about learning and that I encouraged their interest in learning and curiosity for this wonderful world we live in. I hope that I will be able to encourage the next generations to be innovators that change the face of the U.S. and this world. I hope that I can develop all students to be better than they thought through encouragement and trust.