Scenario

I believe that I am familiar with multiple resources that will better me as an educator. I am also quite easy to get along with. I love to joke around and have fun. I feel I am an extremely patient person and love being around children. I plan to teach to my full potential and learn more each and every day. I would say my downfall would be "babying" my students at first until I become more used to teaching. I am extremely nervous about when I first begin to teach, especially in my own classroom. I really don't want my students to be able to detect my nervousness. That is something I need to work on.

In 3-5 years, I see myself in my own elementary classroom, teaching to the best of my abilities. I also see myself married and possibly starting a family of my own. To get to where I want to be, I have to give 110% in everything I do. My goal is to teach and I am determined to reach each and every goal that I set in my life.

To learn a new software, I could either "tweet" to other educators if they have any resources to help me, do a search online, or ask people I know that may have some suggestions for me. In the world we live in today, there is an endless amount of resources available to us at all times. Most of it can be found almost instantly too!

Technology can help students with any sort of disability or learning style. If they need a bigger font, you can do that. If they need visual or auditory, you can accommodate those needs too! Technology also has educational games that makes learning "fun" for students. There is also something for kids, teenagers, etc. of ALL ages! Technology also allows teachers to be able to "hook" their students at the beginning of a lesson. They can create a video, show pictures, etc. It also allows the teachers to be able to show smaller objects that can be seen by all easily.

When I was in school, we didn't have enough computers for all of the students, so there wasn't much learning using technology. There was a projector/elmo in almost all the rooms though. They were used mainly for powerpoints or notes though. My senior year, we finally got 2 interactive white boards for the junior/high school. You could tell it was like a "whole new world" for us. Nobody knew how to use it, so it was pretty entertaining to watch them try. Each teacher had it in their classroom for 2 weeks at a time to try to get a hang of it.

I don't know if I would encourage the use of cell phones in my classroom let alone in another teacher's classroom. I feel that some students would abuse the privilege. On the other hand, laptops and iPads would be helpful in the classroom. There are so many resources that can teach students different subjects at their own pace. That way you don't go too fast for one student, but too slow for another. Technology accommodates all needs for all students.

Education website has NUMEROUS activities for students. Some educational, and some that are more fun. Math Games for Kids is one of my favorite. I also really enjoy Animoto. It is not "educational" but it is a great tool to teach a quick lesson to catch your students' interest. These are just a few of the websites I have found useful, but I know there are an endless amount still out there to be discovered.