Week 1 Part 2 Reflection

The two technology assessments were very informative and gave me quite a bit of insight on where I stand as an educator in the category of technology. In the first assessment there were four areas- foundations, information acquisition, problem solving and communication. My two most prominent areas were foundations and problem solving. I feel like when I am approached with technology challenges, I am able to outsource answers and find ways to become more proficient. Even if it means teaching myself as I go along- I find that when I don't know the answers or method of remedy; I will do my best to find out and learn solutions along the way. In the area of communication, I definitely feel like I have been able to explore technology. Primarily when dealing with parents, I am able to utilize my school 'teacher web page' as well as my website for my dance team. I have also been able to send attachments via email and make sure to direct parents to navigate through our school site for additional information.

In the SETDA survey "the Teacher" portion was quite extensive. We had completed a similar survey to this on our home campus. Again, the results told me familiar tendencies. I am willing to seek answers when I have technology challenges. I also will do my best to find answers. For example, when I opened my campus in 2003, each classroom was issued a large television and VCR. DVD players and projectors were hard to come by and now the demand is certainly on the rise for projectors to be installed in every classroom. In fact, we are currently looking for storage for the large televisions and AV carts!

I feel like I still have much to learn in the category of technology. My strengths would be my willingess and attitude to want to learn. My biggest weakness would be my comfort level with the 'old' way of doing things. At first I don't feel comfortable trying new strategies, but I am willing to practice so that 'it' becomes second nature. I also find my students know the answers most of the time! They dabble in technology every day- it is part of their common language. As teachers, we must do our best to keep up. I am a life long learner, so whatever it takes.