Course Reflection

I began IT 465 with great anxiety. I was unsure if I would be able to complete the assignments because I was not very proficient using a computer or working on the Internet. I never thought I would learn as much useful information as I have during this class; I thought this class would just give an overview of techniques used in using technology in a classroom but nothing useful. However I was pleasantly surprised when I began to work on the assignments. I learned about various Internet sites which could assist in preparing lessons. The Inspiration program helped me learn to make and use concept maps to break down information. I enjoyed working with the Inspiration software to create the concept map. I will use the information I gained about concept mapping to break down chapters in the subject area I plan to teach. I fee this will help me be a more efficient teacher. I also learned to use several of the applications offered by Google. I learned to make a simple website with the website creation part of Google. I learned Windows Explorer does not work real well with several of the applications on Google when I started working with the website application. I was lucky enough to have Safari on my computer so I tried using it. I found the Google applications worked much better with the Safari browser. The Google Group and Google Docs applications will be useful helping students learn cooperation and collaboration skill to complete tasks in school and later in life. I used Google Docs to go back and URLs to several of my assignment reflections to complete the requirements. I found the course to be very easy to navigate. The rubrics clearly stated what was required for each assignment, the schedule was easy to follow-so I knew when everything was due, the tutorials were a huge help in working with the various software programs and Google applications. The power points and podcasts were useful in understanding the chapters in the text book, which I found to be very lay-person friendly. Most technology books I have ever looked at were hard to understand so I was very impressed with the ease of understanding. I used the Wimba live classroom once and found it a convenient way to talk to the instructor. I was able to ask questions and she was able to show me ways to work on an assignment on Google website while we were talking. I used the class email to communicate with the instructor and other classmates about assignments, ask questions, and receive answers. I found communication to be very easy and fairly fast. I am glad I took this course because I used the skills and information learned in this class with other courses.

Google documents

I was a little unsure how to proceed with the google document assignment. I was having trouble understanding the assignment directions; I was just having a brain block I guess. I even looked (I called myself looking at the google doc site) and could not understand it. I went back after emailing Dr. Wang and could understand what I needed to accomplish. I worked with Traci Sullivan on completing this assignment. I feel we worked well together and accomplished what we wanted to accomplish. I can see where google docs allows people to work together when they are miles away as Traci and I are.

I have went back and used google docs to update some other assignments and found it very useful. As a teacher I would use this application to help students learn to work cooperatively with others and learn to collaborate to complete assignments. The building of these skills will help students in many ways later in life and not just in school.


Here is the URL to our google document: http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0ATGk-X3hEbzYZGduM2pkNTZfMnBnOTNiaGhm&hl=en