Final Blog Reflection!

For every class we enter there is always expectations and hesitations about what we are going to learn and how we go about it. I was actually kind of confident coming into this class because I feel like I knew a lot about computer programs and how to use them. After a semester of this class I can say that I really did not know much but now am fully equipped with so much more knowledge that i can personally use and share with others. There was a lot that I took from the class but there were three that stood out to me.

One of the things I took out of it was about becoming a teaching professional. Hearing the feedback after our first demo really just stood out to me and gave me confidence as well as advice to become better. It gave me such a confidence to hear that I have what it takes to be a teacher and that others can see it by my actions and not just my words. I know that in the future I am not going to always feedback and advice but if I get it know it can help me in the future. It also helps me realize that giving the same feedback to my students could be beneficial to them.

Another thing I took from the class was learning strategies. The first blogged we talked about the 4 we use and why we use them. Once we figured that out being asked to find some new ones was an interesting idea. I found 4 that i thought would work and that I have not really used or even heard of for the most part. While I was reflecting on using them i realized that I use so many more learning strategies then I thought. To be aware of other strategies though is really beneficial. By knowing so many i can apply the one that best fits to the situation at hand. The idea of learning strategy will also be something that I carry into teaching. Not all of my students will have the same learning strategy so being able to use many will be a positive note for my classroom. I think that I would actually use the idea of having my students reflect on their own learning strategies so they can realize what works best from them.

The last thing I took from the class that stood out was breaking the comfort of computer programs. Sometimes in life we get so stuck in a comfort zone that satisfies all our needs that we have no desire to step out and learn something new. Using the access program really has shown me why its important to use other programs than the normal ones. I am comfortable with excel and all of the functions of it but using access i see that I can do so much more but I have to put in the time and effort it takes to learn something new and apply it. I really didn't want to learn a new program but after doing all the teaching demos, assessments and just reflection i learned that it was very beneficial to step out.

I overall did grow throughout this course. I took steps at becoming a better teacher and a better student all in one semester. I'm so excited to move on with the information I learned in this course and apply it to my future as well as helping others apply it to theirs!