From+My+Heart

"WOW, I'm done with my wiki! And I want to tell you some things."

The wiki assignment was definitely one of the most difficult and tedious class assignments I have faced in a long time. However, the assignment was also one of the most rewarding! I learned many aspects about myself as a result of constructing my wiki. Even though I may not be an overtly technological individual, I now understand that technology success can be achieved with a certain amount of dedication and practice. Thankfully, I was introduced to many tools that I will use in my classroom and tools that will allow my students to increase their academic achievement. I have realized that not only am I an extremely hard worker and dedicated student, but that I also have a true desire to educate children. The African American Literature unit I constructed for my wiki was my first attempt at writing a unit and I believe my unit can ultimately be polished and utilized in an actual classroom setting. Based on my unit, I realized that teachers must pay special attention to sequencing and also prepare students to be successful on the final assessment. Each lesson plan must have an interesting activity to stimulate student interest and enhance student achievement. Many of the technical tools utilized in this course, such as pod-casting, digital storytelling, and Web 2.0 tools, will introduce students to technology and increase their technological literacy. I am extremely proud of my ability to relate many of the assigned products to my unit plan considering literature and technology do not also intermix However, after finding ways to relate the products to my lesson plans, I understand that many of the products greatly enhance the ability for students to understand the novel. Throughout the course, there were many times when I simply wanted to give up, but I am exceptionally proud that I did not "throw in the towel." I learned how to troubleshoot and futher utilize technology to investigate how to create and use certain products. If I were to do anything differently next time, I would probably try to set aside more time to work on my wiki. Although I think my wiki looks great and contains useful information, next time I would spend more time preparing my wiki cosmetically and adding more effects. I spent much more time on the wiki project than I anticipated at the beginning of the course, however, if I was not working full-time and taking other Metro classes, I believe I could have put forth more effort into my wiki. Overall, I am proud of most of the products I created and believe I could teach students how to also create successful products using technology.