Conclusion

This course has opened my eyes to the many different ways technology can be incorporated into the classroom besides the traditional overhead projector, television, or lap top cart (used during direct instruction). Our class discussions, presentations, and individual projects have demonstrated how technology can benefit: (1) my development as an educator (as YouTube, Delicious.com, etc., open up many avenues to discovering new teaching practices); (2) the activities/tasks I incorporate into my curriculum (as podcasting, wikis, etc., encourage student-centered project-based learning), and (3) the variety of resources my students may rely on to supplement their learning (e.g, via RSS feeds and sources of multimedia). Throughout the semester, I have also particularly appreciated our focus on forms of technology that students find appealing (e.g., podcasts, which in a child's eyes, trumps the overhead projector any day!).

I hope to integrate much of this relatively new technology in my teaching over time. In the short term, however, I plan to utilize RSS feeds, social bookmarking services, and possibly a website to develop an online "Teacher's Binder"; so that next year, I no longer find myself scrambling to ensure I am prepared for my lessons during a school week. I am hoping these online resources may help me develop an effective filing system to save lessons/class notes - because unfortunately, just locating all the electronic files I created this year (which often were improperly named) will be a monumental task this summer! Once I am truly organized, with a curriculum in hand, my search to incorporate new media into my teaching will resume. . . .