What I would like to learn...

In this class I hope to learn about many things. In my past classes here at Iowa State I have learned a little bit about TPACK and NETS. However, I would like to refresh on those ideas and go a little bit more in depth about them. I also would like to learn about more technologies to use in the classroom. Specifically I want to learn more about choosing which technology is the best for certain activities. In the past, I have kind of just stuck with what I know regarding technology when writing lesson plans. In this class I want to discover new technologies and be able to use  them to their full potential.

Another big thing I want to learn about is using social media in the classroom. I have read about using blogs and twitter in the classroom and I want to know how that would actually work. I want to practice more with blogs since I have only used them a couple of times. I want to create a blog for my classroom to allow parents to see what we are doing and for students to be able to communicate with each other. Blogs in classrooms are a great way to create a community within the classroom. With social media, I also want to learn how to use it professionally. I want to be able to share what I am doing in the classroom and I also want to be able to follow others. I hope to grow as an educator in this class through learning about all these things and more.

This past semester I was at practicum in the Ames Middle School observing their instructional coach, Jeremie Knutson. During this experience I learned a lot about what he does and how he helps integrate technology into the classroom and school. The biggest thing I got out of this experience was looking at what he does as an employer. I have thought about becoming an instructional coach since this practicum experience. I hope this class can help me make decisions about what I would like to do in the future. I have always wanted to be a classroom teacher but I am open minded to trying something new as well.