From+My+Heart

** 1. What have I learned about myself? Well, for starters, I am capable of handling a lot more technology than I ever thought! I was really excited for this class because, one, it was an education class and I am really happy anytime I get to do some involving this; two, I couldn’t wait to learn all sorts of new stuff! However, I was also a bit apprehensive because I did not know really what to expect and I am not so much of a technology whiz. (As in, I can get the basic functions working on my phone and I can do some stuff online; my printer however is a daily conquest as is getting my computer to turn on half the time!) I learned that technology is actually me friendly! I felt so accomplished after every assignment, because even though they all took me forever, I think I did a really good job! I put in so much effort, but I really, really enjoyed it! It was so much fun! Also, I learned that I do not procrastinate on EVREYTHING! This is truly amazing, because in nineteen years, I don’t think I have ever not really held off until the last minute. **

** 2. Now, in regards to teaching, well, I think I have a long way to go! Granted, I haven’t had much training in teaching yet, but I can definitely see that I have a lot to learn! I did learn that in order to really be a good teacher and help my kids become 21st Century Learners, it will require a lot of work! There is so much more out there than I really ever realized! However, I have become a lot more comfortable with navigating all my options to find what I am really looking for. I think that it will be very important for me to not only know what I am teaching extremely well, but to be comfortable with the tools I will let my students become familiar with. I know I always had lots of questions, and I am sure my students will too, therefore I know that I want to be able to answer and help with anything that is brought up by students. **

** 3. I am most proud of my developing ability to use technology! As I said, this was quite a daunting idea to me, but I really think that I have grown so much as a 21st Century Learner myself! I was also pretty proud of individual assignments. Especially the bigger ones, like making movies, etc. I was always showing them to my family and friends to share the wonders of technology I never knew even existed! **

** 4. Next time I go about this, I think I need to plan out the entire unit better ahead of time. I went into this using as much as I knew, however that was fairly limited. I had never written lessons before, and wasn’t entirely sure of what should go into them. I did a lot of creating lessons depending on what technology we were learning and based them off of what would go well with the week’s assignment. **

** 5. I am most concerned that my student’s will not benefit wholly from the use of technology. I think it is so wonderful that there is so much I will be able to share with them, but I don’t want their 21st Century Learning to stop with me or my lessons. I would like to continue to use some of the same concepts and tools I teach my students throughout the year. This will allow them to become comfortable enough with them to be able to use them on their own, and if they come to rely on technology as the 20th Century Learners have come to rely on posters and papers, then hopefully they will think to utilize what they have learned in the future. **

** 6. Right now I am worried that I will not teach my students enough. However, this is paired with the fact that I want some other things out of teaching as well. I want to be a teacher who makes a difference for kids; I don’t expect to be their life-changing experience, but at the very least I want them to leave my classroom with a desire to be life-long learners. I also want to have fun while doing so. What I do not want to do is simply teach my students, I want to provide them with something that they can take away having learned, something that will follow them and help them along their path of education. I don’t really know how I am going to do this yet, but I will do my best every step of the way. I want to share with them many things, beyond just what the text books say, I will do my best to make learning fun and show them that knowledge is power, and that learning really does matter. I am sure a lot of this will come from helping them develop as 21st Century Learners. There will certainly be much more involved that this, but I truly believe that bringing this sort of education into the classroom will make a difference, at least in the way many of them look at learning. There is a quote I have come across by Ignacio Estrada that goes, “If a child can’t learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn.” I think this is wonderful advice and would love to follow it myself when I become a teacher. **

** 7. I am most excited about introducing kids to all the wonders technology offers us in the teaching world! There is so much that we did this semester that honestly I never even knew of! I had to wait until college to learn about it! It will be so amazing to give kids these opportunities so early! The technology involved is so much fun, and really puts a spin on learning. I think using technology like this in the classroom will really engage students in learning more than older methods. Mostly though, I am just so excited to share these things with kids long before they reach college! Developing students as 21st Century Learners will really help them in the long-run later in life, but will also do so much for them as they further their education. **

** 8. Mostly I am looking forward to seeing kids learn. I think it is so amazing to see kids learning and especially wonderful when you witness them coming to a revelation in their learning. I can’t wait to share with them the wonders of learning! However, on a less serious note, I am also excited to have my own classroom! It will be so much fun to make it my own learning place! **

** 9. I definitely plan to teach in the 21st Century. There are so many more opportunities when using technology! I think that developing kids as 21st Century Learners will make a really positive difference in their lives. I will do so by including technology in my daily lessons, and making it a part of everyday learning. This will become apparent because I plan to help my students master the use of technology in their own learning. I would love to change much of their presentations from typical poster or paper or even PowerPoint to the opportunities offered by 21st Century technology. Also, I want to include technology in activities so that they can utilize technology in the learning more often. **

**10. I want to make a difference for every child. I am not sure this is plausible, but I can hope. I would love to be the teacher that any child can come to for any reason. I hope to be more than just an educator but a mentor and encourager as well. At the very least, I want to share with every student that learning is so important and can be truly enjoyable. I want to make all of my students learners for life. Maybe I won’t be the teacher kid’s will remember forever, maybe I will be that at least for a few. Either way, even if my student’s move on without thinking of their grade-school years, my dream is that I impact every child just enough so that a love for learning is at least planted within them somewhere.**