I would say that I would use the idea about differentiated instruction, games and simulations, and the PIC_RAT model to help integrate technology into the classroom. I feel like differentiated instruction fits well with technology. The whole premise of differentiated instruction is to use different methods of teaching to reach a rider range of students. Technology takes away from the monotony and one-size-fits-all nature of lecture style classrooms. They also fit this ideology because technology offers endless opportunities from game style apps to AR apps to applications that they can use to create products or presentations. I also chose games and simulations because I remember vividly how games were used to teach me as a child. From CD-ROMs made to teach children their numbers to applications on the school computers, games were my favorite way to learn as well as the most effective way I remembered what I learned. Of course, the PIC-RAT model will be extremely useful when choosing what technology will be used and how I should use it in my lessons. One of my fears of further integration of technology in the classroom is putting my students behind a screen most of the time with little to no true benefit to their learning. I feel like teachers can use the PIC-RAT model to screen technology to make sure it is truly a right fit for their lesson that will elevate comprehension.
When it comes to information that will help me during the rest of my courses, I believe I will benefit from learning a bit how to build an ePortfolio which will no doubt help me further my goals in my career. I also believe I will use more presentation tools such as Prezi or even digital storytelling. Digital storytelling, once I get used to it and be less awkward with it, could be incredibly useful. I am very much interested on getting more familiar with virtual tools I can use in giving the lesson instead of solely being supplementary. I was intimidated because it seems complicated, but I am sure with practice it will get better, like creating art. I would like to practice formulating creative ways of presenting my subject matter to my students.
During my K-12 school career, technology was slowly being introduced. In Elementary, technology was scarce. We mainly used the projector and once a week we went to the computer lab. Then in Middle School, our teachers started using PowerPoints for their lectures and in a few classes, we used clickers used mainly for Jeopardy. High School really depended on the teacher. Some only used PowerPoint for lecture, while others encouraged us to make video projects as a final. This is vastly different than it is today when I visit the elementary schools and every child has an IPad they use in every subject. I think the internet was so new when I was younger that there were not options like there are now. What I learned in this class was novel to me if we compare to my school experience.
As far as this course goes, I wish that we could have spent more time on specific applications instead of getting a general overview with examples to choose from. However, this class is only a semester long and we were introduced to PNLs and other ways to talk to our fellow teachers that will help give more familiarity with different technology. I feel as though a hybrid class was perfect for this content. Since it is about different technology it makes sense to have it partially online. That way we have actual practice with the different resources and can familiarize ourselves with them more. However, that face-to-face time was incredibly helpful for answering questions and clarifying. If it has been solely online, I believe I would have understood very little and gotten hopelessly lost. It was a great mix for the content it was covering.
I would say that I am still cautious of using technology in the classroom. I feel like technology integration must be done very thoughtfully to be an asset but as we have seen in this course it can be a huge asset. I would say I am warming up to integrating more technology into my classroom due to its seemingly limitless possibilities and new ways of connecting to students.