Final Reflection

My most valuable experience during this class was the encounter with technology. There are many things we take for granted when referring to computers, internet, and applications, but unless we are faced with the need to use them, we don’t realize our lack of experience or practice. Preparing the portfolio was for me a challenge. Many of the assignments included applications in Microsoft word, excel, and power point that I haven’t used in a long time, and to my surprise, my lack of practice on them was an issue that cost me time, and a lot of frustration. Today, at he end of the semester, I don’t see myself as an expert on office and internet searches, however, the tools I was taught and reminded to use in order to complete the assignments, had certainly educated me even more about what you can do with a computer with access to internet. Many things I have forgotten, I see myself now using to prepare my lessons for my students, and some even for using on another subjects and classes I’m taking. The use of short videos, and colorful handouts represents a higher level of attention and retention on my students. If I were to mention and improvement on my professional life, I would say my students have benefit tremendously with my knowledge on web searching and handouts. They enjoy watching short videos as part of anticipatory sets, and I am able to prepare worksheets for them more efficiently and in a shorter amount of time. My student life is easier since taking the course, not only for the tools and resources I was introduced to, but for the amount of work I had to put on every single assignment. I have noticed that homework that used to take me forever to finish, I’ve been able to complete without even realizing I was done. These are just some of the benefits that I received from taking this class. I am sure I will discover more as time goes b, and as I take other courses, or apply for a different job, or a different organization.

Technology and Instructional Delivery

Technology is around us everywhere we go nowadays. It was just a matter of time until computer surrounded us. ATM machines, online payments, new technologies for the use of law enforcement agencies, just to mention a few of the uses of technology in our daily lives. Internet has had a great impact on our routines, until the point in which many of our regular communication tools would not be working without it. Education is an area in which technology should be applied regardless of the age of the students and the subjects. Teachers have access to countless online resources for lesson planning, teaching material, job placement, and continuing their professional education. Today’s society is one in which we depend on time. Everything should be done the fastest and more efficient way, and internet has facilitated our lives in that matter. We use the internet all the time, to pay for bills, check the status of any kind of application, for a job, bank account statements, etc, for communication purposes such as keep in contact with people in different cities, and countries, and also for fun. Internet is an unlimited source of resources which if used properly, can take us everywhere. Internet is used also for distance education. As said before, in our society time is money, and if there is a way in which we can complete several tasks at the same time, is with the internet. There is no need now to travel long distances, or to move to a different city in order to attend a class or a specific university. Of course internet does not replace the feeling of being in a different place, but it makes it possible to live in Miami, and virtually attend a university in Canada, or Israel, or New York. Internet makes our lives easier, needless to say; and when applied to the area or education, the benefits are endless. Teachers have access to programs to grade assignments in an easier and more efficient way; provide feedback to the students, and even fellow colleagues, there are blogs for teachers to share information about the subjects, projects, and many different ways in which a topic can be approached to be taught. They also have access to virtual conferences, that are not restricted to the educational field, but are a great way in which people communicate without moving from home or workplace, and they still get the information needed. Education and technology go hand on hand. We need the technology to deal with present issues, and education provide us the tools to work with the technology we need, not to stayed with the same knowledge, but to go beyond ourselves.