Technology Course Learning Experience 3 Reflection

This was an extremely interesting learning experience for my in the technology course because it focused on one of the main reasons why I took this course and this was how I could utilize my knowledge of technology and support my staff in their development of their personal use of technology and also how they can incorporate it into their own classroom.

An indirect lesson I learned was that although I have my own vision of what I would hope technology looks like in my school, and although I have the opportunity to implement it in my role - it is extremely apparent that I first need to look at the needs of my staff and receive their input. Without their support and an interest on their part, our school could provide all the technology we wanted but it would never get used (or at least to its full potential). An interesting way to get staff involved in the process and also getting them using a bit of technology is to use Google Forms to create your survey. The actual setting up of the survey was quite easy, in fact you can copy and paste items in an Excel spreadsheet write into the form if you had multiple answers you wanted inputted. 

Another thing I took away from this section of my course was that it is important to be transparent about your goals and visions for the technology in the school (assuming you have are in a position to impact your school in this way). I think that much like receiving input from staff, other teachers will be more receptive when they know what to expect and why you are progressing on this path. At the end of the day, it's not so much about teaching the teacher's about technology as it is how much their knowledge of technology will impact their students. We need to remember that the students should be the priority and that our ultimate goal is to help them to be successful members of society (or at least this is my ultimate goal). 

There have been some great resources that I was able to take away from some of my classmates. One that was focused heavily on was the Google Drive. It is Google's suite of products that is making a run at competing against Microsoft Office. It has matching programs in functionality such as Google Docs, Spreadsheet, and Slides. A major difference however is that Google Drive is built on the Internet. What this means is that as long as you are connected to the Internet, you can access Google Drive. If you can access Google Drive, then you can access your Google Doc. This means not more having to save your file on a USB key and bringing that around. Another extremely function and what sets it apart from Microsoft Office is that you have the ability to collaborate with others, simultaneously. You are able to share a Google Doc with a colleague and the both of you can be on the Doc at the same time. In fact, your whole company can be on it at the same time brainstorming ideas for the next latest and greatest invention! This translates to a world of opportunities in the classroom! 

The thing with technology is that it is here to stay. Yes, the programs might change and continue to evolve but it is our job as teachers to help students utilize the technology available to them. Helping them understand that change is imminent and to keep an open mind and roll with the punches!