My final reflection on this course is that I’m really glad that I took this course. I learned so much in this class and if it wasn’t for the help of Dr. Rivera, I would have never have been able to complete all of the requirements that were asked of me in this course. My classmates were helpful too. Dr. Rivera had shown us many different strategies and techniques along the way and tried to simplify our work load to make it comfortable for us to be able to complete our tasks. She made me feel confident in getting my assignments in and not feeling like I didn’t know what I was doing. I would recommend this course to be taken by all educators. All the technology that we had learned will be beneficial in our classrooms. We don’t have internet access in our school at this time but hopefully we will have access soon. I will be able to use what I have learned in this course in my classroom once internet is in place. Great course and great professor!
Friday, December 7, 2007
This was quite a semester. I was very confused at the beginning of the class but as I got towards the end, it wasn’t so bad after all. Dr. Rivera had taught me a lot in this course and I’m very grateful to her for walking me through this course every step of the way. She had taught me how to do a web quest which I would have never imagined doing. She showed me how to upload my assignments onto the live text. At first, I was very frustrated and didn’t think I could do it but as I mentioned earlier, she was with me every step of the way. Live text is very beneficial. You can create lesson plans, upload them onto the live text and use them in the classroom. This course, special topics in language and literacy had me search the web and be able to find much information on how to apply literacy in the classroom. I was able to find sites that I could create lesson to where I can use them in my classroom with my students. I’ve been able to find articles, lessons, comments by others, instructional technology ideas, and many other great uses for the live text. Once I have internet in my classroom, I will definitely use live text to create many of my lessons.
I must admit that trying to create a web quest was the most difficult task I had to do. Even the staff development assignment because I never had to do any of these things before. It’s a good feeling to see the finished product and I guess, once you get the hang of things, the next time will be easier. I’m glad that I have a friend whose experienced in doing a professional staff development, because she was able to show me how to create one and give me a few tips on what I should do to integrate this technology for my classroom.
I’m grateful to Dr. Rivera because now I will be able to link to the internet and apply practical uses by surfing the net to increase my student’s interest and academic skills. I will be able to meet literacy and educational technology goals for my students. My students will engage in higher order thinking and cooperative learning. My students will also be able to locate useful information on the Web and I can create a classroom environment which is conductive for learning. It’s great that the TESOL standards are included with live text, this way, you don’t have to go searching and downloading the net to get the standards that are required for teaching. Great course, and the greatest instructor I ever had. I’m hoping that Dr. Rivera will offer more classes that I need because I would definitely sign up to take her course. I can’t tell you how much I’ve learned by her instructions/teachings but I can say that if it wasn’t for Dr. Rivera’s assistance and one-to-one with me, I may have never made it through this course. Kudos to you, Dr. Rivera. You’re the best! Aloha, Maka
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
IMAGE SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA
Happy Holidays! It was a pleasure having all of you as students this semester. I'm happy that you've learned much, and that you'll be able to apply what you've learned with ELLs. I wish you all the best in your teaching endeavors, and feel free to contact me anytime.
Warmest Regards,
Dr. Rivera
