From+The+Heart

Dr. Stocker~ I have finished my Wiki!!!! What a semester this has been; can't say I am going to miss this one. I learned a lot about myself while I was creating this Wiki, but the thing that stands out the most is that I am not a good online learner. I really felt like I struggled with the "how to" portion of this class, which hindered my creative side. As a future teacher, however, I learned that I am totally motivated to make sure I am using technology in my classroom. The stuff we learned in this class was really quite cool, and I think all of my "new tools" will make learning more meaningful for my future students. What I am most proud of as a result of my creations is the fact that my passion for my students shines through on this website. While I was cleaning up the pages I went through and watched all of my videos and listened to my podcasts, and what I heard over and over is that I want the best for my students. Next time I write a technology unit I will pay closer attention to the end result; I felt like I compiled all of my individual assigments on this page without considering the flow of the entire page. Honestly, the fact that I took this class online made me conqure my fears of using technology in the future. I am pretty sure I can figure out most of what I will need to use technology in my future classroom. The obsticale I fear the most, as a teacher, is the varrying degree of abilities that I will face as a special education teacher. I will never have the benefit of finding a one size fits all appraoch to teaching to the population of students I will be working with. I am intrigued to see how I can use technology to make the lives of my students easier. If I can give a child without a voice a way of communicating with technology, than I will feel like I have changed a life. Concentrating on what my students can do rather than what they can't is how I plan to make a difference. If my students are able to live slightly more independently because of something I did, I will feel like I am worthy of calling myself a teacher. I am not sure why I am "intrigued" by teaching, but I guess I will credit my brother for sparking something inside of me that I just can't ignore. He has boken through every preconcieved notion everyone, including doctors, has had about his abilities. He makes everyone around him better, and I am so glad he is my brother. I will be a 21st century teacher because I have seen first hand what that means for the disabled population. It means giving a voice to voiceless and an outlet for everything they have in their brains, but can't physically share with world. Thank you for your support throughout this semester! ~Colleen Roque