Reflection #2

Videos:
My impression of the videos we watched for this week were that they were both engaging. I thought that they would be a good tool to use with students because they would grab the students' attention. Even though students (especially high school students) might think videos like these are silly, they help them remember the things they teach better. Also, using videos like this can be beneficial for students who have different learning styles. It also varies the way information is presented, so it may stay in their memory better.

The tools we learned to use this week would be beneficial for students in collaborative projects. Google docs, which I hadn't used before, is a great tool for collaborative projects. Teaching students to work well together using technology would benefit them in improving their technological skills, as well as their interaction skills.

The cons of using google docs too much in collaboration of students could be that it would eliminate the need for face to face cooperation and collaboration. Students who are still learning the skill of cooperation might be harmed rather than helped by the over-use of google doc collaboration.

Also, google docs would be a great tool for teacher colleagues to collaborate as well. Lesson plans could be exchanged, or compiled together without the inconvenience of finding a time to meet together.

The use of Google Calendar would be very beneficial to students and to parents as well. If a classroom schedule were updated and posted weekly, parents would know what their students were supposed to be working on, and students would be able to answer their own questions about the schedule by just going online from home.

The use of these tools would help me achieve my classroom goals by helping my teach my students to be well-rounded and technologically fluent people. I believe that knowing how to use technology to the fullest is essential for success in the world today.