I used to think technology could not be used in every classroom in forms other than powerpoint and computer games.

I teach 4th grade math at a lower income school, so children don't really know how to use the computers all that well.

This class has shown me how to use many different tools. If I showed my students a comic strip or an animated cartoon I created to introduce lessons for them, I believe they would be much more engaged. In my experience students liek to see things that aren't in the textbook, and knowing that I took the trouble to make it for them would catch their attention too.

Students would also benefit from being able to create in the classroom. When you tell a child to pull out their notebook and write another paragraph it gets boring, and they just want to copy straight from the book. But when you tell them to create a cartoon or a storybook on their own about the information they learn, they are going to be more interested. This leads to more quality work.

I struggled tremendously with the technology assignments. I am not a creative person, and I felt very defeated after spending hours trying to perfect them, and still falling short. However, using the technology to create lesson plans was amazing. The concept mapping is something I could see myself using to plan out an entire math module of lessons, or to make the curriculum guide for science easier to read and follow. I can see myself using MindMup in my lesson planning next year.

The Visible Thinking routines are all things I can see myself using in my classroom next year. "Think Pair Share " is my favorite. It can be quick, and could be used anywhere in the lesson, which is perfect for my kids. They often need a moment to come back and discuss with a partner.

The lesson plan aspect of the class was extremely well laid out. I am new to using Google Docs, but I like how easy it is to use. The template was organized into parts that made the lesson plan flow easily. We are not required to make lesson plans for math, but doing this with the other math teacher would be a great way to work and edit together without having to both meet.

I struggled a lot with this class. I used to think technology was just a teacher teaching from a PowerPoint. But now I know there are countless ways to integrate technology into my teaching as well as into the activities and assignments for the children to make learning more interactive.