Emily Brown Post-Reflection for Chapter 14: Using Computer Technologies in Teaching I honestly could not have asked for a better group for this assignment. My teammates, Drew, Jen and Yana and I worked so well together! We are all easy going people and I think that our positive and encouraging attitudes meshed well together. We met a few weeks before the presentation. Our first group meeting was successful. We all voiced our ideas about what we got out of reading the chapter. We agreed the text is dated, and quite vague. Drew and I have taken EDIT, and Yana and Jen were both very thankful of our technology knowledge. I feel this chapter was the vaguest becauseit is the most outdated. The group liked my idea of making a Prezi; not only is it computer technology related, but all of us could accessit with one login and password. Together, the group divided the chapter into equal parts and we correlated our ideas together for the activities and homework assignment. The lesson plan was developed with everyone’s input and ideas. Becausethere was a lack of knowledge on how to use Prezi, Yana and Jen e-mailed me their slide information and I incorporated it into the Prezi. After school for 3 nights in a row, Yana and I worked in the library from 6 to 10pm. We tweaked final touched for the lesson plan and researched for videos, photos and information. Becausethe topic is so broad, we really tried to choose matter that was teaching related. Jen and Drew worked more on the Kooshball game with SmartBoard technologies. We all worked hard, as a team, and helped equally. Even after ‘division’ of topics, we all contributed and took constructive criticism well. No one took criticism personally. There was never any tension and overall the assignment was pleasant. Our lesson plan was organized and well planned out. I love the fact that we had to hand it in before our presentation. Not only did it allow Julia to seeif we were on the right track, but it solidified what we were teaching and was effective for being prepared overall. The presentation was effective for our viewers and for the team. With the time we used, and the work we did, the team is pleased with our overall accomplishments. Yes glitches were not planned, but with plan B’s and knowing our material, I would have been happy just to teach had we lost all power. We knew what our objectives were, got to the point and did the best we could have. I am happy with the effort I put into this assignment. I am pleased with the work all of my teammates put in, and how well everyone’s input and insights developed this assignment. I achieved what I set out to accomplish from this project. For me, this assignment was not just about the end result of a grade on a paper. I helped people learn about information that applies to our careers; I find this topic is important. I felt like we had tons of time to get this assignment going. Having over a month was plenty. By the time we actually got started we had less than 2 weeks. I felt excited at first, about all the ideas circulating around. In the middle, I was content with the progress of what we had so far. Nearing the end, I knew we would really need to pull it together and fast, hence the long and late nights in the library. To be honest, the day of our presentation could not have come soon
enough. I generally do not have anxiety but I did have weird dreams about the entire presentation going wrong. During the presentation, I felt comfortable. I feel like I got my point across as I controlled the little nervousnessin my stomach. I understand that this should be second nature eventually, as teaches speak in front of a classfor the remainder of their careers. I have developed a liking to public speaking. After our class presentation, I felt a little unsure. With our technical difficulties and broken up presentation, I had hoped it would have finished smoother. Overall, I am very pleased with the team’s and my hard work and effort for this assignment. I feel pleased becausehard work pays off. I also felt very relieved when it was all done. This was a very long and time consuming week. The collaborative presentation’s strengths included; clear and realistic objectives, smooth transitions, short and to the point input, many class interactive activities from demonstrations to Rally Robins, to debates. We all spoke fairly clear and loud. We enjoyed ourselves! Cracking jokes and using personal experiences and insights brought reality to the subject of computer technology in teaching. Weaknessesof the presentation include; technology related glitches, the SmartBoard not turning on, and incorrectly stating the meaning of ICT. In my defence, after the mix up, perhaps that will enforce the correct meaning of ICT. My individual strengths include; clear, strong voice, good posture, pleasant and professional attitude, listening to what people have to say and having some sort of feedback and getting student’s attention. I lacked a bit in eye contact during presentation. I would keep the presentation relatively the same. Perhaps without the technical glitches, but they enforced cons of computer technology in teaching. I enjoyed the work, what I learned, my teammates and the presentation more than I expected. Overall I would do it all again happily the way we did it!