The lesson where I found the most success/impact integrating technology this year was during my World Literature course. We used a mic and an audio-recording program downloaded from the web to record our thoughts (indvidual students) on what it means to be an American and how we see the world. It was successful in a couple of ways. First, it was successful in that I got the process to work! That’s a big deal for me. Secondly, we used the recordings to make a group powerpoint slideshow with images to conceptualize “What it means to be an American” –it was interesting. The kids were nervous about recording their voices into the microphone, but they did, and it turned out fairly well. Next time, I would have a better microphone. This was a plug in one from home and it is pretty old. Next time I would also try making the powerpoint more engaging. My skills in the program are pretty basic, so I’m not sure what else I can do. I’ll need to learn.

Over the course of this year, my plan is to keep learning the smartboard and its applications in my classroom. That is a big challenge. My brain seems to freeze up when I have to remember the process to make something work like I saw in class. Practice, I suppose, will help with the brain freeze thing.

-Cheryl Gustafson