I have always realized the importance of technology, and the role it plays and will continue to play in our society. In high school I became proficient with PC machines and windows software such as word and excel. Throughout high school it was essential that I gained an understanding of this software as I held a part-time administrative assistant position that required high level computer skills. Through this course I have taken the time to work and become familiar with the Mac computers here in the educational lab. Although, much of the software is foreign to me, I am confident that the information given to me throughout this course, has laid a firm foundation for me to learn more about Apple computers and software. I have also learned through this course that I tended to do many things the "long way" and learned many quick and easy shortcuts that will help me to save time in the future. I have always considered myself to be a quick learner with computers, however I have not always enjoyed taking the time to learn new things and investigate for myself.  Thus, I am pleased the website I developed using Go Live, teaching myself much of the program or asking for assistance when needed.

As a result of the course I became a member of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). Through my membership I receive monthly magazine issues of Learning and Leading with Technology, a publication that gives educators thorough and useful information on current technological issues. In September of 2006, I attended the Oregon Technology in Education Network (OTEN) conference held on the Pacific University campus. I learned a great deal about using technology in the classroom, and look forward to applying such things as digital stories, movies and more to my own classroom. I would be interested in attending this conference in the future, as it will be pertinent to stay up on the latest technological changes.

I believe my webquest gave my 6th grade students a developmentally appropriate learning opportunity through the use of technology. With this lesson the students were able to take on a make believe role and research Ancient Mesopotamia on the school's laptop computers. Many of the students had not ever used the laptops, and therefore were excited to be able to try something new. Prior to teaching this lesson I had to inquire with my mentor teacher about the resources available to me to teach the webquest. In my research I found that every four classrooms possesses a focus projector and notebook, therefore I would be able to introduce the webquest to the whole class. Also, at the time of this lesson the computer lab was unlivable due to TESA testing, but through my research of the schools resources I learned that they had a number of laptops that would enable my class to work on the webquest in partners in our own classroom. The students were also excited to access my website and show their parents their finished projects.

Through a technological learning environment and experiences, students will be able to make a better connection to instructed material by being given learning opportunities that are more authentic and diverse. When I become employed I will need to ask questions and inquire with the staff and technology liaison on the resources that will be available to me and my classroom through the school. If necessary, I may need to do a district wide search or check with the local educational service district on available resources.

I was excited my mentor teacher allowed me to design and use a course project (my webquest) for a social studies unit in her classroom. I received a lot of positive feedback from her in regard to the lesson, and in fact she is interested in using it with her future classes! It was nice to have my first lesson with my 6th grade students involve something as interesting as the the use of technology. For some students it was a challenge to research and find the specific details the questionnaire worksheet asked for. However, working in peers allowed for them to collaborate and work together in their search. They were eager to complete the assignment, working diligently to stay on task and were very attentive to my instructions.

Through actually implementing my webquest in my student teaching placement, I was able to observe how students handle the use of technology. I realized it will be essential to monitor and manage my classroom so that students are being safe, responsible and respectful of the expensive equipment. Although using technology can be a fun and creative way for students to learn, they need to realize that it is a privilege and an expense to have those resources available to them.

During this course we learned how to create an effective rubric to assess and evaluate our students learning. For my webquest on Ancient Mesoptamia, I created a rubric that expressed my expectations of my students research and final project. This rubric was shared with them and was easily accessible to them through the student page of the webquest. I generated my rubric to evaluate the four important areas of my webquest: 1) Encyclopedia Article Content, 2) Encyclopedia Article Mechanics, 3) Cooperative Partner Work, and 4) Research Through Computer Use. The rubric is also located on the webquest's Teacher's Page.

Through my Project TEAM assignment in this course, I was able to evaluate myself instructing an expressive arts lesson in my 1st/2nd grade student teaching placement. This was a fun and interesting way for me to use technology to analyze my own personal instruction, and reflect on my personal strengths and weaknesses. Editing this movie was the greatest challenge for me in this course, but with perseverance I completed the project. Through the completion of this Project TEAM video I learned that technology can play an important role in analyzing data and interpreting results not only students, but teachers as well.

Through this course I have gained a wealth of knowledge on creating and maintaining a website. I feel a classroom website would be a great opportunity to communicate and collaborate with my students' parents, and with the local community. A classroom website would allow me to post what is happening in my classroom, fun links for students, helpful links for parents and to publicly show my students' work. In today's fast paced society, technologically plays a huge role in communication. Many parents can be reached via e-mail and an electronic newsletter emailed to them may be an efficient way to communicate the latest classroom news. The brochure my group created in this course for our Learning Communities Classroom Management presentation, is a demonstration of my skills in creating a document that applies the use of technology to inform peers and a larger community. Recently, I have created a blog to communicate with my friends and family in keeping them up to date with my life throughout the duration of this program. I feel a blog would be a helpful tool in communicating with parents on the daily events of my classroom. It is also possible to set up a blog for the classroom, allowing students the opportunity to post questions, comments, and or ideas about assignments.

I plan to continue to my membership with ISTE so that I am informed on the latest issues in the world of technology, and do my part in educating my students on the skills they will need to be technologically proficient.

In designing my webquest I made sure to reference and give credit to those websites used by my students for their research. I also cited the Mesopotamia clipart that I used from on an online resource. I believe that as technological resources become more prominent in our schools, it will be necessary for teachers to emphasize the importance of "giving their sources credit" when needed, and putting the information into their own words. Upper elementary teachers should take the time to check the sources their students have cited so ensure they are not plagiarizing the work of others, and giving proper credit when required. Taking the time to do this will only help the students for research in later grades. Proper references are also cited on my group's Learning Communities First Days of School brochure to show where we received our information provided in the document.

Students should be given access to technology resources as much as possible. Using the classroom computer as a free choice or center activity, can help those become familiar with technology who may not have access at home. Although many schools have very strong filters on their network systems, teachers and students should have a discussion on appropriate computer use. A poster with fun and interesting websites can be posted near the computer center on sites that are particularly diverse and educational for students.