This weekend I had the opportunity to present at the LOTS Conference on campus. LOTS stands for the Life Of The Scholar. This is an annual, multidisciplinary conference designed to showcase the research and work of GWU undergraduate and graduate students.
My team and I represented the School of Education by presenting on integrating technology and literacy into 21st Century classrooms. Sound kind of familiar? Without this class we would have been stumped with how to tackle this subject. We probably would have deferred back to YouTube and the SmartBoard, but with so many technology tools being used and discussed in Social Studies, we had a strong foundation to take this topic and run with it when preparing our presentation.
Our professor/mentor for this presentation suggested discussing the importance of literacy integration, but with so much knowledge of the importance of technology we felt that must be included as well. "How can we tie these two together?" we asked ourselves. And then we realized some of the tools that we have discussed in Social Studies this semester tie in with literacy and can be used to strengthen content taught in another subject area.
It was a neat experience to be able to share and almost brag on how much we have learned this semester. I definitely would not consider myself an expert on technology in the classroom, but I can tell that I have grown a great deal in that area this semester. If you had of told me last semester that I would give a presentation on integrating technology and literacy in the 21st Century classroom I probably would have laughed in your face or said "Not me!"
This makes me feel confident that I am setting myself up to be a teacher leader in the area of tech integration and also that I can integrate and utilize technology in my instruction. (NCTCS 1b and 4d).
Wow! Congratulations! I agree with you, we have learned so many wonderful things this semester. I am no expert in technology, but my confidence is growing every week. It is exciting when I am talking with current teachers and they mention technology that they use in the classroom, and I know exactly what they are talking about. This semester has provided so many useful tools that we can use in our future classrooms. Great post!
ReplyDeleteWow! How awesome is that?! I bet you all were so proud that you were able to apply what you have learned so much about by organizing it and then sharing it with your peers. I wish you had some pictures that you could share with us. But none the less I glad that you are gaining and taking away a lot form not only this class but other GWU classes. You are on your way to be a technology expert... Keep up the good work! Great post!
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