Reflection

Before receiving this assignment, I had never been exposed to blogs.  Of course I had heard of “blogging”, but my computer use was limited to sending and receiving emails, updating my Facebook page, shopping, and completing homework assignments. 

At the start of the assignment, I was thinking, “There is no way I will have time for this!” but, my feelings about my blog, which is located at http://danabrooks0777.blogspot.com/ ,  changed as I progressed through my first year of teaching.  My blog has become my confidante to whom I tell random happenings from my classroom.  My blog has become my way of reflecting on my days in the classroom and the way that I feel through my experiences.  My blog has become a tool that I use to share my thoughts, whether good or bad, and the growing pride that I have for my classroom and my students; I am proud to post what I have been teaching and what they have been learning.

I realized, once I got into my own classroom, how much emphasis is placed on writing curriculum.  Next semester, each student at Tilles Elementary School will have a mini-laptop computer assigned to them.  My intention is to allow my students the opportunity to create their own blogs and to use them as a means of journaling their classroom experiences and their feelings about those experiences.  I, too, will create a new blog that my students can follow. 

Although I have found blogging useful, I, unfortunately, have not had time to follow other MAT student’s blogs.  Between lesson plans, grading papers, and my own homework assignments, there is little time left to remark on other blogs. 

It amazes me how much technology has changed the classroom.  Students today have limitless knowledge available to them through the internet.  Now, because of tools like blogs, the classroom can become more environmentally friendly.  Today’s students are fortunate.