Weekly Reflection #8

For my final weekly reflection post I wanted to reflect on this course as a whole. In this course I learned different technological resources that can aid me in my future teaching practice.

Before this course I was honestly scared of AI and avoided using it at all costs. My professor, Randy LaBonte, demonstrated to us all semester how useful AI can be in teaching. Programs that we explored such as MagicSchoolAI are useful tools for creating lessons and generating activity ideas that align with the curriculum. Although I have become more comfortable with using AI I will make sure that I am always using AI critically and allowing myself to critically think and generate my own ideas. I believe that our main role as teachers is to help and encourage students to become positive and active members of our society which starts with teaching children how to think critically for themselves.

In this course we also learned about some local online resources! Since I have already done posts outlining these resources I won’t go into great detail but my favourite overall is definitely Live It Earth. In a recent conversation with a teacher that I have volunteered for in the past I recommend Live It Earth. She showed her 2/3 class one of the videos on local wildlife and they LOVED it! It is for sure a resource that I will use again and again.

On top of that, this semester we learned how to create a website. I had previously created my own WordPress site for another EDCI class but in that class I did not have many opportunities to explore all the features that WordPress has to offer. I learned that having a website as a teacher is a very useful tool. It allows for the opportunity for students and parents to be able to access additional lessons, materials, and to keep on top of their work.

Overall I have learned lots and am excited to incorporate tech into my future classrooms!