Hello, and welcome to my blog! My name is Kristen, and I am a student at the University of Tennessee - Knoxville in the Teacher Education program. I will be licensed to teach English in Secondary Education (7-12th grades). I can't wait to begin my career as a teacher! Helping others has always been a passion of mine, and that includes helping others better understand English/Language Arts. I want to help my future students realize their potential to its fullest, and I want to make a difference in their lives in doing so.
Most of my current coursework revolves around ways I can be a better resource for my students, and one of the most sophisticated ways I can do that is by using technology in my classroom. Technology can provide additional learning tools, teaching methods, classroom activities, and communication opportunities that schools and teachers really didn't have much access to in the not-so-distant past. It's so exciting to learn how to use new technology and how to apply it to an educational setting.
This blog will serve as a reflection site for the new things I'm learning on how to use technology in the classroom. It will be directly related to my TPTE486 (Integrating Technology in the Classroom). My expectations for this course are high since I am aware of how much more schools are relying on technology nowadays than what they were even when I was in elementary, middle, and high schools. I expect that at the conclusion of this course I will have a mastery of the web tools and equipment that are being used in the classrooms so that I will be able to guide my students in their own discoveries of how technology can be used for so much more than updating their statuses on Facebook and posting pictures of their lunch on Instagram. While those sites are an excellent way to socialize and share ideas and thoughts on the Internet, I want my students to find out that there are ways to further their educational experience with other technological, user-friendly sources-- just as I am currently finding out!
That being said, I hope you enjoy my blog and find it informative.
Keep on Clicking!
-Kristen
