Blog Journal 10

• I can use surveys as a way to pre-test my students before I teach them the lessons. This way I know what the students already have learned and what they need to work on. This can even keep students anonymous so nobody is embarrassed by what they may or may not know. Also, using online surveys makes it so easy to look at the results and compare them to other classmates. This would be great to use in a 5th grade history class for example, because in the beginning of the year I can see how much they know about different parts of history, then I can simply give them the test again halfway through the year, and again at the end of the year to track their progress. It is also a great way for me as a teacher to keep track of my own teaching and making sure I am doing my job correctly.
• From reading my classmates blog posts, I learned a lot about different peoples perspectives. In school we are trained to only concentrate on ourself, and our own assignments, but it was very interesting to see how other people apply their skills and creativity into our assignments. I have also learned a lot about websites and tools that I have never heard of before and it has really opened my eyes.
• If I could learn any new technology-related skill I would want to learn how to incorporate my YouTube videos into the classroom. I don't have much experience on YouTube other than just watching videos that others have posted. So it would be a lot of fun to be able to "vlog" about my teaching experiences, or even use it as a way to review with my students and keep them involved.