Educational Philosophy SWOT Analysis

My Greatest AHA Moments

My greatest Aha moment was when I realized that as a new teacher I am doing “It” right. I didn’t know what “It” was until I took this class and found out that “It” is being an Informator. I also realize that because of the many requests I have made this semester, not only am I an Informator but administrators for my district are becoming Informators, too.

The second Aha moment came when my Technology Director installed Jing on my student’s computers.  We all got together and made her a huge Thank You card for Valentine’s Day and all my students signed it.  All year she has been opening up our world, piece by piece.  Now I won’t be the only Podcaster in the room.  I have students that will be creating How-To Videos for actual class lessons on technology that they are proficient with but that I don’t actually teach to the class. 

Because of the new technology I have been using in your class, at school we now have both a class Wiki and a class Blog. We also have mind mapping software installed on several computers. Little did I know that every time I requested something new, the Principal sent her to a workshop on it to make sure it was safe for the students to use and that she could troubleshoot the program.  When she received her card she said “NO”, I should be thanking you, “I have more knowledge now of what is out there and we are doing exactly what our students need.”  She complimented me for finding Freeware that could easily be installed on the network.  She is excited about next year’s in-service training because she has so much to show the other teachers.

My third Aha moment was the realization that my current Educational Technology Philosophy is very much in line with my classroom’s final results.  The overall good feeling that comes over you so few times in a lifetime has washed over me many times this semester. I wondered last year if I was using too much technology in my classes.  But because not very many of the other teachers are, I think my class gives the high school a nice balance.  If all the teachers were using it like I am, than yes, maybe it would get to be too much.

My final Aha moment came as I was updating my e-Portfolio on Google sites.  I have all of my students create an e-Portfolio each year using PowerPoint.  I didn’t know Google sites was out there.  The problem I have is when I have the students do one as freshmen in Business Information Management (BIM); and then they have me next year in Digital Interactive Media (DIM); and then the next year, they have me in Animation or Accounting, I get the “we’ve already done that” scenario. I tell them that this then will be a great opportunity to update it and to expect to do it again next year, so always save it on a Flash Drive.  This year, I have my DIM students creating theirs in Dreamweaver and now with Google Sites I can have my Animation and Accounting classes do theirs online.  This will give all my students a different technological experience to take with them when they graduate. 

As for me, I took away a great resource in Delicious.  I had been having trouble keeping my favorites at school and at home in sync.  It always seemed like I needed one when I was sitting at the other.  Overall, I have become more organized this semester and with that comes a feeling of being a more efficient and effective teacher.  Thank You!