PROLOGUE       

     To be honest, I had no idea what I was in for when I signed up for this course. On January 4, 2021, I took the opportunity to teach Geometry and Algebra in a high school (which I had wanted to do for quite some time) during the pandemic and the first day I was ready to give it up. I had experiences in teaching before but all the new technologies that I had to learn in a day to begin teaching next day was too much.  

     So when it came for me to select my first graduate course in 25 years, I saw the word "EdTech." 

I thought "this course should help me 

somewhat in preparing me to be 

a decent teacher in this day and age..." 

I was fortunate enough to get a chance to 

take this course but I just had no idea 

what I was in for. I used to think I was 

ready but now I think I really wasn't.

Lesson Planning

        I used to think that when you write a lesson plan you always start with TLW or TTW and simply state the lesson number or summarized objective of the lesson. I had seen plenty of lesson plans like these during the years of substitute teaching. I thought this was enough as long as the teacher had ideas of what to teach in his/her head. But now I think for a decent educator planning the lesson is not a simple task, but rather a task that is worth spending some time and putting in the effort. It is a crucial tool for successful classroom experience for the teacher as well as the students. 

            Using Bloom's Taxonomy and ABCD of learning objectives helped develop the lesson plans to have practical goal for my students. It was not simply that I was teaching the concept and that my students were going to learn, but rather that now I have a definite goal in to what degree of understanding for my students are to achieve. Learning that I could aim for understanding of 80~90% rather than 100%, which was impractical, was eye-opening for me.  I also now start with  clear objective, with the copy of Bloom's Taxonomy next to me, and try to come up with 

best instructional strategy using measurable verbs rather 

than just "teach, learn, or illustrate,"  my old go-to verbs. 

            Choosing the right Visual Thinking Routines was difficult at first. But now I utilize Think Pair Share weekly. I used to think that group work was hard to create but now I think it can be done easily with simple assignments and it encourages student participation. I also realized that See Think Wonder is what is practiced in classrooms all the time. I now also think that Visual Thinking Routines do not have to be elaborate and can 

be incorporated into lessons 

more readily. 

            Before taking this course I used to think that teachers only had to worry about State standard for the given subject that is provided by the Department of Education. But now I know that there are other standards such as ISTE Standards that every educator in this digital world needs to be aware of and follow. Having the new technologies may be beneficial to our students but that also opens up many issues. I know that analyzing these issues to provide safe and legal digital environment for the students are equally important as safe learning environment in our classrooms.

        The framework for 21st Century Learning was another unknown support system for the educator that I encountered in this course and I plan on incorporating it in my lesson plan to prepare my students to succeed in work and in life.

            Then I learned all about different assessment in the classroom. I used to think that assessment meant only the quizzes and tests but now I think a simple bell work in the beginning of the class can be a great assessment. With the help of technology such as Google Forms I can collect what percentage of students understood the previous lesson and view the data in the form of a chart. Also the assessment can be incorporated into the lesson videos such that students can demonstrate their knowledge with short questions embedded in the videos. The assessment tools, such as Formative, I now use 

in the classroom auto grades the quizzes and 

tests  which saves time for the educators. 

            I didn't think it was necessary to include actual procedure with the timeframe in my lesson plan. I used to think that was unnecessary but now I think it helps in planning your time so that you cover all the objectives with the given time. It may not need to be elaborate but having a timed plan helps stay on track. It also helps to see how 

much of the objective can be covered with 

practice so you can plan your lessons better.

Technology

        I was already using some Google productive tools and thought that I was pretty efficient. Now I think I had much to learn. Google Forms not only take daily attendance in my classroom, but also categorize what concept was best understood from previous day.  Google Doc is used for preparing the worksheet that can be shared and edited with other teachers. I used to think these productive tools were just for creating my own work but now I think it's a great tool to collaborate with others, to learn and share information without leaving your classroom, perfect for social distancing.

            I actually had no concept of Concept mapping, so I really didn't even used to think about it. But now I think it is a valuable tool to visualize the lesson plan in a diagram representation. I now create simpler concept map, simpler than the one I created for this course, and post it near my desk. I now know that the Concept Map can be created not just for one lesson, but for the whole 

chapter or unit, to have a plan the whole 

week or two with major concepts and 

terms.

            Video recordings such as WeVideo, Flipgrid, and screen recording on a iPad is a useful teaching tool. I used to think you had to have elaborate lesson videos but now I think short recording of lesson video on one concept is actually more effective. Shorter video lesson, accompanied by a worksheet can be useful to demonstrate a concept to students. It is creative way to teach remotely for those who are homebound. I also now think video recording assures that every class gets to hear the exact same lesson without missing a point or two. At first, it was odd to make the recording but once you get over the anxiety it was even fun. The editing tool helps construct almost perfect lesson that matches your objective. I enjoy creating PDF worksheet to show the examples on the screen as you record your lesson, which is perfect for math classes. 

            Out of many new technologies I encountered in this course, I especially enjoyed creating short animated video and visual storytelling. Being a novice animated video creator I spend way too long period of time at first but it was entertaining as well as educational. I used to think that one has to be very artistic to create animated videos but I now think that anyone can create animated videos. These videos in my classroom captured my students' short attention span and sparked interest in coming up with their own 

animated videos for a project. 

            Assistive Technology was another area that surprised me as I used to think these tools are always going to be too expensive for students to use. Of course there are costly tools such as a talking calculator, or MathTalk, but now I know that a free App such as OneNote that I was using on my phone to make a grocery shopping list can be used in the classroom as an assistive technology tool.  With many students that require additional support, researching for the right assistive technology tools would be beneficial, not just for those with disability but for every student.

            The Overall, I was excited to find that teaching with technology does not have to be elaborate or costly. Sharing a YouTube video on the objective can be considered technology. It is also exciting to find numerous technology tools that I can utilize in my classrooms that are available to everyone for free.