Reflections on CJP TTF

I am so glad that I decided to take this class.  I have always loved developing curricula and thought that I was utilizing technology fairly well.  Before this class, I believed that using technology in the classroom meant letting the kids use laptops to do research and/or use some type of media that they were familiar with.  I also felt that I used technology to develop my curricula but that pretty much refers to googling a topic and seeing what I could find!

Since this class, the primary ideas I have taken away have to do with bringing the world to my classroom, letting the students lead me at times, and not being afraid to try new things.  I hope that in bringing the world to my classroom, I will be keeping the teachings of Judaism relevant to the children in new and exciting formats.  I also hope to allow the students to show me tools that they are familiar with.  I see there being two main benefits to this, giving the child a sense of self esteem that I trust them and want to learn from them as well as learning about new technologies in each classroom!  The part that will be most challenging is not being afraid to try new things.  I get anxious about using technology for big programs as I worry about it not working or my not using it correctly.  I think I can get past this by always having a back up plan in place.

I think that due to this class, my teaching will become more exciting and more fresh for both the students and myself.  I also hope to teach the other educators in my synagogue how to bring technology to their curriculum.

I am really hoping to use at least two tools that I learned about in this class in each grade that I teach.  I have already planned a 5th grade webquest and am working on formulating more ideas over the summer.