Portfolio: An Introduction
It is an exciting time to be in education. New technologies, often used to create a high level of engagement and sometimes used to create greater efficiencies, are reshaping the classroom. There are many creative possibilities.
A Tour
What follows is a selection of technology tools I have used in the classroom. The purposes of educational technology is to provide support for good instruction (not, necessarily, to become the instruction). This portfolio is not a demonstration of my class instruction, which is guided by curriculum. Rather, it is a demonstration of how such tools have assisted certain needs.
A Demonstration of Strengths
As a technology integration specialist, I offer the expertise in training fellow teachers on the uses of new technology. My years of teaching in the classroom has given me the experience in understanding how students react and use new technologies.
Many districts balance the desire for technology tools (software or hardware) and budget constraints. Philosophically, I'm committed to the use of open source software in the educational setting. The benefits of open source are two fold:
1) Open source is considerably cheaper that proprietary software.
2) Open source allows students to creatively understand how programming works
For example, say a school desires to have a learning management system. They might choose Blackboard, a proprietary system that might cost the district tens of thousands of dollars. Or they might decide to go with Moodle, a program that costs nothing to use (although some money will be spent on server space).
My intent is for this portfolio to demonstrate a knowledge on the various programs available for education, their cost benefits, and the training involved.