Montgomery's Reflection

Sharlene Montgomery's Reflection on the ESL Tech Class
I have truly enjoyed this class because I feel like I am walking away with new knowledge that I can use now--and continue to explore.

Website: I started my website awhile ago when I realized we had them through our U46 accounts. I admittedly allowed it to go to the wayside as other things pulled my attention. I am glad that this class gave me the opportunity to revisit my website and make it a useful tool for my teachers. So often I send out resources, and those links/articles/pieces of information are lost. Having my website be a warehouse for this information will come in handy. I have also added a link to my website in my email signature line. In doing so, my teachers will have quick, easy access to the resources I have provided. I am hoping that this saves on time and confusion.

Twitter: Twitter is a great resource for making the classroom more global. I have been using Twitter for about a year now--as an educator. This resource has given me real-time, personal access to writers, educators, and other resources. Through Twitter, I have found several authors who are interested in participating in our school's Writers Week.

Photostory: I enjoyed creating this project (for personal reasons because I made a cute show about family memories). The really useful part came from meeting with a small group and sharing our stories, because we started talking and processing ways that we could use Photostory. Some of our ideas: archive student work for use as models for future students, a highlights reel for Open House/conferences/etc, a photo portfolio for students to track their work throughout a unit/semester/year, a photo portfolio for teachers to share at their summative evaluation, etc.

Interactive Game: I enjoyed doing this because it gave me the opportunity to create a Google version of the PowerPoint Jeopardy game template. I am trying to persuade my teachers to use Google apps more, and giving them some of these easy to use, editable templates will make that transition easier. I also created a how-to presentation for using PollEverywhere, which I can easily share with my teachers.