Each student reacts differently when presented by a learning experience. It is always interesting to see the reactions of my students at the beginning of the term. Some passively received the information on what to do and then proceed to complete the assignment. Others asked questions to clarify expectations of a successful completion. More so when presented with a technology experience -- the reactions range from exhilirating to overwhelming.

It seems part of the reason for these wide range of reactions is influenced by managing one's available time and covering required content. Excerpts from students' end-of-term reflections about these reactions are shared below.

Going into this class, I realized it was going to be a heavy load from the get-go; yet I didn’t realize to what extent.  Taking the course has allowed me to grow in many ways allowing me to feel more confident with using technology and also enabling me to grow as a learner.  So many aspects throughout the class, including many of the assignments, have impacted my thinking, learning and teaching in a positive manner. (Fall 2006)

When first walking into EME 2040 I knew that I was going to be overwhelmed. I wasn’t looking forward to the class and didn’t want to have all of the projects and assignments that would come along with it. However, when looking back on each assignment and the values I learned from them as well as the course as a whole I see how beneficial it was to me. (Fall 2006)

As an educator involved in preparing tomorrow's teachers, I want to know how my teaching is impacting my students' knowledge, skills and attitudes towards using and integrating techology in the classroom. In completing technology-based assignments, I provided assessment checklist to help students in finalizing their work.

For several semesters now, I also require students to reflect on their course experiences, in Introduction to Computers in Education, in writing through a retrospective paper. Below are excerpts from these papers containing indicators of students' growth and development at the end of the term.

Digital storytelling is an instructional strategy that allows students to use available tools of the computer and Internet, and morps it with words and narration, with the final outcome being an interesting multimedia mix of images and voice. Students create their digital stories as digital movies using Moviemaker, a software application program by Microsoft.

About 3 years ago both of my husband’s parents died and his sisters had made each of the parents a DVD with pictures and music incorporated into a movie for their funeral. I was in awe of the two DVDs and made a vow to learn how to do that. Well because of this particular assignment, I was able to complete the task. I remember on the first day of class when Dr. Baylen said what we were going to be doing I was thrilled to have an opportunity to learn movie maker, however, that meant I was going to have to tell my story. My two boys are the greatest thing I have ever done, but I knew I would not be able to do them justice. Therefore, my bio was about an experience that made a huge impact on my life. As far as using it in the classroom, I never really thought of it that aspect, but I have already had some ideas about how I will incorporate it into my lesson plans and I can’t wait. One of the reasons I have always wanted to be a teacher is because so many of my teachers were bored and boring. I want to be anything but boring and a little bit of creativity and movie maker, boring is definitely not in the plan. (Fall 2006)

At first I faced a great deal of difficulty when trying to decide on which aspect of my life should I focus for the movie. After a few days of deep thinking and a few conversations with my mother, I decided to focus on the individuals who helped mold me into the person I have become. For had it not been for them, I would not be the strong young woman I am today. When I first learned I would be creating my very own movie, I was a bit apprehensive. My initial thoughts were “when will I ever use this in my first grade classroom?” However, after creating my movie I have found various uses for it, the main one being an introductory tool for introducing new material. (Fall 2006)

Using PowerPoint in this class only supported what an important role it can have when presenting. It is a great aid because it has cue words on the slide for the instructor and students. Like Movie Maker, PowerPoint can reach every type of learner because one can import graphics, sounds, clips from movies, animation, transitions etc. It can even be interactive by linking it to other slides with in the PowerPoint, to other PowerPoints, linking it to a quiz, someone’s email, or web sites. PowerPoint is also a great tool because a teacher can post it online for students who were unable to make the lecture. Another great feature is that it is easy to alter the slides. (Fall 2006)

The Power Point presentations helped me to realize what a useful tool PowerPoint can be not only as a teaching tool but also as learning device. Because I had to pretend like I was going to teach the material, I learned the content of the chapters a lot better. They say that teaching is the best way to learn. As a result I had to choose the information that I thought was important. I put myself in the place of the teacher and approached these assignments from a different standpoint than the other assignments. I feel that these presentations really helped me to learn the content of the chapters. It was also a great way to learn how to use the technology a little bit at a time.  In addition, I thought that the interactive quizzes were a great way to let students know whether or not they comprehended the information. I know that I will use PowerPoint in the classroom for presentations. As a result of doing all of these presentations, I am more comfortable with PowerPoint in general. I am actually looking forward to putting together PowerPoint presentations for my own classroom! (Fall 2006)