Wrapping up and such

So the class is coming to an end, and I think I've had some success in it. It is always good to hone skills that will be useful and necessary in the classroom, and I have certainly done that, with the group projects, power points, and the website. The class helped me improve in some areas, such as using and presenting power points. Observing the power points of others and getting feedback on my own was instrumental in evaluating what power points should be used for. Group work was also very beneficial for me, especially when not working in person. It will be helpful to know how to do this, as projects and correspondence with other teachers will not always be in person.

Lesson Plan

So I did my lesson plan for the class, and I think it went rather well. My technology (a glorified calculator) was a perfect tool for what I wanted the class to do. However, I feel that I should have prepared an example of what I wanted for the class to do. This was my biggest mistake, but that is why I am doing it in class now... to find out what mistakes to avoid when I am teaching a real classroom.

Anyway, the lesson plan's technology is essentially a calculator programmed with equations. Instead of doing all the math to plan methods of saving, the students used this tool, which is realistic of real life. In a career no one will be doing equations by hand. These tools exist for a reason. In a math class, this would obviously be different, as the point there is HOW to learn and why things work the way they do, but for economics, I feel that the point is that they do work (at least as far as math goes). Economically specific math equations I will obviously teach so that students can understand how the system works.

Lesson plans and such

I feel like I'm getting a lot out of the lesson plan assignment. Really, it's not just doing one, it's reading everyone else's as well. It is interesting to see all the different ideas that people have concerning using technology as part of a lesson, many of which I would have never thought of myself. However, I feel that the core of using technology in a classroom should be learning to use that technology in an effective way, especially if it is relevant to college education or living independently.