During the past two semesters that I have been in the Instructional Technology Labs, I have learned an incredible amount of technology skills and programs that I can use in my future classroom. However, this lab was definitely the longest and the most difficult to finish, but I am so glad I learned what I did the rest of the semester otherwise I would not have been able to complete it!

For this final lab, I revisited some of the programs and skills that I’ve mastered during this course some of which are Excel, PowerPoint, Inspiration, and Google Docs. Inspiration has to have been my favorite program that we have used this semester! Although I sound like a nerd, there are just so many possibilities and reasons to use it. I love inspiration and I will DEFINITELY use it not only as a teacher, but also right now as I continue my college career. Anyway, this lab was a very beneficial one because it allowed me to combine all that I have learned to do and apply it to a real life teaching experience-making a unit.

I created a second grade social studies unit because I would love to teach first or second grade, and I love history/social studies and hope to teach it in the future! I created a lesson plan that would include a way to use technology in my class through simple PowerPoint presentations on national monuments. I made a pre and post test to assess my students’ progress in this unit. I also made an excel spreadsheet to monitor their progress all together. Also, I was given TEKS to base my unit around. The TEKS were about national monuments and landmarks as well as national holidays. I used these TEKS as a guide as I chose how to focus my assignments.

While this class was a difficult one to juggle with all of my other classes (and during my most academically busy semester) I actually learned so much that I will need to apply to my future classroom and my future endeavors as a teacher using technology in her lessons.