Where do I see myself in the near future.

Because technology has become such an integral part of society, it is necessary to integrate its use in the classroom and today, this can be done in many different ways . Today's technology can provide teachers and students with opportunities for teaching and learning that were impossible in the past. Computers and other devices like Ipads and smart phones are used today to communicate and collaborate with people across the world, widening our knowledge and point of view about everything. As teachers we have the responsibility of preparing our students to become independent learners and help them develop all the needed skills to become global students and be able to face the challenges of the 21st century. Educators should nowadays use technology in their classrooms not only to change the ways students access information, but also to teach them how to identify information that is useful and trustable, work effectively with others, and learn about the different types of media that can be used to present information.  Other advantages of the use of technology in the classroom is the ability to address  the different learning styles increasing the students´ potential. Using several types of technology i a lesson, can also help students understand better the concepts, and increase not only their their confidence, but their curiosity and motivation for a specific topic.

In my Science class, I teach a lesson about volcanoes and earthquakes, which is a topic in which my students in Mexico always show interest because they have experienced at least one in their short lives. Basically, the lesson is based in videos, books and a hands on activities to understand better the types of boundaries and how they can cause an earthquake. In this days, internet offers not only tons of information about earthquakes, tsunamis, and boundaries that are one click away, but also provides students with current and actual informations about where and when are earthquakes happening at the moment, interactive sites like EDUCADE where students can as the first step of the lesson,play with a puzzle of the tectonic plates, to understand better how plates move and where are the volcanoes and earthquakes generally located. In the second step, students will get into groups of 3 to 4 people.and have them play with the second level of the puzzling plates. Step 3. Have students go to Interactives: Dynamic Earth and using  the plate and boundaries map shown there, ask them to create their own plate map with the location of the plate boundaries, most important volcanoes, mid ocean ridges, and recent earthquakes. Step 3. Ask students to discuss within their groups they observations and conclusions about the location of volcanoes, plates, earthquakes and boundaries. Some questions that can serve as a guidance for this step are:

• What did you notice about the distribution of volcanoes?
• What did you noticed about earthquakes?
• Where are the majority of volcanoes and earthquakes located?
• What do you notice about the convergent boundaries and their locations?
• Why do you think that volcanoes and earthquakes emerge around this boundaries? Step 4. After the discussion. Have students research how do volcanoes form, how do earthquakes form? How are these processes different? How are they similar? Why do you think volcanoes formed in one area, but not earthquakes? To research, students can go to the following sources: USGS, Volcano Live, Curiosity Aroused, USGS Earthquakes, Earthquake facts and Scholastics. Step 5. Have students use the volcano simulator. Step 6. Present an overview of how volcanoes form and why earthquakes occur. Lead the discussion towards the structure of the Earth´s interior. Step 7. Have students tweet 5 most important fact they learned about volcanoes and five about earthquakes. Step 8. Complete a worksheet. Step 9. Have students choose one volcano located anywhere around the world and one earthquake that happened any time in history to research and make a presentation on. Choose a Prezzi, Glogster, Blog post or another way of your preference to present your findings. Students can highlight the following subject areas for volcanoes and earthquakes: For volcanoes: history of the volcano, type of volcano, location, last eruption, video. For earthquakes: Plates and faults involved, epicenter, social impact on countries, video.  Step 10. Have students present their work.

As I am about to finish my certification in technology by SUNY, I am excited about all the opportunities that this certification provides me with.  On the one hand, as a teacher the possibility to enrich each and every one of my lessons, motivating my students and facilitating their learning process is one thing that motivates me. As a math teacher, there are many times where I can feel the frustration of my students when they struggle and when they work hard to understand concepts and processes, and they fail. This failure very frequently traduces in low confidence and self esteem, and what worries me the most,is that his feeling lead them to hate the subject. Today, this is a matter that concerns educators and governments around the world because more and more students are avoiding careers that involves any type of math, leaving science, finances, and other important fields with a poor enrolment. The advantages of using technology to differentiate instruction, to make learning a fun and interesting process, increasing students´curiosity and enhancing their motivation for learning, can switch this tendency and make a difference in the way students perceive math. “Technology is an extremely important aspect of our lives because it has revolutionized the way we communicate and learn.” In education, the way we plan our lessons, as well as the way how students are absorbing the information is constantly changing.  Gone are the days of mere chalkboards and posters; now, students seem to crave for different apps, and web tools to work with in the classroom. Expert agree that “ utilizing technology not only builds students confidence, but also enhances the teaching-learning process, saves paper and time, and keeps students engaged and motivated.”

On the other hand, I see myself in the near future, as a trainer. Teaching and sharing my experience and knowledge with other educators, parents, and business people who could benefit and improve their performance and professional development by developing skills and abilities through the use of technology. Technology has brought advancements in many fields of our daily lives like agriculture, medicine, transportation, communication, genetics, tourism, entertainment, etc. Technology has touched every aspect of life, making it easier, better and different. Technology has changed the way we live and they way we think. It has changed many lives, and it has certainly change mine.