Thoughts About our First Class

I must say that the prospect of actually learning some real skills in the Secondary Ed. Social Studies program is very exciting. Not to be too cynical, but, while I have learned boat loads of theoretical information (much of which seemed like "golden rule" common sense ideas)- the program seems to lack emphasis on "actual" teaching skills. So, coming from me-an older student who has very little practice with state of the art digital technology- becoming masterful in some of these applications, and learning ways to bridge those skills into the classroom is like a breath of fresh air. As a soon-to-be history teacher I hope place a huge emphasis on teaching through the use of various digital mediums. I myself am a visual learner, and as I have matured as a student this fact has become exceedingly clear to me. Seeing a country's boundaries on a map or viewing historical pictures along with an account of an historical event makes a huge difference in the quantity and quality of the information I'm able to retain. If my students are anything like me, It is my hope then to always include some type of visual in my lessons to help them learn as much as possible. Learning how to effectively use various programs like SMARTBOARD and PREZI, in which I can harness archival footage, documentary, music, YOUTUBE, millions of images, etc... should prove to be an indispensable experience.