Mary Barbarino

Before I took this class my knowledge of technology was limited.

Growing up, the most technology I was exposed to in the classroom was the
Smartboard. On the Smartboard we played games like Jeopardy and had
random partner generators, but that was it. I cannot say I was ever
challenged to do a technology-based project for one of my core classes. By
taking Integrating Instructional Technology this semester I have been
presented an abundance of technology tools to use in my teaching.
Before I took this course I was hesitant about integrating technology
into the classroom, I figured the involvement of tablets, phones, and
computers in the classroom students would easily be distracted. However,
during this course I realized that educators should not focus on that, but
should focus on the benefits that educational technology provides.
Throughout this course I was introduced to many different technology
applications that I will be able to use in my classroom. After being introduced
to the UDL principles and TPACK I realized that it is important to provide
multiple means of representation for students, the use of technology
facilitates this.
The content that made the biggest impact on my personal philosophy
of the use of technology in teaching and learning is the UDL principles. I
think it is extremely important for every student to feel comfortable with the
material being taught, and the only way to satisfy every students learning
needs is to integrate the UDL principles by providing multiple/alternate ways

Mary Barbarino

of teaching. By being introduced to applications such as Glogster, Voki,

Tagxedo, Podcasts, and Fotobabble my knowledge of effective teaching
practices was expanded. These are a few of the many websites and
applications that I can use to teach my students and as a formative
assessment for my students to demonstrate what they have learned.
This course showed me that technology in the classroom has a
purpose; it fosters and facilitates the integration of technology in the
classroom. I am eager to use what I have learned in this class as a student
teacher and teacher.