Strengths & Weaknesses

What were your strength/weaknesses according to the UNI survey and NET Standards? I'm going to be pretty honest here. According to the UNI survey and the NET Standards, I am pretty average when it comes to knowledge about technology. I'm not about to go video chat with parents, but I am able to do a newsletter and make brochures. I understand technology and can use it to do research and teach my students to do research. I believe that I can plan strategies to manage student learning in a technology-rich environment. That's pretty much where I hit my peak when it comes to technology, leaving much room for improvement. I was mostly a "practitioner" on most of the survey. However, I did consider myself "Novice" for video chatting. I don't have much experience with video chats other than Skype, but even that is difficult for me to navigate in. On the NET Standards, I feel that I'm lacking in the department of using "technology to communicate and collaborate with peers, parents, and the larger community in order to nurture student learning." I know that I can email and have a classroom website, but as far as taking communication to the next level, like video chatting, I have no clue what to do. Another thing I need to improve on is using databases "to collect, organize, and analyze data and produce meaningful reports to aid in problem solving." I'm no good at spreadsheets, especially if we are dealing with Microsoft Excel.
Establish goals you would like to accomplish as a beginning teacher who will integrate technology in instruction and in the classroom. A goal I would like to have is for the students to become familiar with using technology. I would like them to feel comfortable emailing me from home, as well as emailing attachments (so they can submit assignments from home). They would also be able to chat with me from home, so I would like them to feel comfortable Skyping me if they had any questions. I would also like the students to become familiar with several technology tools, like Windows Movie Maker/iMovie or Adobe Photo Shop. I think that by using these tools, they would be able to take their learning to a new level and use their creativity and imagination to expand their learning. Another goal I would like is to become more familiar with spreadsheets. I think that by using spreadsheets I will be able to stay more organized with keeping track of the students' grades.
Identify 2 mini-workshops, short-courses, pod casts, or 2 on-line tutorials you would take that will improve your weaknesses. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpCaVZCURZQ. This tutorial would help me improve on my spreadsheet skills. I would learn how to use formulas and calculations to create a grade book in Microsoft Excel. Through this tutorial, I will be able to learn the basics of Excel and learn how to keep track of my students' grades on the computer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sodMDs7rEEk. This tutorial will help me learn how to chat online with Skype. I think that it's good to have just in case students or parents at home want a quick way to get in touch with the teacher. This tutorial will help me to learn the basic skills to set up a Skype account and learn how to effectively chat with others through this technology tool.