I
have always had a knack for learning new technology. Through the course Understanding the Impact
of Technology on Education, Work, and Society, I have broadened my skill base
of technology. I have explored blogs, wikis,
and podcasts while learning about teaching 21-st century skills in my
classroom. I am confident that the
skills learned in this course are ones that I can bring back to my classroom to
increase student learning.
Prior to
this course, I felt very comfortable using and experimenting with
technology. I felt as if I knew how to
use a lot of modern technology. As I progressed
through this course, I had to experiment with new technology I may not have
otherwise used. I have never created a blog, wiki, or podcast before. After seeing how simple they are to create, I
am thinking how much fun my students could have creating these while
learning.
I always
like to think of the saying, “the best teacher is also a learner.” I believe this is especially true. I believe by learning about new technology to
use in my classroom, I will be more prepared to teach it to my students. I will be able to cover areas they may
struggle in since I had just created them myself. This course also reminded me how something can
seem intimidating before actually trying it yourself. This gave me some insight on how my students
may be feeling in my classroom so I have to remember to ease them into new
technology and ideas.
I have
learned that students gain more from a learner-centered classroom as opposed to
a teacher-centered classroom. I would like my role in the classroom to be more
of a facilitator than a lecturer in the front of the room. Instead of using technology to model a lesson
for my students, I would like my students to explore the technology themselves
as I guide them. I will be able to
circulate the room and assist individual students better. Students will remember more what they did
personally instead of what they heard or saw me do.
I really do
enjoy using and learning new technology.
I will continue to educate myself on using technology in the classroom
to increase student achievement. Just
last month, I voluntarily attended a two-day workshop on integrating iPads into
my classroom. I plan to bring these
skills to my classroom in the fall. I
also collaborate with my colleagues often about teaching strategies. There a couple of teachers in my school who
enjoy using technology to increase student achievement, so I plan to
collaborate with them especially.
However, I feel the best way to see what works for me and my students is
to experiment in my classroom. Some
strategies that work for other teachers may not work for me and vise versa.
My first goal is to have my students do more
activities that require them to collaborate with one another. This will also help with the transformation
to student-centered learning. Adding in supplemental
activities requires extra time. Next
year, my school is moving from trimesters to semesters, which creates more days
spent in each course. This may help this
dilemma. In addition, if I plan an
activity into the semester, I am more likely to fit it in instead of trying to
add it at the last minute.
My second goal is to create a classroom
blog. The blog can be used to make posts
for my students reminding them of important deadlines and for students to post questions
regarding homework. I like that other
students can respond for their classmates also.
All students can subscribe to the RSS feed so they will be notified when
posts are made. Parents will also be
invited to follow my blog to stay up-to-date.
Incorporating this blog will take some advertising in my classroom. I can see some students participating but not
all students. If I plan to do this, I should
discuss it with parents at open house and parent-teacher conferences.
After
completing this course, I plan to take my new skills back to my school to
incorporate in my classroom and share with my colleagues. Prior to completing this course, I have not
made any major changes in my classroom and therefore have not changed any
answers in the checklist from week 1. I
am confident that when I return to school in the fall, that I will have a
chance to modify assignments and projects and create new ones to change some of
my “rarely”s to “often”.
In closing, I
have changed my outlook on technology in the classroom through this
course. I now see more collaborative
activities as being doable in my classroom.
If I can plan to incorporate these activities into my curriculum, I will
find the time to do them and my students will greatly benefit from them. Soon, I can have my own students creating
blogs, wikis, and podcast while learning 21st-century skills they
need for the workforce they will soon enter.
