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When I first began this course I already had a decent grasp of some of the technology that can be used to enrich the learning environment. The course, however, did allow me to maintain and improve upon my understanding and use of technology. For example, I had never constructed a blog, wiki, or podcast before. While the software was simple to use and I was aware of how beneficial all three had been to education in the past, however I made no first step toward learning how. This course not only pushed me to take that step, but it also allowed me to experiment with how the technology worked and what various applications the technology possessed. For example, when constructing the wiki for our group several weeks ago I learned how to create multiple pages within the wiki and how to allow user access (definitely needed for school). Both skills will be useful for classroom use.
It is through trial and error of our use of technology and the discussions following suit that have shown me a deeper learning process. The process, in this case, is to allow the students to explore the topics in their own way, yet in a constructed manner. The student will learn best if they have an invested interest in the topic and are allowed to express themselves through the technological medium or otherwise (Thornburg, 2008). In this era of standardized testing it is difficult to allow the students such freedom within the class as the teacher must ensure the students retain a certain amount of knowledge, however mixing the two processes of education will prevent the class from becoming stale and will reach various types of learners.
As a result the shift becomes more student centered rather then teacher centered. It is difficult to let go of a teacher-centered environment. It means allowing the students to explore various topics, which is a positive, however it also leads to a simple means of allowing the students to easily get off task. This can be rectified by a teacher who monitors the students and their work closely to ensure they remain on-task. In the end, my perspective on a learner-centered learning environment is that the students will learn far more because they will, as I stated in the prior paragraph, be able to examine the material for themselves and express in their own way how they interpret the material and as a Language Arts teacher that is a skill that will be of great benefit for the students in all things literature for the rest of their lives. While student-centered environments are a positive means of generating student interest, implementing such environments have been difficult, but with the new electronic resources and technology student-centered environments are easily possible (Hannafin & Land, 1997).
The best way to expand upon what I've learned about technology in this course is to continue practicing its use. By experimenting with different ways of using a program or the various applications the program provides I can devise new ways for the students to express themselves with through technology. I can also attend in-services offered by the county centered around how technology can be applied in the classroom and what new software is out that can help education.
I have two goals in mind in regards to technology and its application in the classroom. One goal is to allow students to be more expressive and select assignments that will reflect their interests. In the prior class we learned about tier lessons, that is various products that are designed to reach students at various levels. The same can be applied to products in the class, i.e. creating several assignments (most technology based) and allow the student to select which one they would like to submit. Of course a rubric or appropriate grading criteria would be created for each project however this idea would allow the students to feel that the class is centered around them and they can play to their strengths for an assignment rather than struggle through it. My second goal is to, as I have discussed on numerous occasions, push for outside work that requires communication between students. The students need to learn that communicating on class projects outside of class is important as one day many of them will be called upon to perform this same task in college or the workplace. Within two years I would like to have a blog site set up that will accommodate the students with their communication and one in which they can post to for any class discussions.
All through this course my understanding of technology has improved and I have learned new ways to implement the use of that technology from the course material, my professor, and my colleagues. While the prior classes have been beneficial to my education, this one has proven beneficial to my particular interest, technology.
References
Hannafin, M. & Land, S. (1997). The foundations and assumptions of technology-enhanced
student-centered learning environments. Instructional Science, 25, 167 – 202. Retrieved June 28, 2010 from http://web.utk.edu/~mperkin2/hannafin.pdf
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). The changing role of the classroom teacher: part 1. [Motion picture]. (With Dr. David Thornburg). Baltimore: Laureate Education, Inc.
Paper ID:
140927233
Author:
Shawn Metz
Paper Title:
Reflection
Assignment Title:
Week 8: Final Blog Post
E-mail:
shawn.metz@waldenu.edu
Turnitin Originality Report
Reflection by Shawn Metz
From Week 8: Final Blog Post (EDUC 6710D-1)
Processed on 06-21-10 4:14 AM PDT
ID: 140927233
Word Count: 873
Similarity Index
6%
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Partnership for 21st Century Skills
My initial reaction to the website was one of admiration. It is refreshing to see a coalition of organizations band together to promote twenty-first century skills; however, as I examined the site, that's about all it does. Booklets are offered to describe twenty-first century skills along with additional standards the are designed to work with our state standards to promote collaborative learning and so forth, which is great except most teachers already practice this. These standards should be aimed more at the state and what needs to be promoted.
I am surprised by the lack of practical resources. Yes, it was informative in regards to the need to implement twenty-first century thinking practices and technological experience that businesses are looking for, however there is a surprising lack of resources to help implement this. Yes, there are the booklets, however they only outline what the needs are and offer little advise as to how to reach it. I even surfed over to their link for Apple Professional Development, and their site had more of the same thing: pdfs that state what twenty-first century skills are, but offer little resource to help obtain those goals.
While I was searching this site I was expecting to find a resource area similar to the wikis we created the prior week, that is a collection of online resources. I was expecting more resources in the form of websites or freeware that utilized a greater verity of technological resources such as OpenOffice. There are several sections that state technology and twenty-first century skills should support the lesson and I agree, I was just hopping to see a few more tools that can aid teachers. Also, I am surprised there is not a page specifically designated to offering grants related to technology and Twenty-First Century skills. It takes money to help run a classroom and in this economy any grant would be welcome.
As for any implications between what this website states teachers need to do to promote twenty-first century skills and my students and myself I see some changes, but not much. As I stated, many teachers are pushing collaborative learning and creative thinking. My students have been interacting more with technology in regards to using e-mail to turn in assignments. Frankly, this course will have a greater impact on my students than Partnership for 21st Century Skills. While this group of people push for teachers to use it, they provide little resources to support their mission for teachers to utilize or at least, resources that go beyond stating what twenty-first century skills are.
I am surprised by the lack of practical resources. Yes, it was informative in regards to the need to implement twenty-first century thinking practices and technological experience that businesses are looking for, however there is a surprising lack of resources to help implement this. Yes, there are the booklets, however they only outline what the needs are and offer little advise as to how to reach it. I even surfed over to their link for Apple Professional Development, and their site had more of the same thing: pdfs that state what twenty-first century skills are, but offer little resource to help obtain those goals.
While I was searching this site I was expecting to find a resource area similar to the wikis we created the prior week, that is a collection of online resources. I was expecting more resources in the form of websites or freeware that utilized a greater verity of technological resources such as OpenOffice. There are several sections that state technology and twenty-first century skills should support the lesson and I agree, I was just hopping to see a few more tools that can aid teachers. Also, I am surprised there is not a page specifically designated to offering grants related to technology and Twenty-First Century skills. It takes money to help run a classroom and in this economy any grant would be welcome.
As for any implications between what this website states teachers need to do to promote twenty-first century skills and my students and myself I see some changes, but not much. As I stated, many teachers are pushing collaborative learning and creative thinking. My students have been interacting more with technology in regards to using e-mail to turn in assignments. Frankly, this course will have a greater impact on my students than Partnership for 21st Century Skills. While this group of people push for teachers to use it, they provide little resources to support their mission for teachers to utilize or at least, resources that go beyond stating what twenty-first century skills are.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Application Response
I teach both ninth and tenth grade students in Language Arts and blog would be a great tool for my class. Often times when we read a novel my class runs out of time for discussion. I could post a weakly question on the blog for students to respond to. Students can comment on my question or post questions or post thoughts and respond to each other’s posts. This way, every student has participated in the discussion rather than two or three students. All must participate and all will have a voice.
The blog would help add some depth to the lesson as students realize technology has practical uses beyond MySpace and Facebook. Also, with their work posted students might be more careful with structuring their sentences and double checking their spelling. In our course material for this week Kathy Martin discussed how bloging has begun to make students more aware of how they present themselves on the internet.
The blog would help add some depth to the lesson as students realize technology has practical uses beyond MySpace and Facebook. Also, with their work posted students might be more careful with structuring their sentences and double checking their spelling. In our course material for this week Kathy Martin discussed how bloging has begun to make students more aware of how they present themselves on the internet.
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