EDUC-6711 Reflection

When reflecting on my original thoughts while starting EDUC-6711, I concluded the paper saying I want to be armed with new, effective technology to implement in my classroom.  This class has given me numerous resources to use in the classroom and has also shown me the most effective ways to utilize that technology in my classroom.  I am now experienced in using voicethread, bubbl, and a variety of other technological resources I was not familiar with before this class.

One major immediate adjustment I will make to my instruction is to make my classroom more student centered.  I plan on implementing two new technological tools in my classroom which will move my classroom from teacher centered, to student centered.  The first I plan on using is a class wiki page.  The wiki page will have all of the classroom resources and will also include discussion boards where students will respond to questions I pose and to their classmate’s projects.  Another resource I plan to use in my classroom is voicethread.  Voicethread takes a variety of different instructional practices and implements them into one experience.  The use of pictures and language can be a powerful learning tool.

One long-term goal I have is to create a wiki page for all of my classes.  This coming school year I will have wikis created for two out of my three preps.  By next school year I would like to have a class wiki page for all three preps.  I will accomplish this by taking time each week to add to the class wiki page.

Another long-term goal I have is to make 50% of my assessments project based.  I would like to find a mixture between the traditional pen and paper assessment and project-based assessments.  With more project based assessments I will create detailed and easy to follow project rubrics and I will find fun, effective projects for my students to complete.

Social Learning Theory

I’m 27 years old and I have just finished my 5^th year teaching, so I would consider myself a relatively young teacher.  This year I am celebrating my 10 year high school reunion which always elicits a number of feelings, some are nostalgic about the good ole days, and others make me laugh thinking about how much has changed in the past 10 years.  I remember the dilemma I had after graduating high school as to whether I wanted a cell phone.  I have always been a very self-conscious of my actions and I have always been very leery about becoming too narcissistic.  Today I can sit back laugh at my self debate over whether I needed a cell phone.  To think about where society has come in the past 10 years can almost be overwhelming.  Today children want cell phones in primary school.  They want Facebook pages even earlier and after looking through Professor Arnold’s resources this week Kindergarteners are twittering.  I was a much different high learner compared to my students, and once again I would be considered a newer teacher.  The way students learn has always changed and the past decade has been a testament to this belief.  Students in the past 10 years have become social learners.  They learn best when being put in a social setting.  Whether they are collaborating, or one student is teaching others, as long as students are social they are building meaningful learning experiences.

A few resources from this past week are great examples of using technology to provide valuable learning experiences for today’s learners.  One particular resource which I enjoyed was the voicethread collaborative tool.  This is a great example of using a social medium to encourage collaboration.  Another social media tool I have used in the past is Glogster.  This is where students can create interactive posters with videos and a bunch of other great features.  This can be used in my classroom in place of students creating a WWII propaganda poster.  Instead, I can encourage student motivation through providing them with an opportunity to be technologically creative.

Voicethread

Follow the link to my very first voicethread!

http://voicethread.com/share/2089255/