Final Reflection: Bridging of Technology and Instruction

Reflect on the “Personal Theory of Learning” you developed in Week 1. Summarize any modifications to your personal theory of learning you have made as a result of your learning in this course.

I have developed the theory that the student should be ultimately responsible for their own learning. To further elaborate, each student is responsible for the knowledge passed to them during a class period. Teaching and learning is always taking place, but in a large group participatory setting. To keep the group focused and moving towards a higher achievement level, I have to look at each student individually first, and determine what learning style suits them best. Then as a teacher, my job is to find a unique way to deliver content so that ALL students learn, regardless of learning style. In addition to their defining their learning style, I now possess the tools of technology to further expand their participation in class. I have always known that constructionist and constructivist activities were taking place in my classroom, but now I can accurately pinpoint those activities and note what works and what doesn’t – for the class and for individual students. The assignments in this lesson have helped me review key learning theories and I am now more empowered to branch out from my personal favorite style of learning and explore other areas which may be more beneficial to other students.

Describe any immediate adjustments you will make to your instructional practice regarding technology integration as a result of your learning in this course. Identify two technology tools you would like to use with your students and how the tools will support or enhance your students’ learning.

The quickest adjustment I will make is my ability now to determine what concepts I am asking the students to “do” vs. what concepts I am asking the students to “learn.” Our district is moving to a new form of curriculum mapping for each content area. With the mapping, teachers are now being asked to provide specific examples of student learning modifiers. The integration of technology allows teachers to now provide specific examples of the activities and outcomes in student learning. To that end, I will: 1) Continue to explore and try the use of online concept maps. These concept maps can not only be used by my students to plot the specific outcome of the lesson, but I can also integrate the map into my larger curriculum map for the class. 2) I will integrate the use of VoiceThread in at least one lesson. I have a few quarter length classes this year. I will not be able to provide a night concert for these classes. But parents and students can use the Voice Thread technology to view student performances and make comments.


List two long-term goal changes you would like to make to your instructional practice regarding technology integration and outline a strategy for achieving them.

One: It is important to divide the concept of teaching technology and using technology. When it becomes necessary to use technology in an assignment, I must first take the time to teach the effective use of that technology. Once students have learned how to use that technology, then they will be better able to effectively use that technology to enhance their learning. The second goal will be to provide the necessary “in service” training times for students in technology. I often expect that all students are fluent in the technology of Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. I know that some of the technology training is given to students in their technology class, but the majority of those classes are spent teaching typing skills. I need to help students learn and practice the technology skills they are learning in my class so that they might be able to transfer those skills to other classes. It will require me to give up precious class time, but in the end, the student will benefit the most.

Voice Thread for Week 5

My Voice Mail thread this week deals with an interesting problem that arose during a recent science experiment. Well, interesting to me. Nothing exploded and no paramedics were involved, but there were tears shed by some students. I know I should have picked a more intense subject, but I want my students to hear first-hand from "experts in the field" what they could have done differently to get the lab completed on time.

Enjoy!

http://voicethread.com/share/524343/

Connectivism and Social Learning in Practice

Star Trek Episode Week 5.3: The Zone of Proximal Development…

As I walked down the long stretch of stalls along Seattle’s Pike Place Market today, I couldn’t help but wonder if this market will still be here in twenty years? It was a beehive of activity as customers and patrons poured over fresh fish, flowers, fruits, and produce. Sellers and customers alike were interacting on a one-on-one basis and the transactions all took less than a few minutes. I watched as brides-to-be bought flowers for wedding bouquets. I witnessed fresh fish being bought, tossed, filleted, and shipped to a tourist’s home state (mine). All of this took place face to face. Sights, smells, emotions were all present and the images are still vivid – 10 hours later.

As technology continues to shrink the world’s boundaries, I wonder if soon, those smells and emotions won’t be replaced simply by sights or images. As today’s students become online consumers, will they be content with simply logging on, one-click ordering, and overnight shipping – never to come eye to eye with the seller. Now, more than ever, it is important to teach ALL students how to become socially educated and responsible. Working with peers is a must in today’s business world. It does not matter if your co-worker is twenty feet, twenty miles, or twenty countries away. We are becoming a globally community with new global standards of communication. The need for cooperation will transcend distance and boundaries. (Laureate 2007)

In school, teaching cooperative learning begins with simple, easy to achieve tasks. Technology is replacing flipcharts and dioramas as the new presentation tool. “Technology provides a unique and vital role in cooperative learning by facilitating group collaboration, providing structure for group tasks, and allowing members to communicate over distances.” (Pitler 2007)
In middle school, socialization is one of the most important aspects of the student’s day. Interacting with each other every minute of the day, they learn not only socialization skills, but also life skills. In a classroom, it is important to group students according to a specified set of collaborative learning criteria. For example, the Jigsaw Strategy works well in groups that are somewhat self-motivated to learn and then confident to share and teach others. (Laureate 2007) Technology serves to further enhance the ability of students to gather and report on that information.

Does using technology change a student’s learning style? Any piece of information or answer is now just a few clicks away. In the past, hours of library research would be needed to gather information. (Do your remember library classes on the Dewey Decimel system?) Today many students can access Encarta on their cell phone. (Laureate 2007) I use a blog for each class that I teach. In my music class, students were given an assignment to compose a unique musical melody using non-traditional music notation. Then students had to perform their composition. I posted some of those performances to the class blog for parents to view and make comments. In another class, I had a weekly discussion question where students not only had to answer the question, but had to make comments on other student’s responses (thanks Walden). I have used the computer lab to let students work together on virtual field trips and map projects. But with each of these collaborative projects, I also ensure that each group is working towards the final goal. It can be hard to determine that all group members work at same pace and same length of time, so it is important to monitor group progress and encourage those groups who become a little “too social.” As we learned last week, students learn better when constructing a product. Social constructivism engages interactive behavior by letting groups build a product together.

REFERENCES
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2007). Program Eight [Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology. Baltimore: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2007). Program Nine [Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology. Baltimore: Author.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD

Voice Thread link:
http://voicethread.com/share/524343/