As this course nears its end, I’m enamored by all I’ve learned and absorbed. Here are a handful of reflections on what I’ve learned and how they will affect my growing technological abilities and my knowledge of integrating technology as a whole.
This course has specifically introduced me to 21st century skills, including blogs, wikis, and podcasts. Before this course I didn’t know what any of them were and just simply knowing the basics of each has brought my abilities as a professional to another level.
I’ve learned that the learning process in students has changed over time and will continue to do so. Our brains are stimulated in different ways throughout life and we, as teachers, must evolve continuously in our lifetime, as those who follow us must for as long as there are subjects to be taught.
My perspective was certainly teacher-centered prior to my masters program and this course in particular has opened a door for me to see more clearly from a student’s perspective. My concepts will prove to be more learner-centered as a result. When we are aware of how students are receiving and absorbing that which we are putting out there for them, it makes the delivery easier to design and they become more motivated to learn more.
It is clear to me that in order to maintain and increase student achievement, students must keep up with technology and utilize it as their most helpful tool. I must continue to expand my knowledge of learning, teaching, and leading with technology by subscribing to a number of useful blogs, RSS Feeds from technical web pages, and attend classes or seminars offered in my region that will help ME stay affluent. I will also practice and assign development of blogs, wikis, and podcasts to use in my classroom so they become second nature as my other tools of teaching have in past years.
My first goal even as I am still enrolled in my masters program is to integrate technology in my classroom more so than it was as this school year ended. I am going to press the school district through the right channels to try and get computers at every desk. If at first I don’t succeed I will figure the most efficient way to use blogs, wikis and podcasts so that when students are on their computers at home it will be like I am right there with them, still teaching and supporting them on their desks at home. This could spring interest with the students’ parents and word will get back to other teachers in the school with hopes it will urge them to follow suit and also integrate more technology. Therefore, my second goal is to take all that I’ve learned and will continue to learn and share it with my fellow educators so that these powerful tools aren’t limited to my usage alone but stretch to all those I associate with.
