The course Integrating Technology in the Classroom has taught me how to utilize a variety of technology tools as well as reaffirm my belief in the power of teaching 21st century skills to our students. While I have had limited experiences with wikis, blogs, and podcasts, the experiences I had with these tools during this course has allowed me to expand my knowledge and increase my comfort level with them. Having the opportunity to work with each of these online resources to create products for this class has given me the opportunity to understand what my students go through while learning how to use new technology tools. Now I can see where students may run into potential problems and can anticipate where questions may arise. Going through this process with colleagues has also enabled me to have many valuable discussions about how I can take these tools into my classroom. I have many ideas that I am excited to share with my students this year and look forward to seeing how technology can broaden their understanding of critical content and increase positive communication with their peers, teachers, and parents.
Researching blogs and subscribing to educational news magazines has also broadened my knowledge about how to create a learner-centered environment. These resources have given me valuable insight on how to incorporate technology in the classroom to ensure students are meeting various state and national standards. When a lesson is planned with intention and technology is utilized in purposeful and meaningful ways, student achievement and productivity will increase. These resources have also given me ideas of how to structure and facilitate various project based learning experiences that utilize 21st century skills. I look forward to receiving daily e-mails from Education Week and ASCD to see what new tools and resources they have reviewed and to learn how to incorporate these into my classroom. While it can be difficult to stay on top of all of the new trends and research within education, these daily newsletters will continue to help me stay current regarding new professional opportunities, as well as help me plan effective lessons/activities.
Overall, this course has been a very positive experience for me and has caused me to reflect upon my own educational philosophy and practice. While I have made small steps in integrating technology within the classroom, I still have a long way to go to ensure I create an environment where 21st century skills are explicitly modeled and taught to all students. I have learned to trust my instincts when it comes to creating project based learning experiences for my students. While students are not “tested” in that format, these experiences are providing students with the opportunity to interact with each other to learn new content in ways that encourages critical thinking, problem solving, and creativity. These activities provide students with experiences that will aid in their understanding of how to utilize technology to complete a task and to prepare them for work outside the classroom walls.
One of my goals for the next two years is increase my use of technology for assessment. Last year I received a set of Smart Clickers, but did not have an opportunity to get everything set up for my students. I didn’t want to use this device as a novelty tool, but rather with intention and purpose to improve my instruction and student motivation within the classroom. This year I would like to design a unit to be taught at the beginning of the year that incorporates these clickers. Using the clickers within the classroom will allow me to facilitate discussions based upon individual and group responses, and receive instant feedback on student understanding of content. I could also design daily/weekly mini quizzes where students use clickers at the beginning or end of a lesson to review material learned the previous day. These quizzes could help identify misconceptions and/or misunderstandings held by students and provide me with information about what I need to review or reteach to large or small groups.
My second goal for the next two years is to utilize technology to enhance student communication with their peers, teachers, and parents. Last year was the first year that students were given e-mail accounts and I look forward to continuing to use this tool to communicate assignment expectations, turn in completed work, and enhance parent communication. Over the next two years I would also like my students to create collaborative wikis where they can plan, organize, and communicate in an online setting. Using wikis in the classroom will encourage students to practice their writing skills to effectively convey their thoughts and ideas. Utilizing this tool in the classroom will provide rich experiences for students to work on their communication skills and to build an understanding of how to work effectively with others to produce a final product.
I walk away from this course with new tools in my toolbox and a blueprint for how my students and I can build a 21st century classroom. I look forward to continuing my journey as an educator and am excited to see how technology will continue to evolve. I know that I will never know everything about teaching or how to best integrate technology within my instruction, but I feel that I am a building a solid foundation of resources from which I will continue to learn.
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