Reflection
What I Knew
I always enjoyed using technology in my daily life, and I really was never afraid of interacting with it or trying new things. So, when I realized that there was a specialist degree that focused on technology in education, I was excited with the prospect of taking classes and I knew it was an area that would help me to grow professionally. Previously, I had attended some technology conferences, taken eMINTS 4 all, and also completed different trainings at my district in order to learn about new technology and also earn technology for my classroom such as an iPad and webcam. I liked the new skills that I learned, and I was able to incorporate that learning into my classroom, but I wanted to go deeper in my understanding.
I just completed my 21st year of teaching, and I have observed many changes in technology in education. When I first started, there was one computer in my classroom and the connection was so slow that many times it would take hours to connect. I may have viewed my email once a day and sometimes not at all. In the beginning it was a way to communicate and there was some educational software that could be used by the students to supplement their learning and they learned from it, but now it is necessary for students to interact with technology in their learning.
What I Learned
Through my classes, I have been able to gain a deeper understanding of the necessity of facilitating learning with technology in my classroom. One of the best moments that came was a result of the development of my unit, http://understandingpoetry.weebly.com/. I began by wanting to create a blog for my students to utilize in responding to their understanding of poetry. I was taking Learning with the Internet and I needed to create a blog. We had also been introduced to Weebly in my eMINTS course. As I explored this tool, my blog seemed to transform into a unit. The moment came when I realized that not only could I meet the common core standards in comprehension, but I could also hit other standards like fluency in reading and the CCSS that require students to publish their projects with technology. Technology naturally lends itself to cross curricular teaching and learning. Being able to hit so many learning targets with one unit was a goldmine.
Another important understanding that I have gained from my education is that technology can be integrated seamlessly in the classroom. That first realization came when I observed in an eMINTS classroom for my first eMINTS course. I observed as a classroom of students blogged reflections in reading, took quizzes in math which helped differentiate their assignments, and as they worked on projects with technology. I noticed how the WebQuests were created and housed in one spot to guide their projects. The use of one site to house the links for the students became an easy way for me to encourage the use of technology for projects like the following project on plants: http://livesofplants.weebly.com/artifacts.html . Creating WebQuests has been an efficient resource for me to use in the classroom. It has also helped me to organize the units for easy reference in the classroom, not only for me, but my students as well. They are also able to refer back to projects based on how they are organized on my website, and they can revisit their learning if they need a refresher on a standard.
The third realization that I have come to understand through my classes is that there is extreme value in collaboration. I always have liked and encouraged group work in the classroom, but through my classes, that concept has been taken further. Because my courses were online, I had to be very aware of my audience as I shared thoughts and ideas so that they were detailed and easy to understand. Also using a discussion board and Google and knowing that I was working with others that I would not see face to face made me very aware of deadlines because I knew that we were all working from different situations, and I needed to be a reliable group member. It was also nice to be exposed to different ideas from others that were not teaching in the same district. In Learning with the Internet, we had to create a project. My group worked on creating a bullying site, http://9440teambuilding.wikispaces.com/Homepage, for educators to use. It was useful for me, but I don’t know if I would have thought to create a project on bullying if I had not been in this group. The project also introduced me to another tool, wiki. I also see the value of online groups and now use them in my classroom.
My Reflections and Aspirations
Because of the education I have gained through the courses taken for this degree, I have been refreshed as an educator. I see the value of technology and the difference in learning with technology versus learning from it. In the classroom it makes learning more interesting, but more than that, it takes learning to a higher level, not only because access to information is much more available and timely, but the collaboration encourages growth in learning. I will use technology seamlessly in the upcoming years. I will continue to build units and plans and be on the lookout for even more tools as technology changes daily. As I interact with technology and my students interact with it, it will become a tool that is just as necessary as pencil and paper. Through its use, I know I will be preparing students for their future and meeting their needs in education.
What I Knew
I always enjoyed using technology in my daily life, and I really was never afraid of interacting with it or trying new things. So, when I realized that there was a specialist degree that focused on technology in education, I was excited with the prospect of taking classes and I knew it was an area that would help me to grow professionally. Previously, I had attended some technology conferences, taken eMINTS 4 all, and also completed different trainings at my district in order to learn about new technology and also earn technology for my classroom such as an iPad and webcam. I liked the new skills that I learned, and I was able to incorporate that learning into my classroom, but I wanted to go deeper in my understanding.
I just completed my 21st year of teaching, and I have observed many changes in technology in education. When I first started, there was one computer in my classroom and the connection was so slow that many times it would take hours to connect. I may have viewed my email once a day and sometimes not at all. In the beginning it was a way to communicate and there was some educational software that could be used by the students to supplement their learning and they learned from it, but now it is necessary for students to interact with technology in their learning.
What I Learned
Through my classes, I have been able to gain a deeper understanding of the necessity of facilitating learning with technology in my classroom. One of the best moments that came was a result of the development of my unit, http://understandingpoetry.weebly.com/. I began by wanting to create a blog for my students to utilize in responding to their understanding of poetry. I was taking Learning with the Internet and I needed to create a blog. We had also been introduced to Weebly in my eMINTS course. As I explored this tool, my blog seemed to transform into a unit. The moment came when I realized that not only could I meet the common core standards in comprehension, but I could also hit other standards like fluency in reading and the CCSS that require students to publish their projects with technology. Technology naturally lends itself to cross curricular teaching and learning. Being able to hit so many learning targets with one unit was a goldmine.
Another important understanding that I have gained from my education is that technology can be integrated seamlessly in the classroom. That first realization came when I observed in an eMINTS classroom for my first eMINTS course. I observed as a classroom of students blogged reflections in reading, took quizzes in math which helped differentiate their assignments, and as they worked on projects with technology. I noticed how the WebQuests were created and housed in one spot to guide their projects. The use of one site to house the links for the students became an easy way for me to encourage the use of technology for projects like the following project on plants: http://livesofplants.weebly.com/artifacts.html . Creating WebQuests has been an efficient resource for me to use in the classroom. It has also helped me to organize the units for easy reference in the classroom, not only for me, but my students as well. They are also able to refer back to projects based on how they are organized on my website, and they can revisit their learning if they need a refresher on a standard.
The third realization that I have come to understand through my classes is that there is extreme value in collaboration. I always have liked and encouraged group work in the classroom, but through my classes, that concept has been taken further. Because my courses were online, I had to be very aware of my audience as I shared thoughts and ideas so that they were detailed and easy to understand. Also using a discussion board and Google and knowing that I was working with others that I would not see face to face made me very aware of deadlines because I knew that we were all working from different situations, and I needed to be a reliable group member. It was also nice to be exposed to different ideas from others that were not teaching in the same district. In Learning with the Internet, we had to create a project. My group worked on creating a bullying site, http://9440teambuilding.wikispaces.com/Homepage, for educators to use. It was useful for me, but I don’t know if I would have thought to create a project on bullying if I had not been in this group. The project also introduced me to another tool, wiki. I also see the value of online groups and now use them in my classroom.
My Reflections and Aspirations
Because of the education I have gained through the courses taken for this degree, I have been refreshed as an educator. I see the value of technology and the difference in learning with technology versus learning from it. In the classroom it makes learning more interesting, but more than that, it takes learning to a higher level, not only because access to information is much more available and timely, but the collaboration encourages growth in learning. I will use technology seamlessly in the upcoming years. I will continue to build units and plans and be on the lookout for even more tools as technology changes daily. As I interact with technology and my students interact with it, it will become a tool that is just as necessary as pencil and paper. Through its use, I know I will be preparing students for their future and meeting their needs in education.