Reflection

Reflection

This class has presented me with different ways of thinking about my instruction. One revelation for me throughout this class was the importance of citation for students. Our Grade 2 academic plans have not placed much emphasis on the students citing creative works such as pictures and other media. I also discovered that there was a need for students to have the ability to find resources themselves and to decide whether that information was valid and useful. Previously students were provided with resources that were already proven to be valid. By providing direct instruction and modeling to guide the students to search out and evaluate their project information leads to quality class discussions and student sharing.
As a result of this course I will build more of my lessons around student inquiry. Also students will be given more responsibilities when they are working on their projects. Students will be expected to prove that the resources are valid and they will also learn how to cite where they received the information. I will work with students more to help them build the skills needed to be able to meet these expectations.
My involvement in this class inspires me to learn more about the variety of media that is available for students to use to demonstrate their research skills and expand their learning experience. I would like to develop a deeper understanding of how to create multi-media projects with different technology resources. In order to find media resources I will research online information, visit educational blogs and work with other teachers. I will work with the resources to better understand how to produce in-depth projects that require students to use higher order skills. By doing that I hope to have students more involved in work they enjoy, thus allowing for better learning and skill acquisition.

References

Jukes, I., Macdonald, B. (2007). 21st Century Fluency Skills Attributes of a 21st Century Learner.
The InfoSavvy Group.

SaveTheRennets.com 2

Jing Project

SaveTheRennets.com

Quantitive Research

The purpose of this study is to evaluate effective educational based technology programs that are implemented by teachers in the classroom and their impact on student's weekly assessment scores.
By integrating educational technology programs in the classroom, is there an increase in academic achievement?
I plan to use quantitative research by implementing the experimental designs. I will use 16 students representing ESE, ELL and on grade level students. The study will evaluate the achievement between the students that had received instruction using technology and students who had not been instructed using technology. I will then look at students scores to see if there was a increase in the group that had been exposed to technology programs as part of their instruction.

Problem Statement.

With all the technology programs claiming to be educational how are teachers to know which programs to implement in instruction? The purpose of this study is to evaluate effective academic programs. By reviewing previous studies on educational technology programs and teacher testimonials regarding programs successfully used in their classrooms. I plan to provide a collection of programs that will better assist educators and learners of the technology era.

Final Post

At the Start of this course I believed that a large part of my teaching strategy consisted of the behaviorist theory but now I will be implementing more of the constructivist approach utilizing the technology methods that I have learned. In the past I had engaged students in activities where they were to create something. In the future I plan to have projects that are more frequent and engaging using the technology I have used in this class, thus providing for deeper understanding of the content. Multimedia presentation of lessons and the student ‘s use of the technology allows for more practice, more hands-on involvement, and more critical thinking for the students. In the future I will be focusing on engaging the children in activities in which they will have the opportunity to use technology to create evidence of learning. Dr.Orey, discussed that the constructivist theory allows students to be “actively engaged” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2008a). I also agree that students learn and understand more by building and creating things.

There are a few changes that I will implement immediately such as the use of Voice Thread. I am really excited about using Voice Thread in my classroom with students. To start using Voice Thread in lessons I will work in a small group with 4 to 5 students. I will teach the first group of students to use the Voice Thread program over a period of time until I know that they are comfortable to use the program on their own. Then I will assign them to a partner with a new assignment. I will continue this pattern until all the students are able to use the program easily and efficiently. When students are able to use the Voice Thread program I will begin creating assignments for students on a regular basis. Teaching a small group of students who then can be the “professionals” to help or train classmates will help make future lessons for the whole group easier as they will have the opportunity to ask peers for assistance and not just me. Another change I would like to make is to turn the use of power points into an independent project for students to use in addition to the ones I create for lessons. I am currently working together with the school technology teacher to provide students will the skills that they will need to be successful with using power points as part of their assignments. After this course I am hoping to continue to research and locate different forms of technology that I would be able to successfully implement in my class. I will continue to meet with the technology specialist and attend professional development classes on technology topics to keep current on the ever changing technology tools that can be used in the classroom. I will also start implementing the new technology I learned about by using the strategies listed previously. The train the trainer technique minimizes the task of implementing a new program of technology skill for the whole class. I have really enjoyed this class and the tools that I have been exposed to, that I can implement in my classroom.

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

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). Program seven. Constructionist and Constructivist Learning Theories [Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore: Author.

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