Reflection

I wouldn't say that my overall personal theory of learning has changed.  If anything, it has only been reinforced in my mind that technology needs to have a stronger presence in my classroom.

A past professor I had at Walden suggested to us that we not use technology simply because it is there but rather because it makes learning easier or better.  I try to keep this in mind as I consider what different technology tools I could bring into the classroom.  This leaves me with two goals as I move forward with changing my teaching practices to include more technology:

1) Become a paperless classroom


As the world becomes more and more based on a paperless model, I think it is important that my classroom begins to reflect this.  My desire to go paperless is not linked to any pro-environment ideas but rather the fact that in my experience, students get more out of technology based assignments and are required to do more independent thinking with them as well.  The best ways I have seen so far to get students to produce original, creative work is to give them projects that have a strong basis in technology.  As I go forward, I would like to increase this.

2) Explore assessment options with technology


I feel that the standard multiple choice exam is slowly turning into a relic of a past era.  It will require a lot of brainstorming on my part, but I would like to see projects become better assessments of student learning in my classroom.  This is definitely a long-term goal and I am still in the beginning stages of just developing this idea.  I would like to collaborate with like-minded teachers to hear what has worked for them.

I plan on continuing to use web-based programs like Animoto, bubbl.us, GoAnimate.com, and Voice Thread to implement these goals.  One program I would like to utilize with my students is Google Wave.  Once this gets out of beta, I plan on piloting it with one of my classes on collaborative projects and essays.  Hopefully the feedback from the students will give me more ideas on how to use it.

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.



http://voicethread.com/share/899857/

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Voice Thread: Making the Switch to Electronic Textbooks

Here's my VoiceThread for this week's application.

It's not so much a problem as it is a goal: when do we make the switch to electronic textbooks?

Cooperative Learning

I believe that cooperative learning is going to be the central focus of education in the future, and that may be as soon as the next few years.  The depth and availability of tools to learn in this manner is amazing, and the number of careers that are becoming based on collaboration makes it necessary for students to learn these skills early on.  It's not enough to simply have students count off by number and work together on a worksheet.  Group projects must be in-depth and push for a process that requires students to work through the tasks as a team--brainstorming, editing, finalizing, presenting, etc.

What I really enjoyed about this chapter was that so many of the tools are easily accessible and applicable to the classroom.  Google Calendar, for instance, can keep students up-to-date on classroom events.  Shared bookmarking allows students to recommend websites that they think are valuable to their peers.  Website creation offers the opportunity to express creativity and potentially critique the work of their classmates.  Multiplayer games offer a chance at relaxation, but also at learning.

These tools might not form the basis of a class, but they all assist in enhancing the experience for students.