Over the course of my masters degree in integrating technology into the classroom, I continue to be amazed with the skills that are needed for students in the 21st century classroom.
• Describe the most striking revelation you had about the teaching of new literacy skills to your students as a result of this course.
The new literacy skill of group projects surprises me the most. As a music teacher, the majority of the work done in class is on the group level, so this should be no surprise. Collaboration and self-motivation are two key elements needed to rehearse and perform an ensemble piece of music, but are overlooked or ignored when it comes to creating a group project. (Jukes, 2007) Group projects are an effective tool for helping students learn personal skills that will benefit them in many ways in a 21st century workforce. (Jukes, 2007)
• Describe how the knowledge and experience gained in this course will influence your teaching practices going forward.
Learning about the QUEST model for online inquiry will have a major impact on my teaching practices in the future. (Eagleton & Dobler, 2007) For myself, internet research has been more on a novice level even though I consider myself a proficient user of technology. Watching my students struggle with research like I did confirmed for me the importance of these skills. By taking the time to teach students how to effectively question, understand, evaluate, synthesize and transform online research, students will ultimately be able to communicate their findings in a more precise and creative manner. In a 21st century environment, these skills will be critical.
• Identify at least one professional development goal you would like to pursue that builds upon your learning in this course and develops your own information literacy or technology skills. Describe the steps you will take to accomplish this goal.
One professional development goal I have will be to take the skills learned in this course and move them to the fluency level. In doing so, I will be able to model these skills for my students on a continuous basis. One way I plan to accomplish this goal is by introducing more projects within my teaching that will give my students the opportunity to learn and use many of the new literacy skills on a regular basis.
By nature, I am an inquisitive person. I thoroughly enjoy learning the history of a song or finding out how something works. The internet opened many avenues for me to learn unique and interesting facts as well as be able to share them with my students. By learning how to focus a search and synthesize the results, the internet becomes an invaluable tool not only for inquisitive minds like mine, but for my students as well. Gone are the days of one or two books on a library shelf with limited information. Giving my students online inquiry skills gives them the keys to a future that is bigger than they could ever imagine.
Eagleton, M. B., & Dobler, E. (2007). Reading the Web: Strategies for internet inquiry. New York: The Guilford Press.
Jukes, I. (2007). 21st century fluency skills: Attributes of a 21st century learner. Retrieved from http://www.committedsardine.com/handouts/twca.pdf
Showing posts with label instruction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label instruction. Show all posts
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
A Reflection of Technology and Instructional Practices
• Reflect on the “Personal Theory of Learning” you developed in Week 1. Summarize any modifications to your personal theory of learning you have made as a result of your learning in this course.
Eight weeks ago, I stated my personal learning theory was finding ways to make real world connections in my classroom. For my music students, that consisted of teaching music that could be found outside my classroom and the history behind the music we learned. What I have since discovered is I need to take my goal of real world connections one step further. What has been lacking in my teaching has been the application. Too often I would stop short of giving my students the opportunity to do something with the information I presented beyond singing or playing the notes on the page. What I have learned from this course on integrating technology and instructional strategies is to get the information I want my students to learn into their hands and have them create something with that information. I plan to rely more on the constructionist theory of creating an artifact. Dr. Orey said, “…students are engaged in learning…” when they are creating an artifact. (Laureate, 2008) By giving my students opportunities to create an artifact, either alone or in groups, I hope to complete the real world connections I have worked towards in the past.
• Describe any immediate adjustments you will make to your instructional practice regarding technology integration as a result of your learning in this course. Identify two technology tools you would like to use with your students and how the tools will support or enhance your students’ learning.
In the past, I always felt that integrating technology into my music classes required expensive music software. Add to the expense was the time it would take to actually teach the software and not having adequate access to computers to get the programs taught. It felt like a no-win situation. This class has allowed me to see that expensive software and long periods of time are not necessary to integrate technology into my classroom First, the authors of Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works provide a wealth of ideas and resources that allow me to use technology in my lessons with little to no expense or instructional time. (Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K, 2007) I have found their book to be valuable and accessible to any content area and I plan to use many of their suggestions.
One technology tool I plan to take advantage of is VoiceThread. (www.voicethread.com) Many of my classes next year will be cut short from full year to only nine weeks long. As a result, performance opportunities will be greatly reduced. By using VoiceThread, I can record and post classroom performances and have fellow classmates offer positive and constructive advice.
A second technology tool I plan to use is the online graphic organizer program wespiration. (www.mywebspiration.com) Graphic organizers are nothing new in education, but I have failed to use them in the past. Having a way to organize information not only saves time, but aides’ students in moving information from their short term to long term memory. Online access allows students to work collectively at school or from home which further supports 21st century learning skills.
• List two long-term goal changes you would like to make to your instructional practice regarding technology integration and outline a strategy for achieving them.
Two long-term goals for me would include using technology regularly in my classroom and getting technology into the hands of my students. Even though these two goals can be reached separately, by combining them, I can reach them more effectively. For example, I plan to use my Promethean board and projector regularly for whole class presentations and discussions. To avoid the pitfall of lecturing from a Power Point presentation, I will have my students run the presentation, merely guide their discussions and allow them the opportunity to edit, adjust or add to the notes. Finally, at the end of the lesson, students can then use the technology at hand to once again, create a final project demonstrating their knowledge.
In the past, I felt technology was not that difficult, but too hard to use in the classroom or too time consuming to teach. Technology does not have to be hard, just accessible. That is the simple belief behind the book by Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhm and Malenoski, “a focus on technology is not “about” the technology itself, but about changing teacher practice, motivating our students, and creating learning experiences that will be applicable to their world and future workplaces.” (Pitler, et al, 2007)
Laureate Education Inc. (2008). “Constructionist and Constructivist Learning Theories.” Baltimore, MD: Laureate Education Inc.
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Eight weeks ago, I stated my personal learning theory was finding ways to make real world connections in my classroom. For my music students, that consisted of teaching music that could be found outside my classroom and the history behind the music we learned. What I have since discovered is I need to take my goal of real world connections one step further. What has been lacking in my teaching has been the application. Too often I would stop short of giving my students the opportunity to do something with the information I presented beyond singing or playing the notes on the page. What I have learned from this course on integrating technology and instructional strategies is to get the information I want my students to learn into their hands and have them create something with that information. I plan to rely more on the constructionist theory of creating an artifact. Dr. Orey said, “…students are engaged in learning…” when they are creating an artifact. (Laureate, 2008) By giving my students opportunities to create an artifact, either alone or in groups, I hope to complete the real world connections I have worked towards in the past.
• Describe any immediate adjustments you will make to your instructional practice regarding technology integration as a result of your learning in this course. Identify two technology tools you would like to use with your students and how the tools will support or enhance your students’ learning.
In the past, I always felt that integrating technology into my music classes required expensive music software. Add to the expense was the time it would take to actually teach the software and not having adequate access to computers to get the programs taught. It felt like a no-win situation. This class has allowed me to see that expensive software and long periods of time are not necessary to integrate technology into my classroom First, the authors of Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works provide a wealth of ideas and resources that allow me to use technology in my lessons with little to no expense or instructional time. (Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K, 2007) I have found their book to be valuable and accessible to any content area and I plan to use many of their suggestions.
One technology tool I plan to take advantage of is VoiceThread. (www.voicethread.com) Many of my classes next year will be cut short from full year to only nine weeks long. As a result, performance opportunities will be greatly reduced. By using VoiceThread, I can record and post classroom performances and have fellow classmates offer positive and constructive advice.
A second technology tool I plan to use is the online graphic organizer program wespiration. (www.mywebspiration.com) Graphic organizers are nothing new in education, but I have failed to use them in the past. Having a way to organize information not only saves time, but aides’ students in moving information from their short term to long term memory. Online access allows students to work collectively at school or from home which further supports 21st century learning skills.
• List two long-term goal changes you would like to make to your instructional practice regarding technology integration and outline a strategy for achieving them.
Two long-term goals for me would include using technology regularly in my classroom and getting technology into the hands of my students. Even though these two goals can be reached separately, by combining them, I can reach them more effectively. For example, I plan to use my Promethean board and projector regularly for whole class presentations and discussions. To avoid the pitfall of lecturing from a Power Point presentation, I will have my students run the presentation, merely guide their discussions and allow them the opportunity to edit, adjust or add to the notes. Finally, at the end of the lesson, students can then use the technology at hand to once again, create a final project demonstrating their knowledge.
In the past, I felt technology was not that difficult, but too hard to use in the classroom or too time consuming to teach. Technology does not have to be hard, just accessible. That is the simple belief behind the book by Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhm and Malenoski, “a focus on technology is not “about” the technology itself, but about changing teacher practice, motivating our students, and creating learning experiences that will be applicable to their world and future workplaces.” (Pitler, et al, 2007)
Laureate Education Inc. (2008). “Constructionist and Constructivist Learning Theories.” Baltimore, MD: Laureate Education Inc.
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
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