A reflection from a semester of trying new ideas and learning creative ways to use technology....
I've genuinely enjoyed learning about these various topics during the semester. I've blogged before that I want to gamify my independent reading so students can see their progress quicker than just collecting titles of books they read. It's important for them to be thinking as they read, too, and this format can do that.
Through this course, I've been able to delve into technology activities that have helped me plan for my students. When I completed the quests about TPACK and SAMR, I had to examine my current practices and question whether they were authentic, balanced, and/or sound -- not whether I used a particular web tool or app. This focus on student learning, not the technology, is what made this class an eye-opener for me. Some parts I knew/understood, just from reading professional literature and trial-and-error planning. However, having a community of like-minded learners to bounce ideas off of or hear their stories deepened my understanding.
There were some things that I really know very little about --namely copyright expectations. I know that I need to make this a teaching priority, especially in light of the ubiquitous nature of information from Google! When my students create something from online sources, they rarely document where they get the information if it's media (picture, video) and I admit that I haven't stopped it. There is just too much to do in a short semester. Now, though, I have the information to create a mini-unit that my students can complete before we start using any digital tools.
One piece of exciting news for me is that I was hired to teach an online class for the spring semester in my district. So all these tools we've learned about and practiced with will be in my toolbox for those students. It's exciting to be able to apply my learning in this setting. And, since I learned about flipped classroom -- and created a sample video --I'm not as afraid of my webcam as I was before that quest!!
Probably the absolute most important take-away for me is the Fear Factor. I've never been afraid of technology, however, I've been wary of expecting or requiring my students to use technology to create because they aren't on a level playing field with computers and Internet. I have to "do" technology rather than "integrate" because I can't expect everyone to have the necessary materials. Through the quests in this course, I learned that they are going to have the technology -- I need to teach them how to choose wisely and find their own learning path. I believe my teaching is more beneficial to my students after finishing this course.
And...I made a thing (It's also my final product).
I've genuinely enjoyed learning about these various topics during the semester. I've blogged before that I want to gamify my independent reading so students can see their progress quicker than just collecting titles of books they read. It's important for them to be thinking as they read, too, and this format can do that.
Through this course, I've been able to delve into technology activities that have helped me plan for my students. When I completed the quests about TPACK and SAMR, I had to examine my current practices and question whether they were authentic, balanced, and/or sound -- not whether I used a particular web tool or app. This focus on student learning, not the technology, is what made this class an eye-opener for me. Some parts I knew/understood, just from reading professional literature and trial-and-error planning. However, having a community of like-minded learners to bounce ideas off of or hear their stories deepened my understanding.
There were some things that I really know very little about --namely copyright expectations. I know that I need to make this a teaching priority, especially in light of the ubiquitous nature of information from Google! When my students create something from online sources, they rarely document where they get the information if it's media (picture, video) and I admit that I haven't stopped it. There is just too much to do in a short semester. Now, though, I have the information to create a mini-unit that my students can complete before we start using any digital tools.
One piece of exciting news for me is that I was hired to teach an online class for the spring semester in my district. So all these tools we've learned about and practiced with will be in my toolbox for those students. It's exciting to be able to apply my learning in this setting. And, since I learned about flipped classroom -- and created a sample video --I'm not as afraid of my webcam as I was before that quest!!
Probably the absolute most important take-away for me is the Fear Factor. I've never been afraid of technology, however, I've been wary of expecting or requiring my students to use technology to create because they aren't on a level playing field with computers and Internet. I have to "do" technology rather than "integrate" because I can't expect everyone to have the necessary materials. Through the quests in this course, I learned that they are going to have the technology -- I need to teach them how to choose wisely and find their own learning path. I believe my teaching is more beneficial to my students after finishing this course.
And...I made a thing (It's also my final product).
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