Each
week we have been asked to look at technology in our own class rooms and to
think about ways it can be incorporated.
Each week I start out thinking that most technologies might work for
everyone else but not me and then each week my perspective shifts when I start
to explore our resources from the course as well as listen to the voices of my
cohort. At the beginning of this course
we were asked to think about what our GAME plan would be with regard to
technology and near the end my goal is still the same. As an educator I want to
become better versed in using technology with my learners but I think that
perhaps the action part is now a little clearer. Instead of just saying that I
want to get better I can quantify
that by including digital story telling or a class wiki/blog into the actual long
range timeline for each course I teach.
Currently I do not have specific content or lessons ear marked for these
particular technologies but I feel very aware of the need to deliberately write
these technologies into my plans for the returning semester at the end of the
summer. This is something that I will incorporate when
I set up each class.
Dr. Peggy Ertmer challenged us that we must not just
include technology in our class rooms but we must be confident in how we use it
(Laureate Education, Inc., 2010b). To this end I feel as if the first step in developing this confidence is
to pick and practice; pick a particular technology and actually practice using
it myself before I offer it to my students. My goal this summer is to spend time with just me and my computer so I can explore class room technology in a relatively low pressure environment. As far as monitoring and evaluating this process, I need to embrace both
flexibility and critical analysis. When
new technology presents itself we may not want to necessarily have to be the
first to try it but then again we probably do not want to be the last to set
the old aside. Somewhere in the middle
is a balance where technology meets content soundly and realistically. I am starting to feel as if perhaps I am
looking at technology the wrong way. Instead of trying to find out what it can
do in my class room I need to determine what I want to do then find a
technology that allows that to happen. Vicki Davis and Caitlyn Thompson, both
teachers, urge us to think of things we want to learn and do then to incorporate
those new skills into our class room (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010b) so I
started to think of what a class room wish list for me would look like so that
I could back into how technology might help me to accomplish
this.
So for my class room I want…my sons ask me tongue in cheek, “how’s it
feel to want?”, implying that I am not going to get my way, however I think
that with the right mindset and long enough employment it is all attainable. So
anyway, for my class room I want…
-…students to have discussions
to respond to prompts about issues in science such as genetic testing, resource
management or antibiotic resistance. I want it to be creative but also
assessable. The technology component
would be to do this online through a class wiki page or blog.
-…students to turn work
into me in such a way that I have remote access to it readily and can leave
specific feedback for students while assuring academic integrity. Currently I can do this via email but it is
clumsy and unwieldy and difficult to keep different classes separate. Surely there is a class room management and
organization system that will help me to do this and as soon as I am not
writing papers of my own, I am going to Edmodo to start exploring this as an
option.
-…students to
collaborate at multiple levels. Groups in the class room are a start but I
would like to extend this to include online collaboration and communication. Dr.
Arnie Abrams assures us that technology such as digital story telling develops
multiple skills in our students across diverse curricula (Laureate Education,
Inc., 2010a)
-…students to answer
questions and question answers. This takes research to assemble the variety of
information needed to support or refute a stance. High school students are
quick to passionately embrace a cause or fight an injustice. I want them to
have as much perspective as possible to accomplish this. The internet offers an
unlimited menu. By teaching them how to critically analyze and weigh
information in order to make their own decisions, they should never be disappointed
by the meal they create.
-…students to create
and spin and extend and expand beyond their own brain boundaries. The variety of creative software is extensive
which should allow each student to make individual connections with content in
ways that best suit their learning style.
Animations, videos, voice overs, stories and presentations all become
unique to the learner in spite of the common origin of the core concept.
Most importantly, I want to feel as if technology is
my friend and not a conspiracy created by dark shadowy figures with pocket
protectors and taped glasses meant to undo my ability to sleep at night or
calculate a simple restaurant tip without having to take off my shoes to
count. I simply want to be able to catch
a breath before the next technology beast shows its face demanding class time,
resources and brain power. The greatest
reassurance comes from what many of the speakers and educators highlighted
throughout the past seven weeks have reiterated; technology supports the
content I want to present in my class room and not the other way around. I am Master of my own GAME if only set up the board before the first move.
References
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive
Producer). (2010a). Spotlight on Technology: Digital Story Telling, Part
One.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive
Producer). (2010b). Promoting Self-Directed
Learning with Technology.
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