Course Self-Evaluation

Mary McGrath

Course Self-Evaluation

EDUC5701-Technology Integration

December 16, 2011

            Throughout this course I have learned a great deal about where technology has been, where it is going, and where I can take it in the classroom.  I find this incredibly valuable on many levels. 

            Personally, before this course I had never heard of “Web 2.0,” let alone been able to define it.  On a very basic, yet abstract level, I did not understand how the internet had come to be, and that there were/are varying levels of communication that have been integrated over time.  All I really knew was that there were things I had to learn how to do well so as to get by (i.e. how to use Word-Processing tools and the Internet), and through experience, I have become very good at these things.  I like to equate this sense of how, but not why, with what my mother told me when I was learning Calculus in High School: “Mary, you don’t have to be able to understand it.  Just memorize it so that you can use it.”  I knew how to use all of the technology I had to know how to use, but I had no reason to know why it worked the way it did.  As a result, my ability to fully implement technology in the classroom was limited.

            Thanks to this class, I feel much more capable of integrating technology because I better understand the “why”.  With that understanding as a foundation for myself as an educator, I am able to help my students build skills by slowly introducing different technology-based tools that challenge them at different levels.  Starting small with lessons that focus on the proper use of Microsoft Word and Email, can easily lead into the use of Google Docs and/or Blogger, as a means of publishing and sharing ideas because the two blend the written word and the internet.  From there, one can begin to share different types of information other than text (like visuals, audio clips, videos), through different forums like Voicethread, Flickr, Youtube, Edmodo etc. 

            If a teacher than wants to move beyond using technology as a means of communication, they can then shift into the realm of virtual interaction with their lessons.  I think this can be a fantastic learning tool because though it would be ideal for kids to be getting their hands dirty when learning about the Water Cycle, or running around on a farm while learning about the Food Industry, the reality is not every school has access to either the money to get out of the classroom, or the money to hire thorough and experienced educators who know how to teach lessons outside the classroom.  Using different interactive technological tools and games helps students to create the reality they are learning about and then interact with it.  Gizmos, for example, is a Web 2.0 tool that I am very excited to use with my students in our 6^th Grade Science class.

            Overall, I am incredibly grateful to have taken this class.  I think my portfolio is a strong reflection of the pieces that I have aided my learning the most. 

           

           

A Picture is Worth it All

In Solomon and Schrum, the discussion of the use of video and photo as a means to integrate technology into the classroom seems to fit in quite well with our discussion of Assisting Technologies in the 21st Century.  As they mention, "The old adage is that a picture is worth a thousand words: for today's young people, the picture is all," (102).  Visual media and technology offer students struggling to connect with classroom material in the more traditional, textual format, an alternate and equally engaging means of delivering what their classmates already are. 

For example: At the foundation of a great deal of skill-building for the average middle school student, you will find the push for the individual to create meaning and then communicate that meaning.  More traditionally, students are asked to express that meaning through the written word; a complex language that not all learners are privy to.  Visual media and Photography offer students with different learning styles, an opportunity to master those same skills and move forward in school with their peers.

I appreciated the Family Center on Technology slideshow, that suggested any use of AT in classrooms be integrated and used by all students so that there is a strong sense of community and acceptance within the learning environment.  I think Visual Media makes such a thing very easy. 

In a school with a great deal of access to technology, the use of digital cameras to take photographs that tell a story could allow all children to use different components of creative communication to reach the same ends.  Uploading these photos to a photo sharing page like Flickr could help this same academic community grow outside of the classroom (reaching into the virtual realm).  Taking these photographs and then creating a slideshow or short film using Jing, VoiceThread, or Windows Movie Maker could offer students an avenue for expression and communication that text simply cannot. 

I think this is highly important, not only for students who struggle with the written word, but students that struggle with creativity in general.  Many students at the middle school level label themselves as being "creative" or "not creative."  To them, this often means they can either draw well or write well.  If they cannot do either of those things, then they often feel they are more "Type A," logical thinkers that have no aptitude for the abstract realm.  As we all know, creativity comes in all forms, and photography and film are fascinating and appealing avenues for young people.  They can open up doors of confidence for any student and encourage them to explore more than they normally would.