August
2009
Reflection for Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology0
Teaching is a career that requires an individual to be open to new ideas and to be willing to study and learn about these new ideas. Teaching students to use technology is becoming more and more important in the field. For many teachers, using technology with students requires that the teachers themselves become life-long learners. I have chosen to study technology in education as a part of my master’s degree program so that I can support and facilitate students’ learning. The current course that I am taking has helped me to see how useful technology can be in the classroom. I believe that technology is essential in the education field because it offers support for students with varying learning styles.
My personal theory of learning has not changed much throughout this course. My perspective about learning still aligns with both the cognitive theory and the constructivist theory. As cognitive theory describes, it is important for students to use their senses to take in new information and for them to accommodate or assimilate the new information into what they already know. Students need to have authentic experiences in order to make strong connections in the brain. It is my job to create these authentic experiences and using technology gives me many new options for creating these experiences. It is also important for the students, during the authentic experiences, to construct their own knowledge. They need to have the opportunity to put effort into their own learning and to be an active learner.
There are many adjustments that I will make to my instructional practice due to new technology that I have learned about. My lesson plans will from now on be based on my students’ use of web 2.0 tools. In addition to classroom discussions, my students will be asked to post responses to questions posed on the class blog. This will help my students learn to write for an authentic audience and it will help them learn to respond to one another in writing and not just rely on my responses. I also plan to implement wikis and the use of Voice Thread throughout several units. Web quests will be used as I create them for my students to enhance their research skills while also learning to assess the validity of web sites used for research.
As a result of learning about these new technologies, I have set two long term goals for myself. First, this year I will begin to focus my energies on integrating technology into as much of my curriculum as I can. My students will learn to use web 2.0 tools, which will in turn allow them to be prepared for the working world today. It is essential for my students to begin learning how to use these tools in order for them to be successful in this increasingly technological world. My second goal is to begin spreading my knowledge of these tools and to help other teachers understand how important it is to include these tools into the classroom everyday. These tools are not only useful for students, but teachers as well.
Overall, technology is becoming an important part of everyday life in this world and it is essential that students learn to use it appropriately. By using it in school, students will learn how to safely use the web 2.0 tools in their daily lives. These tools will also help me to create authentic learning experiences for my students while allowing them to take an active role in their learning.
