Benefits+of+Technology+in+the+Classroom

 December 18, 2009 **Final Reflection for Teaching with Technology**

After reading the syllabus, I was sure that Teaching with Technology was simply a reiteration of everything we had learned so far in our previous coursework. I thought we would review wikis, blogs, integration and web 2.0 tools. Though we did review the use of these resources, we went further into teaching with technology than I had anticipated, which was highly beneficial to me and my future as a technology leader in my district. The course, not only helped me focus in on how I can further the use of technology in my classroom, but it also made me take a new point of view. The projects helped me to take the perspective as a technology leader helping teachers, which is what I want to eventually do. This course helped prepare me for some of the obstacles that I may face in the endeavor. The challenges presented will help me help others more efficiently, and I will be able to make a bigger impact on those teachers, as well as their students.

The coursework I completed through Teaching with Technology was, in fact, advantageous to my current position as my campus Technology Integration Coach, or TIC. It is difficult to help teachers who are resistant to technology. I, now, apprehend that teachers are typically only averse to integration, not because they don't agree that the outcomes of such lessons will be engaging and helpful to their students, but instead, teachers pull away from technology because they are not supported enough through the process. If they are given sufficient foundation and assistance, then they may be more apt to implement technology use in the classroom, which will, in turn, make their jobs easier and make learning more engaging and meaningful to his/her students. Large group professional development may not be good enough for many teachers; instead, small group or individual mentoring may be a better option to help out struggling teachers. One purpose for technology integration is to make learning more individualized; professional development should also be looked at in this way.

Everything that I hoped to achieve with this class was accomplished and more. I am truly amazed with how much I learned in such a short period of time. But, as with any course in this program, I always feel that, if given a little more time, I could have been able to create something even better. It is a fast-paced program, so the readings, discussions, assignments, and videos come at you so quickly that it is often difficult to absorb the material, process it accordingly, and then use the knowledge to complete an assignment or create something worthy of my expectations. Luckily, I can take what was learned in the course and through the assignments to synthesize incredible integrations and changes on my home campus and in the classroom with my students.

I was successful in completing all of the course assignments. I had a great group that I worked with online, who were supportive, open-minded, and driven to make a difference on their home campuses. It is refreshing to work with others who are compelled and motivated to participate in the evolution of education through technology integration. We helped each other grow and gain new knowledge and experiences with various tools and technology resources. There was quite a bit of cooperative work done through our Google site, our Google documents, chatting and emailing. I am still amazed at what we were able to carry out in our short time, while being in Dallas, Seguin, San Antonio, and Houston!

None of us have ever met in person, but I know that we will keep in contact and network with each other about successes, resources, and more. Though the course syllabi do not say that the intention of the courses are to help us network with each other and build a online professional learning community, I believe that the professors knew what they were doing when creating the assignments and group projects. They knew we would form relationships to help us succeed not only in the class, but also in our careers and future careers.

I am capable of more than I thought. If I continue to allow technology to work in my advantage, I can continue to do more and more for my students, fellow teachers, and others that I choose to to influence. I often am intimidated to share what I know about technology with other teachers because I am afraid of negative comments and resistance to my advice, but now I have a different outlook on how to approach the matter. I know that with this new skill set, I will be able to help those who seemed to disregard technology as a waste of time and effort. I know now that they were pulled away from the idea because I wasn't providing the support they needed to make it happen. When you give a teacher the knowledge, resources, examples, and practice they need to succeed, then you do not only help the teacher, but you also impact their students and their future students.

December 18, 2009

In the final week of my course, Teaching with Technology, we explored how Marzano's strategy of reinforcing effort can be supported using technology. Pitler points out, with support from McREL research, that: The book also goes on to make a couple of recommendations:
 * 1) Not all students realize the importance of believing in effort.
 * 2) Students can learn to operate from a belief that effort pays off even if they do not initially have this belief. (Pitler, et al, 2007, p.155)
 * 1) Explicitly teach students the importance of effort.
 * 2) Have students keep track of their effort and achievement. (Pitler, et al, 2007, p. 156)

Technology can help students practice monitor their own effort by allowing students to keep track of their process through spreadsheets, graphs, and more. Also, it can allow students to journal about their success; these entries can be presented or kept private. Perhaps when a student meets a big goal he or she had, you could post a video, their goal sheet, an audio file, et cetera of the student talking about how they succeeded. This is both motivating for that child to meet another goal. It is motivating to the other students, so they'll be recognized.

Though students should be taught and responsible for putting forth effort and keeping track of how they are doing, it is still important for teachers to realize that we are teaching 21st century learners. They are not the same kind of student who sat in their same chair 20 years ago, 10 years ago, or even 5 years ago!

I've shared this video with others before, but check it out again. It's so motivating to me, as an educator, to try harder to engage my students in the classroom. With increased engagement, students will start recognizing the importance of effort and how to keep track of their achievements!

December 14, 2009

We have to teach the "whole child". I know I've heard this through various trainings, but no one ever really goes into what it means. One of the videos that I watched this week addressed what teaching the whole child means. Check out the short 8 minute video below.

media type="custom" key="5022997"

It is our responsibility, as educators, to engage and develop students' social and emotional learning abilities. We have to give them opportunities in the classroom to interact with peers and problem solve in a group format. This isn't simply having students work on a worksheet together or complete a math problem together; instead, this involves giving students a problem or task and allowing them to troubleshoot through the process in order to find a solution. This involves letting them choose their path for learning, letting them make mistakes, letting them find a way out of their mistakes, and more.

Basically, the key to appropriately address students' social, emotional, and academic learning is project-based learning. Project-based learning allows the students to be "energized, focused, and challenged", according to another video through Edutopia. This next video clip shows how 2nd-graders, 5th-graders, and high school students are using project-based learning in their schools.

media type="custom" key="5023039"

The possibilities and rewards through project-based learning are endless. When students get to have choice and flexibility in their learning, as discussed in earlier posts about UDL, students will thrive.

December 8, 2009

This week's learning reiterated to me that there are so many different ways to help a child learn. A specific source that stood out to me this week was the online book called //Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning//. Prior to this course, I had not been exposed to the concept of the Universal Design for Learning, or UDL. Basically, the design is built upon three principles: to support recognition learning, to support strategic learning, and to support affective learning. All of which are supported through providing students with a wide variety of options when it comes to learning new content. Each area of learning is referred to as a learning network. The concept of each and how teachers can engage each network is illustrated wonderfully in the book's chapter 6 concept map.

Providing a UDL for students is achieved, fundamentally, when students are given the opportunity to hear, see, and experience information in various formats, with assorted levels of difficulty, frequent feedback, and the power to select how they will be rewarded, how they will show what they learn, and which materials they will use to do so. Variance and differentiation are the key features of UDL.

For a more in-depth description of how I have used UDL in my classroom, visit my blog.

November 29, 2009

This week during my studies, I came across quite a bit of useful information. Much of which, simply confirmed that technology use in the classroom helps to accommodate all learning abilities while raising student engagement and level of thinking. I wanted to share a few online resources that are available for free and how to actually implement the technology into your classroom in order to provide an affective learning experience.

Surveys are data collecting tools. We all know that. We have been asked to fill out surveys in response to professional development, in response to textbook selection and in order for our instructional support team to find out what they could do to help make our jobs easier. I, personally, had never thought of using surveys as a learning tool. According to Pitler, "surveys allows a teacher to engage learners and gather information needed to set more meaningful and personalized objectives" (Pitler, et al, 2007, p. 25) Teachers have actually used online surveys to find out what misconceptions students may have concerning a particular area of content or an objective. Also, they were able to find out which portion of the content was viewed as the most important to students, and finally, the data collected from the surveys was used to help students and teachers form learning goals for the unit. Some free websites that allow you to create online surveys are:
 * Surveys**
 * Survey Monkey
 * Pollcat
 * Profiler Pro
 * Google Docs (forms)

Project-based learning help students to get hands-on experience in a student-centered environment. A problem that many teachers run in to is knowing how to assess their level of learning and their project output. It is important for students to understand what is expected of them before they begin their projects, so it is helpful to give them a copy of a rubric. Rubrics are often cumbersome and time consuming to create, but there are a few online resources available to quickly create, print, and/or share your rubrics!
 * Rubrics**
 * RubiStar
 * Rubrics for Web Lessons
 * Landmark Project Rubric Machine
 * TeAchnology Web Portal for Educators

Play with these links, and let us know what you think on the Discussion Board. I have set up a new discussion!

November 22, 2009

We tend to come up with many excuses as to why we don't integrate technology into the classroom. Although, studies show that when "applied effectively, technology implementation not only increases student learning, understanding, and achievement but also augments motivation to learn, encourages collaborative learning, and supports the development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills" (Pilter, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, p. 3). Many of the things that hold us back can be overcome if we truly want to integrate technology. The majority of classrooms across America lack the number of resources that are desired in each classroom, but with good planning and classroom management, it can be done!

When technology is properly integrated into the classroom, students reach a higher level of engagement and higher levels of thinking, which in turn results in a higher level of content retention. Moreover, technology and learning support a constructivist and connectivist approach to learning. Students build upon previous knowledge to make sense of the new content. With such a meaningful connection, students are more apt to thoroughly understand.

Finally, "technology allows teachers to differentiate instruction more efficiently by providing a wider variety of avenues for learning that reach students of divergent readiness levels, interests, and learning styles" (Pilter, et al, 2007, p. 3) We are always struggling, as educators, to properly serve all of our students. This can prove to be difficult when you have a handful of those who are a grade level or more behind, a handful who are a grade level or more advanced, and a whole other group on grade level. We want to make sure that we are setting up our students for success, while still challenging them to their full potential. Technology is a tool that allows us to make this happen.

__//Bibliography//__ Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M. & Malenoski, K. (2007). //Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works//. Denver, CO: McREL

Rose, D. & Meyer, A. (2006). //Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning //. Alexandria, VA: ASCD code       code