As I reflect on the various tools and topics
covered throughout this course, the biggest take-away is the importance of
building your PLN or personal learning network.
The best way to continue growing your knowledge of technology and the
tools that are available is to have one place where you can store the
information, communicate with colleagues and neatly organize the data that you
have collected to easily share. The depth
of information and the tools available for your use on the internet is
enormous. Developing your PLN will keep
you connected with the changes and introduction of new tools.
At the time of my mid-term review, I stated that Kim had
introduced all of the course objectives.
In order for us to proceed with our final project, create lesson plans, address
core standards and utilize the tools that were introduced to us, the course
objectives had to have been met. There
were eight major Course Learner Outcomes with each of them connecting with the
use of technology. We learned how to
implement various tools and applications in our classrooms as well as how to
connect this technology to the common core and ISTE standards. We also learned how to write lesson plans
and develop curriculum that includes the use of technology.
It is important
for all teachers to integrate technology into their lesson plans because
technology is a part of our lives today.
Students today know no other time.
They are smart, savvy and nearly all students today, no matter what
grade, own some type of technology device.
Students today have a smaller attention span, expect to be entertained
and want something more than listening to a lecture. Transforming a lecture about poetry to
include the students creating word clouds, will be much more memorable to
students than a dry old-fashioned lecture.
Technology adds excitement, keeps students engaged and will reinforce
the meaning behind the lesson.
I have found
several barriers to technology integration.
The first barrier is that not all students are given access to computers
at home. They may all have a DSi, or an
iPod, or maybe an Xbox or Playstation, but not all students are allowed to use
the family computer. As a teacher, the
challenge is a classroom of students with mixed skill levels. I have learned to modify my lessons to
include students of all levels, however many lessons take longer to get through
because of the diversity of computer knowledge.
Another barrier is the technology available to you to teach If you are
trying to run new technology with legacy equipment, that too can be a
barrier. This is an extremely difficult
barrier to overcome as you must use what you have and you need to learn as many
work-arounds to problems. The upside to
this is that it gives you a chance to teach troubleshooting to your
students. Finally, another barrier is
managing your PLN in such a way that you are able to quickly review, new links,
posts, tools, etc. Using tools like
Diigo allows you to organize articles, tools, and other connections in one neat
place.
Some of my
favorite Web 2.0 tools include Voki, which allows you and your students to
create their own Avatars, Jing and Screener which allows you to record your
desk top movement while you narrate the steps you are taking Prezi is a great tool for presentations. It is far more dynamic than PowerPoint. Weebly is a great tool to create your own
website. It allows up to 40 free student
accounts and is so easy to use. All of
these tools would fit neatly into any lesson plan. Whether you are teaching language arts, math,
social studies or science, you can easily integrate any of these tools into
your lesson.
In all honesty, I
have only begun to create my PLN. I have
connected with several teaches, bookmarked 14 sites and have reached out to a
couple of my colleagues at the school where I teach. I have had little time to participate in any
discussion but will use what I have as a launching pad to collect information
over the summer as I develop a new curriculum for the computer science classes
at my school.
I have enjoyed
this class immensely. It has been
challenging and has required a lot of work, but I have learned so much. Thank you Kim!
