In
the beginning of the course, I knew technology played an essential role in
today’s education. My only problem was
that I was not up to date on the new technologies used in today’s
classroom. I grew up in the era, when
computers were used as a reward for good behavior. However, through this course, I learned that
I’m a constructivist, when it comes to being a teacher and learner. I’m still set in the pattern of the old
traditional style of learning and teaching and these old habits need to be
broken. I believe a number of factors hinder
my teaching ability in the advancement of technology in the classroom. My first obstacle with the course, consist of
not being a classroom teacher. I found
myself lost on some of the assignments and doing research on the topics helped
me to understand how to complete the tasks/assignments. My other obstacle came in the form of not
knowing and not understanding technology.
When it comes to learning technology, my mind goes blank and shut down
on how to integrate the technology into my everyday life events. For me using new technology is difficult and time
consuming. I rather hold on to the old
information and disregard the new because it’s something new and unfamiliar. However, “students come to school knowledgeable
about the Web and its potentials, they are comfortable using it, and expect
learning in school to be more like learning on their own” (Solomon and Schrum. p.
30). This quote made me understand that
I, as a teacher and person need to grasp on to today’s technology in order to
advance in education. It’s like the old
saying of, you can sink or swim.
As
a learner, I learned a vast amount of knowledge on incorporating technology in
the classroom through the readings, videos, web conferences, group discussions
and wiki and blogs. I was able to
understand how and what my peers thoughts were on different educational
topics. This was an advantage for me due
to not being in a classroom. I had no
ideal were the disadvantages or the advantages of having technology present in
the classrooms. Through all of the
different forums and media outlets, I learned that I must prepare myself to
constantly be flexible with my teaching ideals and concepts. Pitler stated, “make sense of, or construct
new meaning for, new knowledge by interacting with others” (Pitler, 2007,
p.139). I will hold this quote as a
golden rule, when I’m learning from other teachers and administrators.
As
a lifetime learner, I learned that education is a forever evolving learning
process. In the beginning, we used dirt
and stone as a way to educate ourselves, now we use computers and micro-chips
for learning advancements. Through my
past interactions and collaboration with my colleagues, I learned that everyone
has a different teaching strategy and that flexibility is a key factor in the
success of education. “If educators work
together to plan their instruction and simultaneously plan ways to evaluate throughout
the unit, they will develop a wide variety of interesting models” (Solomon and Schrum,
2007, p.170). This quote made understand
that peer to peer collaboration is beneficial for all students and teachers to
reach life learning goals.
Resources
Pitler,
H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K., (2007). Using
Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development.
Solomon,
G., & Schrum, L. (2007). Web 2.0:
New Tools, New Schools.
Eugen, OR: International Society
for Technology in Education.
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