At the beginning of this course, I stated that my personal
learning theory was that students will learn from experiencing various
instructional strategies, calling upon prior knowledge, and being active in
their own learning. This theory falls in line most specifically with the behaviorism,
cognitivism, and constructivism theories. Thinking about everything that I have
learned, I would only modify this by adding an element of technology. I think
that I would be fooling myself if I thought that students today learned
completely without technology. I believe it could still be done, but with so
many forms of technology available and being used in society, learning without
technology is not reality. Technology adds efficiency and expands on the
capabilities of students tremendously. Therefore, my new personal learning
theory is such that students will learn from experience various instructional
strategies, calling upon prior knowledge, utilizing various technology tools,
and being active in their own learning.
I have spent time each week of this course thinking about
what I could change in my own classroom in regards to technology to make it
better for my students. One thing that I have started and will be really
emphasizing on after winter break is the use of blogs. I have started having my
students respond to blog posts for exit slips, which has been a seamless
process. I will continue to do this, but I will also have students begin their
own blogs. This will be a great way for parents to become more informed about
their students learning, and is a great way for students to communicate about
the classroom topics. I am excited about this prospect and seeing where it
takes my classroom.
Two new technology tools that I would like to infuse into my
class are wikis and concept mapping tools. Wikis are similar to blogs, but
instead of just one student writing their thoughts and other students
commenting, students can better collaborate on the content. I have hesitated to
use wikis because of my unfamiliarity with them, but after using one in my last
class and reading more about them in this course, I’m encouraged to incorporate
them into my classroom. With wikis, students can all contribute to the page,
add links and references where necessary, and can even contribute to other
groups’ wikis if they are set up right. The possibilities with wikis are
extremely endless, as it is truly student-driven and project-based learning
through and through. Concept maps are a very easy way to get students to take
notes and begin to determine how things are or are not related. Programs such
as Inspiration or websites like www.SpiderScribe.net
are easy to use and help students stay very organized throughout their notes. I
have found that oftentimes students just need some help organizing their
thoughts or notes, and their notebook doesn’t have enough room to do this
efficiently. This is one of the great advantages of a computer-based concept
map. Instead of spending time trying to decipher their scribbles, students can
focus on the topics and ideas themselves and can begin to apply them. (Pitler,
Hubbell & Kuhn, 2012)
One change I would like to implement is the use of a screen
capturing application. I would like to start by capturing my own lessons on the
computer, along with my voice, to 1) provide students with reinforcement of the
lesson at any time, and 2) ensure students who may have missed my class don’t
miss any of the content. While there are several advantages to capturing your
lessons, these are two that I would like to focus on. I’m sure that every
teacher has had those students who constantly request for you to go over
something again. This is not a problem until they are at home doing their
homework and their teacher is not there with them. Having access to the recorded lesson will help
students to become more comfortable with the material should any questions or
confusion arise. We also have all had students miss some of the most important
lessons, even multiple lessons in a row. This puts them severely behind, sometimes
putting them in a declining position within the class and their grades. Instead
of having them trying to double up on their work to catch up, students could
easily watch the lesson at home and not miss anything that went on for that
class. The advantages are truly endless, in my opinion, and it is something
that I would really like to start doing next semester. Eventually, I would like
students to be able to capture their own screens for projects.
A second change for my classroom would be to increase the
collaborative work that is done. I have had a hard time trying to find regular
group activities within my computer classes since I want them all to be able to
show me their understanding of the skills. I have started using Google Drive
for this, as it is the perfect online collaboration tool. However, I would like
to find new ways to implement this. I have had them creating group
presentations and documents, but I want to challenge them in new ways. If I can
find new activities to do, I feel I would be greatly benefiting my students and
would better prepare them for their future.
I am really excited about the new resources and ideas I have
obtained throughout this course. My students will benefit immensely, and I know
I will become a better teacher, as well. I am even more excited to start
sharing these tools and strategies with my colleagues and coming up with ways
to improve our school overall.
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E. R., & Kuhn, M. (2012). Using
technology with classroom instruction that works (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA:
ASCD
