Reflection - EDUC 6711

In the first assignment for this course, EDUC 6711, I described my personal theory of learning. In my paper, I highlighted the importance of engaging students through the use of Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences, hook information to prior knowledge to cement connections, use many modalities to enter information into the brain, and shift the classroom focus from teaching to learning. At the end of this course, I still believe in those things, but believe more than ever that technology allows me as a teacher to ensure that learning is meaningful in my student centered classroom. Like Dr. Wolfe states, “you can teach more in less time when you teach it better because students get it faster” (Laureate, 2009). The use of technology in the classroom ensures that students are actively engaged in their learning and lets me take a step back to let them explore and use technology as learning tools to support achievement and success now and in the future.

Throughout this master’s program, I have been introduced to many technology tools that can be used in the classroom to effectively engage students in learning, like blogs and podcasts. As useful as these tools can be for older students, I have found them to be of little use to my kindergarten students because these tools are not designed for non-readers. This course has been very valuable to me, much more so than others, because it has taught me how to use virtual field trips and VoiceThread with my students. These technology tools have proven to be wonderful for my students, as they are very easy to navigate for pre-readers and do not require much assistance from me to use and explore. An immediate adjustment I have made in my classroom is finding ways to implement virtual field trips and VoiceThread into my classroom. For example, at the beginning of my unit on space, I let the kids explore various pictures of space objects on Nasa’s website, and as we’re learning about the sun, moon, and earth, I am having the kids create pictures of each to upload to VoiceThread and tell what they’ve learned about each. I’m very excited about it and the kids love being able to create pictures and hear their own voices!

Two long-term goals I have for myself is to 1) begin to implement technology slowly into at least one lesson per weekly unit in my classroom, and 2) Find more technology tools that lend themselves to easy use by my young students. To achieve my first goal, I think I need to remember that implementing technology does not need to happen quickly. If I begin slowly by implementing just a few lessons every month, I will become much better at using the tools myself and will learn how to implement different tools for different purposes in many more lessons. As long as I maintain my time outline of one lesson per unit, I do not think that the job will be too overwhelming. Hopefully, as I learn to use technology more in my classroom, I will be able to achieve my second goal of finding more tools for my young students to use. The only way I will be able to find new things is by exploring technology on my own. As my students explore in the computer lab each day, I plan to also explore right along with them and find even more tools that will help my students achieve.

This course has been integral helping me integrate technology in the classroom. Without this course, I might not ever have found VoiceThread or thought of using virtual field trips or concepts maps with my students. But now, I feel much more equipped to help my students become more prepared for a future filled with technology.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology. Baltimore: Author.