final post

As Walden University comes to a close, I have a fundamental change of the role of
technology in the classroom. In May 2008, I graduated from Heidelberg College with both
a teaching and history degree. I was eager on the search for a job touting the
"technology" I teach with. I would explain PowerPoint's and excel spreadsheets were how
I was using technology. I was lucky enough to land a job at Put-in-Bay Schools. From
there I have learned so much. The big change was when I enrolled at Walden University in
March 2009. The first two classes seemed like a rehash of my education classes but when
I took the third class, "Understanding the Impact of Technology" where my teaching idea
of technology grew. I learned about 21st century technologies and web 2.0 and it gave me
new and endless ideas that will engage and develop students. That leads me to the last
paper I have written for Walden where I make a case for using digital gaming as a
learning tool. I will look towards learning outcomes as to learning methods. It the
outcome desired is learning there is a lot of different ways that a person can achieve
that. These new technologies break down many barriers including the oldest one, well I
didn't learn this way. This type of teaching breaks down the walls of traditional
classroom and opens it up to the world as a whole. Classrooms interact with classrooms
in different states and different countries. It is important to understand that this is
the world we are living in. Just getting "good" grades is not good enough. People must
develop 21st century skills as they will be more important to a student's success in the
real world. I am happy with Walden University and am very happy to receive my degree but
my learning will never stop!

Craig

EDUC 6715l Application 4

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EDUC-6714I-7 Reflection Post

EDUC-6714I-7

During the first seven weeks of this class I have acquired many pieces of knowledge that will change and improve my teaching. The first change was with my perception of UDL. I always had problems making exceptions to my lesson plans with students. The analogy of a building really impacted me. It is expensive and hard to retrofit a ramp into a building and it changes the architecture. I need to make lessons that from the beginning are designed for change. This makes it real easy and allows students to take ownership of their learning.

This course drove home the fact that students need to have autonomy in their learning. This will help them become more active. I know from personal experiences that when students are active they learn more from when the student is rigid. Technology is the tool that allows the great range of diversity in education. Technology allows the students to control and manipulate material that a common textbook could never do. The font can be changed the size increased. All these items make learning fun and engaging.

With this I have set some SMART goals. The first goal is to use three new technology pieces in my classroom. I have figured out one very well and am in the beta stages of introducing another. I hope to incorporate one more technology by the end of the year. This will help me create a classroom where UDL and DI help make the learning process fun and engaging.

EDUC - 6712I-5 Reflection post

As the 8 week class comes to an end, I have learned much and grown as a teacher.  My students will be experiencing a large change in make up.  The most striking change I would have is in the area of ease.  I created a unit plan for this classroom and it was very easy to do and integrate.  I thought developing a unit with new technology literacy would be very hard but it was not.  It has the same challenges that any unit has but added upside in the that the students learn new skills.  These skills relate to 21st century job skills.  

I will use this skills I learned here to not fear new technology in the future.  I would like to make things like wikis, jings, voicethreads, and webspirations.  All these things will be used in my classroom in due time as I gain more confidence.  This will help my student learn and show more growth.  

I have one professional goal that relates to this class and that is in the two integrate two new technology in the classroom.  Another goal is to complete a grant to try and win money for a smartboard.  That would really take my teaching to the next level. I would like to get this to improve from the chalkboard to the smartboard would be great.  I could really make a great impact on learning.  

EDUC -67131-2 reflection post

As this 8 week coarse comes to an end, I have experienced growth in my professional life.  This class has introduced me to the GAME plan.  It is a great help to integrate technology in the classroom.  It allows me to become accountable and responsible for student learning.  Students are growing up in a totally different world as compared to that of the last generation.  Students need to be able to adapt and change where as the last generation needed to remember and reproduce.  Using technology in the classroom helps students learn these traits.  The GAME plan keeps me an track and pushes me to use more and more technology in classroom.  It makes me set accountable and visible goals.  This helps me make great stride in the area of technology.

There are some immediate changes I will make because of this class is the use of the wiki.  I really understood how easy it is to work by using this in the community learning center.  It is easy to use and it is like a word document.  It got me over my fear of using technology and it is going to become a bedrock of my classroom. 

week 7

The GAME plan we worked on this class is a great idea.  I have learned a lot about different types of education goals and technology goals.  I have learned about many different things and the best thing I have obtained from this is to set goals and constantly work to integrate technology in the classroom.  Now that this class has one week until completion I ask myself how will I work to keep using technology.  I have learned that even though their are struggles technology is a crucial part of learning.  The 21st century demands new type of job skills.  I need to work and set visible goals for technology.  This is the only way to keep my progress going.  If I do not set goals they will merely just fall by the way side.  I have also learned about some new tools I have used like wiki's and voicethreads.  I used these tools with moderate success.  I am now learning by doing.  There is a big difference between theory and practice.  With setting new goals I have found a way to learn and make technology work in my classroom. The GAME plan will be a part of my teaching until retirement.  

blog post

I have made some strides in my GAME plan and hits some ruts in other parts of my GAME plan.  Using technology requires large amounts of planning and this time of the year is a hard time to plan.  I have because I am coaching two sports teams and the christmas holiday.  Again it is no excuse but I am using other methods that require less planning.  They are not lecture note test style but rather a style that is not using technology as much.