Course Reflections

The past seven weeks of this class have been challenging.  I have been pushed to teach in ways I never have before.  This course has changed the way I think about teaching and learning.  As a result I have a better understanding of blogs and wikis and how they can be used in the classroom.  I now feel comfortable using technology that I am not familiar with in my classroom.  I know that using technology is important and as Presky says, “This is less about teachers mastering specific tools or techniques such as electronic, games, blogs, or search engines, than their being willing to allow students to use these tools to find information and create products,” (Prensky, 2008).

One of my biggest “aha” moments during this course was the realization that teacher roles have shifted dramatically from when I was a student.  As Dr. Thornburg states the role of educators has shifted with the availability of information on the internet.  Teachers are no longer the givers of knowledge but rather the facilitator of experiences (Thornburg, 2010).  My students don’t need me to always tell them what to do or how to solve problems.  I need to continue changing the way that I teach so that I give students the opportunity to create their own knowledge and guide them along that path.

The idea of student centered learning is something that I am continuing to work toward.  This past week I embraced this idea and charged my students with the task of creating wikis.  The process was amazing.  I was impressed by the level of engagement my students showed in the project.  While the process of having students work on wikis was not perfect I saw more collaboration and excitement than any other lesson I have taught all year long.  This proves to me the importance of student centered lessons where students create products that demonstrate their learning.

To expand upon my knowledge of using technology in the classroom to help increase student achievement I plan on continuing my search for new ways to use technology.  To help me with this search I will continue to read the educational blogs that I have started to follow throughout this course.  By reading these I will be able to find new and exciting ways to incorporate technology in my classroom.  Another way to expand my knowledge of technology is to continue to collaborate with other teachers.  This course has helped me start a dialogue with many teachers in my building about the use of technology in our classrooms.  I look forward to continuing these conversations as the year progresses.

My goals for moving forward with the incorporation of technology in my class are twofold.  The first goal is to expand upon the use of my class blog.  Currently I am using it to provide students a place to ask questions.  I want to increase the amount of information available on the blog by starting to post class lessons on the bog and helpful links to information that I find.  To increase the use of my blog by my students I need to begin to require them to use it so that they start to explore it and use the blog as a resource on a regular basis.  I realize that I have students that do not have access to the internet and I must provide these students with the time in my class to explore and interact with the content on my blog.  My second goal is to help my colleagues increase their use of technology.  To help accomplish this goal I have made myself available to my principal as resource for increasing the use of technology in my school.  He has already asked me to present some of the lessons I have used in my classroom to the school staff.  By continuing to push myself and others in my school to incorporate technology we can increase student engagement and learning.  This goal signifies a shift in my feelings from the beginning of the course when I did not promote the development of technology skills in my colleagues to becoming a leader in my building.

Prensky, M. (2008, March). Turning on the lights. Educational Leadership, 65(6), 40–45.
Thornburg, D. (2010). “Changing the role of the classroom teacher:part 1”. Laureate Education

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