Final Blog: Reflection

In my Midterm Review Blog I discussed the course objectives from this class and where I was in meeting those objectives. I will again review the course objectives and discuss what I have learned since my last blog and if I have met the course objectives now that my class is complete.

The first 5 objectives I discussed in my first review so I will summarize quickly how I met these objectives with my last assignments: 

The last assignments I did were the Digital Story, Integrated Technology Lesson Plan and my WebQuest. All these assignments helped me learn new technological tools to integrate into my teaching. Using Animoto is fun and will help students present their ideas and a more creative format. It also helps the student be more engaged int heir work. Creating my Lesson Plan I integrated different technological tools into the lesson which will help the student find new ways to communicate with the teacher and students, research and present information. In my Webquest I tried to make the Webquest fun and visually appealing, interactive, easy to follow but also educational. All these assignments showed me different methods to make my lessons more interactive and engaging to students. When teaching students how to use these tools and having them learn by using these tools they get better at being digital citizens. They get to learn how to use tools appropriately in education.

I also learned how to create survey's using Google Docs which can be used as an assessment to see where my students are at and what they have learned. I also learned how to create a rubric using Rubistar which helps students see what is expected of them. In my rubric and lesson plan I made sure to add a section of practicing being a good digital citizen in which students are reminded how to be good digital citizen.

Objective 6. Illustrate through application how state and national standards are implemented within the curriculum (e.g., NH Curriculum Frameworks, ISTE (NETS-Teacher/NETS-Student) and NH-ICT Literacy Standards for K-12 Students (306.42))

In the Lesson Plan and the Webquest I learned more about meeting curriculum and NETS standards in teaching. You can't just teach students anything you want and the Curriculum Standards help teachers know what students need to be taught. How teachers teach it and meet these standards is up to them but all students need to meet these standards. With my assignments I  picked what I wanted to cover, based on what my certification will be in, then I looked into what standards I could meet with my lesson plan. This helped me get a feel for finding the standards and learning how to meet them.

7. Demonstrate an understanding of the use of adaptive technologies and other digital resources to personalize and differentiate learning activities for every student

All the tools being used can be given as options for students to reflect and present their ideas which allows them to pick a method that fits their learning needs. By making the lesson plans more integrative with different tools it allows students to be able to learn using different learning styles. In the lesson plan I discussed how to change the materials offered to students with IEP's so they meet the standards and objectives of the lesson but in a way that fits them.

Objective 8. Evaluate, adapt and reflect on emerging tools and trends by participating in local and global learning communities and by reviewing current research and professional literature- This objective was met and discussed in my Midterm Review.

FINAL REFLECTION

       It is important to integrate technology into the lessons we teach (regardless the age of the students) to make the lessons more interactive, engaging and slowly teaches students how to use technology appropriately in their education and careers. Students want to use technological tools they enjoy such as the internet, cell phones, iPads, and video games. Why not show them that it is possible to use these tools in an educational manner and that learning is fun? Students need to be invested into their own education and one way to show them how is by letting them have a choice on how they are taught. Technological tools give students options and teachers more methods to reach their students. 
        Some of the barriers in technological integration could be an outdated school administration or lack of funds. Some administrative personal who block technological integration just need to be reeducated and shown evidence how this can help students much better then the old methods. Most careers today require the use of computers so schools have a duty to show students how to use computers and the software's appropriately. As for funds there are still grants available to integrate technology into the classroom. 
         I enjoyed the WebQuest and I will use that as my lesson plan because it helps students go at their own pace, makes the lesson more interactive and engages students. As a teacher it provides your lesson plan to your students and lets them take control of their education. The other tools I learned about will be integrated into my lessons to help students show their reflections of their teachings. It's limitless what I can do but I know it will help my students enjoy learning and be more engaged.

   This class was my first class in education and it definitely helped me get settled into my new degree. This class was informative, interactive and fun. I learned how to make teaching more engaging for students and to reach students with their learning styles and needs. The tools I learned about has made me more confident in integrating technology into my lesson plans and that I don't need to know everything now I can learn about more tools as I go. When I heard about the Webquest I was scared and intimidated and now that I did it I'm like that was not bad. I enjoyed being taught the tools as the teacher was using it and watching her use them on the screen. This made it easy to follow. I feel better prepared to continue in my degree and more confident in my decision to choose education.

Midterm Review: Am I learning What I Should Be Learning

        I love technology and want to know more but every time I try to learn more I become overwhelmed at its complexity and how quickly the tools we learn about today are gone tomorrow. This class has definitely helped me to look at technology in a different light. Trying to be ahead of the technology world is impossible but like stated before by the professor "It's not about the tools". Children need to have options for how they learn and we can give them those options but still make sure they are absorbing the information they need to know. Now I will review what I have learn so far compared to what I should be learning from the class objectives.



1. Demonstrate the understanding of how technologies can effectively promote student learning:

I start discussing the importance of using technological tools in education in my first blog post, Books or iPads, Library or the Internet: Lets give our children the option. Children are not learning as much today and it's not because they are becoming more stupid in each generation but because teachers are failing them. Children need to be taught with tools they feel comfortable with and in the manner they learn best. The old method of teaching worked during the time period when children were use to learning that way but as children explored more and were given new gadgets the old methods of teaching stopped working. I can use this class as an example. This class not only discusses the various tools we can use in teaching but we actually get to use those tools to learn more about them. We are listening, reading and actually using our hands to get absorb what we are learning about just like the way we should teach students.

2. Evaluate and use a variety of current technologies to enhance content instruction and to advance students' technological literacy:

This objective is a working process in which we have used simpler tools to enhance content instruction but we are still working on bigger projects not due to closer to the end of this course which is still expanding our knowledge of the tools available. Technological tools such as Blogger and Wordle makes writing fun and helps children create which is important in learning. By adding any technological tool into every lesson we are letting our children create which enhances learning but also lets them learn about all the helpful technological tools available and how to use them properly.

3. Design meaningful and authentic digitally based learning experiences with multiple and varied assessments:

In creating our lesson plan and Webquest we are finding great ways teachers have used technological tools to help students be more engaged in their learning. The assessment rubrics help teachers assess if students have learned what they needed to learn. This helps teachers find another method to reteach lessons that students had a hard time understanding.

4. Reflect upon and demonstrate effective use of digital tools and resources:

My blog is the way I get to reflect about the tools I have used in this class. In class we get to use the digital tools we are learning about as the teacher is showing us how to use them and that has helped so much. I really enjoyed the Voki lesson and how we applied to learning about these tools by creating Voki's to discuss digital citizenship in my blog Voki Digital Citizenship Presentation. In blackboard every resource we have used in class is available to us so we don't have to search for them and we can go back in case we didn't get anything. I want to create the same setup for my future students because children should be able to go back and review. This helps with the learning process.

5. Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of safe, ethical, legal and moral practices related to

digital information and technology:

I have discussed digital citizenship and how to be good digital citizens in my post Digital Citizenship Blog and re-enforced it by having my Voki's go over it again in my post Voki Digital Citizenship Presentation. This objective has definitely been met and helps me learn how to teach my future students about it. 

6. Illustrate through application how state and national standards are implemented within the curriculum (e.g., NH Curriculum Frameworks, ISTE (NETS-Teacher/NETS-Student) and NH-ICT Literacy Standards for K-12 Students (306.42)):

I am working on this objective in the creation of my lesson rubric and Webquest. I know the standards are ways to make sure students learn what they need to learn but how they learn it is up to us. It's up to us to make our lessons are engaging.

7. Demonstrate an understanding of the use of adaptive technologies and other digital resources to personalize and differentiate learning activities for every student: I know that providing videos to teach lessons helps students who are visual learners and creating an article helps students who are hands on learners. I know that there are many other uses of adaptive technologies and I believe we are covering that next week so I can't wait to get a better understanding of this. 

8. Evaluate, adapt and reflect on emerging tools and trends by participating in local and global learning communities and by reviewing current research and professional literature:              We reviewed this objective quickly but I hope we are going to go into it much more. We reviewed Webinars and how it's an online video classroom where anyone can join in to watch and interact. I used some professional articles for my discussion in my post Preparing Students for the Future. Webinars and current research helps teachers learn about new methods that are working and in turn emerge these new tools in their classrooms.