As my Michigan State University class, Teaching Understanding with Technology, comes to an end, it’s a perfect time to reflect on everything that I’ve learned and decide what I still need to learn and where I want to go next.
I was already aware that technology is all around us, but I hadn’t considered that educators should rethink how we teach our students who are learning new things at a very rapid pace outside of school, via the internet, games, and many apps. After reading works by Will Richardson, James Paul Gee, and Henry Jenkins, I came to learn that we need to capitalize on the technology resources at our students’ fingertips, but also teach our students HOW to best access and analyze new knowledge they gain. This is certainly a process that begins with teachers adopting new ideas. It will be strengthened when we try new techniques and resources out with our students, then share our struggles and findings with our colleagues.
Another big take-away was the concept of TPACK (Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge). TPACK highlights three core areas of teaching and learning: Content, Pedagogy, and Technology, stressing that all three must be considered together, not as separate entities. Teachers are naturally flexible and responsive in their planning for and instruction of students, but incorporating technology into the art of teaching content is one that should and must be done.
This course opened my eyes to technologies that can support me, professionally and personally, and my students.
Technology for ME
Originally, I had never considered Twitter as a professional platform, but I have fallen in love with it. Every morning, I read a few articles or watch a few videos; I am guaranteed to learn something new that can benefit my teaching. In the afternoons, I check my Feedly account for new newspaper and magazine articles, as well as blogs I follow, related to exactly what I’m interested in. They have so much! From education to technology to food to travel, it’s basically Nicole’s Daily Newspaper. Evernote Webclipper helps me save articles, pictures, or parts of articles that I find on the internet and want to remember later. Evernote, itself, has made me more productive (read my article here to find how) and organized as an educator and social butterfly.
Technology for MY STUDENTS
There is an infinite amount of resources out there for our students to tap into, in and out of school. Fairfax County shares a list of over 600 apps that have been proven useful to teachers and students every year. They’ve narrowed it down, but it’s difficult to say any teacher has the time and energy to sift through that list. Luckily the Center for Learning and Performance Technologies compiled the top 100 from the previous year to assist us. Educanon helps me take videos from the internet and make them more interactive by intermittent pauses and directions, which is perfect for the Flipped Classroom approach (see an example lesson plan here). VoiceThread is perfect for encouraging discussion amongst students; it’s incredibly motivating. Of course, my favorite is Google Apps. All our students have google accounts, so preparing templates allow me to support students and differentiate. I love that students can work on the same document and make and receive comments on each other’s work in real time.
There is still a lot I need to learn about copyright and I plan to read Renee Hobb’s book, Discovering Media Literacy: Teaching Digital Media and Popular Culture in Elementary Schools, as a start. Incorporating technology well takes a lot of time and I wonder how I will be able to continue building my toolbox of technologies, while also creating great lessons for my students and keeping up with the other requirements I have as a teacher. Life is about balance and now I have another (huge) piece I need to consider. I also would like to know more about using technology as a formative assessment tool, so I’ve registered for a class through American School of Bombay Online Academy.
I started this graduate certificate program for a number of reasons: I felt I was falling behind my colleagues that were more tech savvy, I realized how much information is out there to learn and knew I needed guidance, and I’m interested in pursuing a doctorate in Educational Technology and Educational Psychology through MSU and wanted to know if I would enjoy their style of presenting material online before I applied. Extremely pleased with all that I’ve learned and my progress as a 21st-century teacher, I’m thrilled I chose this program. I know there is still so much more to learn, but am happy and excited to be on the never-ending journey.