Final Reflection EDUC-6714

Final Reflection EDUC-6714

After reflecting on the theories, concepts, and strategies presented in this course, I believe that using technology to differentiate in my classroom will have a huge impact on my teaching practices. In this class I have learned how to use the key characteristics of Universal Design for learning and Differentiated Instruction. I feel that technology, UDL, and DI can provide me with a way to allow my students’ to learn in their preferred learning style and allow them to demonstrate what they’ve learned in ways that capitalize on their strengths and interests. Furthermore, I have learned that technology, UDL, and DI will provide me with ways to better address and manage the variety of learning needs in my classroom. According to Dr. David Rose (Laureate Education, 2009), “UDL is about making sure that there are alternatives, that there are ways in which every student in the classroom can learn”. I know that UDL, DI, and technology can help me customize and personalize learning activities to address my students’ diverse learning styles and abilities. I believe that using technology to differentiate instruction for the diverse learners in my classroom will allow me to design assignments to better respond so student’s specific learning needs.

Before I started this course, I felt overwhelmed with making time to use technology to plan to differentiate instruction. Starting small and trying to use technology to differentiate one unit at a time is one adjustment I will make as a result of my learning from this course. According to Dr. Carol Tomlinson (Laureate Education, 2009), “when it comes to moving form theory to practice, differentiation requires effective planning, organization and management” Instead of starting from scratch, I going to modify my current instructional plans and decide which students needs are best addressed with each activity, and then design additional activities for reteaching or extending learning as necessary for any students who may need it. Although I know that planning to differentiate does take time, I know that it will allow me to start to accumulate a collection of teaching strategies that I can use in the future.

Really getting to know my students from the beginning of the year is another immediate adjustment I will make. According to Grace Smith (Laureate, 2009), “getting to know your students is an essential first step in reaching them as learners”. This course has taught me that the goal of differentiating instruction is to increase the likelihood that students will be successful learners. To make this possible I feel that I must get to know them and understand how they differ from one another in interests, learning preferences and readiness and motivation. I believe it is very important to understand how students comprehend knowledge in order to match learning activities to meet their needs. During week two of this course, I researched, located and created surveys in the areas of student interests, learning styles, multiple intelligences and learning profiles. My goal is to use these surveys to maximize my ability to reach and engage every learner in my classroom. I believe that these surveys will allow me to get to know my students on an academic and personal level. Knowing their interests, learning styles, intelligence preferences, and learning profiles will allow me to provide instruction that will maximize their learning.


Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). “Universal Design for Learning” [Educational video]. Baltimore: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). Introduction: Knowing Your Students [DVD] Reaching and engaging all learners through technology. Baltimore: Author.

UDL: Sharing Ideas and Building Resources

http://www.box.net/shared/mcg6tvaxf0

Final Blog Post for EDUC 6713

After reflecting on the GAME plan that I have developed throughout this course, I feel that I have made huge strides in accomplishing the goals that I established in week one. Using the GAME plan approach has allowed me to monitor and evaluate my progress toward achieving my goals. I have learned how to become and how to teach my students’ to be self-directed learners. This course has allowed me to develop and incorporate technology into my instructional strategies. Furthermore, I have a better understanding how think about and how to take steps to direct my leaning as I integrate technology into my classroom. I like using the GAME plan strategy because it has allowed me to customize my approach to learning, helped me integrate technology into my classroom, and given me the tools for lifelong learning.

I have learned a lot from using the GAME plan that will immediately impact my classroom and my instructional practices. Teaching students how to set goals (Technology Related and Content Related) and self-assessing those goals using the GAME plan is a strategy that I will definitely teach my students’. I think it’s important for students to learn how to be self-directed learners. Setting goals, taking action, monitoring learning, and evaluating those goals are skills that will help students throughout their life. Teaching students the steps of the GAME plan will help them respond to changes that may occur during their academic and professional careers.

Using digital tools to help customize and personalize learning activities to address different abilities is one change I will make to my instructional practice regarding technology integration as a result of my learning from this course. I know that students will arrive at my door step with different abilities and needs. I now have a better understanding how to use technology to help support the diverse learning needs of my students’. Using multimedia tools in my classroom will allow my students’ to access information, practice skills and to demonstrate their new understandings.

Although I believe that I have learned and accomplished a lot in regards to technology integration, I still feel that I must continue to look for ways to integrated and structure opportunities for students to use technology in my classroom. As Cennamo, Ross, & Ross remarked, “to teach with technology specifically, is a lifelong journey” pg.1. I know that in order to help my students reach their full potential I must continue to think about what I know about technology and what I still need to know to help make my students’ be successful. I’m really looking forward to getting back to school and implementing all the new strategies that I have learned throughout this course. As I continue to teach, I’m want to make it a priority to ask myself what do students need to learn, and how can technology promote those learning goals? I feel that it is my responsibility as teacher to create learning opportunities for all of my students’.

Reference: Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2010). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Blog Post: Using the GAME Plan Process with Students

There are several ways I will use the GAME plan process with students to help them develop proficiency in the technology standards and indicators outlined in the NETS-S. There’s a lot similarities between the teacher and student indictors, so it would only make sense to teach students how to use the GAME plan to help them monitor their learning. Teaching and outlining the four step in used the GAME plan will be the first step I will take. I believe that this must be the foundation to help guide students into becoming self-directed learners. Teaching students the GAME plan will help them learn how to think about their learning process, especially while they are learning about the technology standards and indictors described by ISTE. The GAME plan will help teach students how to customize their own approach to learning, help them develop important technology skills, and help them become self-directed learners.

Teaching students how to set goals (Technology Related) and self-assessing those goals is another key aspect of the game plan. To help students with this process I will display the NETS for students and have the select one goal to work on throughout the term. I believe that this help student determine which skills they all ready have and decide on the ones they need to learn more about. Once my students have decided on a standard, they will need to create their own GAME plan. Each student will be responsible for coming up with a way to demonstrate that they have obtained their goal. I believe that teaching students how to use the GAME plan will help them learn how to set goals, take action, monitor those goals, and reflect on their learning.



Greg-

Revising My GAME Plan Week 6

After reviewing my progress on meeting my goals that I have established for learning about technology and technology resources, I believe that I have made progress, but I feel that there is always room for improvement. According to Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer (2009), “as a lifelong learner, much of your learning will be self-directed. That is, you will be responsible for locating learning opportunities and completing tasks to meet your own learning goals”. As I continue to teach, I’m want to make it a priority to ask myself what do students need to learn, and how can technology promote those learning goals? I feel that it is my responsibility as teacher to create learning opportunities for all of my students, and to be a lifelong learner as describe by Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer.


Although I believe that I have learned a lot, I feel that integrating a classroom blog is a technology tool that I could apply in my classroom today. It’s a tool that can offer a lot to me and my students’. I want to start small and use it as a place to publish class syllabus, class rules, homework assignments, rubrics, handouts, and presentations. I believe it will save me and my students’ a lot of time as far locating and duplicating copies of things that I had already handed out. Furthermore, I think it might reduce the frequency of “I didn’t know I had homework”, or “I lost my handout” responses when my students’ did not do their work.

As far as the NETS-T standards, I would like to focus a little more on designing and developing digital-Age learning experiences and assessments for my students’. This of course, is once I accomplish the goals that I have set in week one of this course. It seems like it may be a little complicated to assess students learning while integrating technology tools. I believe that it will not be as complicated as I think once I experiment with assess technology tools.

To be honest, I’m not really sure what learning approach I will take in the future. I really want to reflect on the strategies that I’m current working, which I have not be able to do because it’s the summer. Once I have had time to take action and monitor my learning goals, I believe that I will be able to reflect on whether the strategies that I have chosen are actually are working or not.


Reference:


Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning

Week 5 Evaluating My GAME Plan Progress

Well, I’m little stressed right now due to the fact I’m a week behind on my assignment. I just went on a family vacation thinking I would have internet access and I was wrong. I assumed that the resort would have wireless internet available for its guest. I guess that’s what I get for assuming. Lesson learned!


After reflecting on my progress toward meeting the goals I established for learning technology and technology resources, I would have to say that I feel like I have made huge strides in accomplishing this task. The actions that I have taken has helped my meet my goals thus far. Using the GAME plan approach has allowed me to monitor and evaluate my professional growth. I have been able to identify whether the resources that I have been using will help me meet the goals of my plan. I have accomplished this mainly through reflecting on my actions. It’s this reflection that has really helped me think about what has worked, but also has helped me evaluate what is working at this point in time. This blog has also been a huge help in allowing me monitor my learning throughout this course. According to Cennamo, Ross, & Ross, “learning, in general, and about technology specifically, is an ongoing process” pg.7. This blog as allowed me to reflect on my ongoing experiences with technology and has allowed me to explain teaching insights have gain from what happens with the technology tools that I’ve use thus far.

Although I believe that I have learned and accomplished a lot in regards to technology, I still feel that I must continue to look for ways to integrated and structure opportunities for students to use technology in my classroom. As Cennamo, Ross, & Ross remarked, “to teach with technology specifically, is a lifelong journey” pg.1. I know that in order to help my students reach their full potential I must continue to think about what I know about technology and what I still need to know to help make my students’ be successful. Up to this point, no new questions have come up. I am eager for school to start so I can implement the technology tools that I have learned throughout this summer.

As of now, I really don’t want to make any changes to my Game plan until I’m able to see what impact technology can have one my teaching strategies. Once school starts I will able to evaluate and extend on my Game plan. I want to be able to look to see what patterns might emerge and then I will be able to decide if I need to make any modification to my plan.

Reference:

Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Week # 4 Monitoring My GAME Plan Progress

I have made some progress towards the goals in my GAME plan thus far. I have had some success with finding the information and resources that I need. Although the internet has provided me with a great deal of information, I now need to synthesize the information and try to make sense of it. I’m still in the process of trying to locate a professional conference on using technology to support authentic instruction. In addition, I’m going to contact a few teachers in the district who are computer savvy though e-mail, phone, or face to face if possible. There are also a few books that I’m in the process of ordering that may help contribute to me achieve my game plan.


As of now, I don’t think I need to make any modifications to my GAME plan. I have had some success, and I want to give my plan a little more time before I make any changes. There are several resources that will be available once school starts that may help open a few more doors. It seems that up to this point that the strategies that I’m using are helping me make sufficient progress toward my goals.

Up to this point I have learned a lot about how to become a self-directed learner. I have a better understanding how think about and how to take steps to direct my leaning process as I integrate technology into my classroom. I really like using the game plan strategy because it has allowed me to customize my approach to learning, help me integrate technology, and give me the tools for lifelong learning.

I have also learned a lot about the impact authentic experiences can have on students. The ability to help student immediately connect with what they are learning is the one key aspect that I continue to notice about authentic learning activities. It’s this connection that seems to help deepen the learning process and help students construct a personal meaning about their world, and technology gives them the opportunity to express what they have learned in many ways.

What are the restrictions or limitations that will arise as I experiment with using technology and with authentic instruction? These are the big questions I keep asking myslef? Will my students’ have the basic necessary skills to use technology in the classroom? Although I these questions seem negative, I feel that by using the steps in the GAME plan, I will be able to find answers to these questions. I believe that my game plan for learning will allow me to identify any limitation or restriction and help me apply my new knowledge to make the necessary change to meet my learning goals.

Carrying Out The GAME Plan Week # 3

Meeting with the technology experts in my district is one of the resources I plan on contacting to help me carry out my game plan for designing authentic and creative learning opportunities for my students’. I have recently set up a meeting with a technology teacher in my building that is willing to meet with me before school start this year. I have expressed my interest in using technology to promote and develop creative thinking activities for my students’. The technology teacher said that he had a few ideas that might help identify technologies that would support the incorporation of authentic and creative learning experiences.

I would also like to see if our district is planning on offering any professional development opportunities for teachers. Is it me or does anyone else feels like most PD opportunities are typically not very useful? I think it’s because these types of decisions are usually made by administrators and not teachers. I could be wrong! Anyhow……

Once I identify several technologies that I would like to experiment with, I will need to learn how to use the knowledge that I gain to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate the most appropriate strategies to use in class. I will do this by reading, searching the internet, tutorials, and by reaching out to other experts. Once I have selected a technology tool, I will focus on that tool the remainder of the year.

Up to this point, I have been able to set up a meeting with a technology and began to research on my own. I believe that this is a good starting point, but I know that I must connect with others and tap into their understanding on how to create effective learning opportunities for students. I believe the best way to understand the impact technology is to become part of it and I feel that this can be accomplished by reaching out to others and experimenting with technology tools.

Week Two Application: Developing A Personal GAME Plan

After looking at the National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) I feel that I would like to set goals for strengthening my confidence and proficiency in (Facilitate and Inspiring Student learning and Creativity) and (Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership). I believe that this is a good place to start for me and I feel that these are two areas in which I could improve in. To accomplish these goals I must come up with my GAME plan. In this plan will stet goals, take action, monitor these goals, and evaluate and extend on what I have learned.

To accomplish this first goal I will need to learn how to integrate my subject matter with different technology tools that will help facilitate student creativity and learning. To start, I will make a list of the tools that I would like to use in my classroom, and then learn to use each of these tools within context of my curriculum. To do this I will do research on the Internet and look for tutorials that will help me gain experience with the technology tools that I plan on using. I will also start to experiment with these tools in the classroom. Meeting with the technology department in our district for support and guidance is another way that will help me acquire the necessary knowledge to use technology in the classroom. To monitor my progress, I'm going to  incorporate and use the technology tools in my lessons when it is appropriate. As I collect information from these lessons, I will look to see if the technology tools are helping the students meet the learning goals. With this information I can see whether or not I need to make adjustments or modifications to the learning strategy. To evaluate and extend on my learning of these tools, I will reflect on each of the activities and will look to see if the technology tools help me meet the leaning goals. By reflecting on the different approaches that I used, I will be able to determine whether or not I should modify the lessons in the future.

To accomplish the second goal of Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership, I will need to identify a piece of software or technology tool that I would like to use in the classroom and look to determine if it aligns with my instructional goals. To take action, I will research the internet and our districts professional development calendar to see if there are any available classes, seminars, or conferences that may be offered. After I locate and select a professional development opportunity, I will make the necessary plans to attend. Once I complete the PD activity, I will monitor this goal by slow introducing the technology tool into my lessons. In addition, I will look to see if the technology tool is helping my students understand the class concepts and achieve the learning targets. With this information, I will be able to modify or make changes to the lessons. To evaluate and extend on my professional growth I will continue to reflect on my professional development experiences and evaluate which types of professional development work best for me and my schedule.

I believe that this GAME plan has given me a starting point in developing my ability to actively plan, monitor, and evaluate my learning progress throughout this course. I feel that this GAME plan will help me self-assess my current level of skills in relation to the NETS-T Standards and allow me to continually learning and integrate technology into my classroom.

EDUC 6712 Reflection

This course has helped me develop and expand my knowledge on how to teach students how to be literate in today’s technology rich world. I have learned to structure learning opportunities for students to use 21st literacy skills. These are the skill they must have in order to be successful in the near future. Most importantly, I feel that I now can effectively use the internet to help students acquire new knowledge and apply it in a unique and constructive way.

Realizing how easy it was to infuse the 21st century skills into my content area was the most striking revelation I had about teaching these new literacy skills. I knew that most of my students’ had some background knowledge with using computers, but I was really amazed with how much they could already do. I used several of the handouts that were provided in the book “Reading the Web Strategies of Internet Inquiry” by Eagleton & Dobler, to get a better understanding of my students’ ability in regards to researching and navigating the Web. These tools were very helpful in helping me determine my students’ level of readiness for using the internet and beginning an inquiry project.

The knowledge and experience that I have gained over the past eight weeks has inspired me to expand and create learning new learning opportunities for my students’. There are a lot of powerful tools that are now available for teachers and students and I want to give my students’ the chance to interact with them. These are the tools that most young adults are using now and will continue to use as they enter the workforce. I now have a better understanding on how technology can have a powerful and positive effect on student learning and achievement. The insights that I have gained in this course have without a doubt enhanced my effectiveness in the classroom.

Using inquiry project on a regular basis to address the standards in my curriculum area is one professional goal that I would like to pursue that builds upon my learning in this course. I want to continue to help my students’ become familiar with tools that can help them search, evaluate, and synthesize information from the internet. I believe that this will help develop and build their new literacy skills  as they investigate the core content.

I plan on accomplishing this goal through completing this Master’s Program and through my own research. In addition, I’m going to continue to experiment with multimedia and internet technologies tools that will enhance and support learning in my classroom. I’m really amazed with what I have learned so far. I really look forward to using and incorporating the use of inquiry projects in my classroom. I believe that it will help me become a better teacher and help my students’ achieve more.

Reflection: Final Blog Post EDU:6711

After reflecting on my “Personal Theory of Learning” that I developed in week one, there are a few modifications that I plan on making as a result of my learning throughout his course. The various learning models and instructional strategies presented in this class has allowed me to effectively and appropriately integrate and adapt technology into my classroom and into my personal learning theory.

Structuring opportunities for students to interact with technology on a more consistent basis is one adjustment I plan on making as a result of my learning in this course. According to (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2008),“Teaching, learning, and technology work together to achieve the ultimate goal of effective knowledge transfer”. I believe that combining learning theories and technology can help me make appropriated and successful instructional decision for my students’. The theories of learning and of multiple intelligences can provide students’ with many different potential ways to learn. I fee that it’s very important to understand how students comprehend knowledge in order to match learning activities to meet their needs. Technology can help students in the learning process by giving them the opportunity to learn in their individual learning style. Through the use of technology and learning theory I feel that I can accommodate different students more successfully according to their learning needs.

There are two technology tools that I would like to use with my students to support and enhance there learning. The first technology tool I would like to implement in my classroom is Voice Thread. I feel that it’s truly a social and constructivist technology tool for learning. It provides a creative outlet for students and encourages the sharing of ideas. Students are able to use VoiceThread as interactive tool that allows them to collaborating, share, and comment. I really like how Voice Thread allows students to establish and maintain a learning experience with there classmates during the learning activity. The best part I like about voice thread is it allows students to upload pictures, narrate them, and then allows others to comment in 5 different ways-including audio and text. This is a great tool that really utilizes various ways of communication. I would use VoiceThread as a cooperative learning tool to start with and then move to other instructional strategies. I think that having my students use VoiceThread for a problem-based learning activity would be a great way to use technology to engage students with issues and questions that are relevant to their lives.

Using Virtual field trips in my class is another technology tool that I would like to use with my students’ I believe that virtual field trips will challenge and expose students to new types of technology tools that will allow them to receive, organize, share and generate new knowledge. I feel that it’s a great way to spark their interest and motivate their learning in a specific area. Virtual field trips will allow my students’ to have an episodic learning experience which will allow them to create new networks and make connections. In addition, creating episodic experiences is related to Paivio’s “Dual Coding Hypothesis” and is part of the cognitive information processing model. According to Dr. Orey, images are really important tools in helping students make connections and store information into long-term memory (Laureate,2009). My students’ will be able to use the images from a virtual field trip to reflect internally and externally to create a visual representation of their understandings.

There are two long term goal changes I would like to make in my instructional approaches regarding technology integration. Making the effort to continually participate in professional development activities is one goal that will help me integrate technology into my classroom. Professional development training and development will allow me to use technology tools to enhance student learning and increase my productivity in the classroom. Slowly becoming proficient at integrating one technology tool at a time is another goal I have. Dr. Pickering tells us that we should focus at just a few strategies and become skillful at those instead of trying to integrate many strategies at once. (Laureate,2009). My goal is to integrate two new technology tools each year. I believe that this will give me a solid foundation on which to build upon. This will allow me to assemble a personal collection of technology-integrated instructional strategies to use with my students’.


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

Lever-Duffy, J. & McDonald, J. (2008). Theoretical Foundations (Laureate Education, Inc.,custom ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter 1: TheoreticalFoundations, pp. 2–35

Voicethread

Currently our building is experiencing issues with overcrowding. The school is built for 900 students and we have 1,050 students. As you can see from the pictures, we are running out of room. The school district is comprised of 95 square miles located 2o minutes north of Columbus, Ohio. Most of the district is in Delaware County with a small, southern portion in Franklin County. The district serves all or part of numerous municipalities including Orange Township, Berkshire Township, Berlin Township, Concord Township, Genoa Township, Liberty Township, Delaware Township, the City of Delaware, the City of Columbus, the City of Westerville, and the City of Powell.

Connectivism and Social Leaning in Practice

I would have to say that the cooperative learning strategy is connected directly with the constructivist and social learning theories. According to Dr. Siemens, context and culture are critical in constructing and understanding of the world around us (Laureate, 2009). I believe it's a very it a very valuable expereince when students have the opportunity to present ideas, as well as hear and reflect on the ideas of others. This can be easily accomplished through the use of social collaboration tools and cooperative learning groups. I believe that these types of activities allow students to acquire knew knowledge and practice important communication and interpersonal skills that are used outside the classroom. In today’s learning environment and in the “real world”, sharing information and expertise is very important in supporting and facilitating learning. I have just started to get my feet wet with the Voice Thread and think it’s is an amazing tool thus far. I’m looking forward to experimenting with it and looking at the possibilities that it offers for collaboration.

Greg-

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

Constructivism in Practice

According to Pitler,Hubbbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, “we most often think about generating and testing hypotheses in the context of science concepts, this strategy is applicable to all content areas" (pg.202). I at first, I disagreed with this statement, but after exploring this weeks resources, I have begun to see how generating and testing hypotheses along with technology tools can complement the constructionist learning theory. In health class I structure a lot of opportunities for problem solving. I have the students’ role play, create scenarios, create projects, and debate topics. In most of these activities, the students have to either make a decision or solve a problem based on set criteria. At times, there could be a lot of data for students to consider when making a decision or trying to solve a specific problem. In the past I would usually just have my students’ create an informal way to assess their findings. I now see how technology can help students gather and interpret the data in a more efficient manner. Through the use of spreadsheet software, data collection tools and web resources, students are able to make more informed decisions based on their findings. In the furture, I'm now going to structure tasks that will help guide students through generating and testing hypothese when using constructivism activities.


Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Constructivism in Practice

According to Pitler,Hubbbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, “we most often think about generating and testing hypotheses in the context of science concepts, this strategy is applicable to all content areas (pg.202). I at first, I disagreed with this statement, but after exploring this weeks resources, I have begun to see how project-based learning tools can complement the constructionist learning theory. In health class I structure a lot of opportunities for problem solving. I have the students’ role play, create scenarios, create projects, and debate topics. In most of these activities, the students have to either make a decision or solve a problem based on set criteria. At times, there could be a lot of data for students to consider when making a decision or trying to solve a specific problem. In the past, I would usually just have my students’ create an informal way to assess and gain a better understanding of their findings. I now see how technology can help students gather and interpret the data in a more efficient manner. Through the use of spreadsheet software, data collection tools and web resources, students are able to make more informed decisions based on their findings.


Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Cognitivism in Practice

After reflecting on this week’s instructional strategies, I would have to say that “Advance Organizers” relate to and fit the description of the cognitive learning theory. According to Pitler, Hubble, Kuhn, & Malenoski, “Using multimedia tools as advance organizers is an extension of expository, narrative, and graphic advance organizers. For many students, multimedia is very effective because it helps them both activate prior knowledge and develop a mental model to help them understand new information” (pg.82). This relates to the information processing approach of the cognitive learning theory. Each idea is connected to every other idea and information that is stored in our long term memory. Advance organizers can help students use their background knowledge to learn new information that is present with advance organizers.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Behaviorism in Practice:

After exploring this week’s resources I have begun to understand how Behaviorism and technology instruction are similar in many ways and how they can be used together to aid students learning. According to Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, “the instructional strategy of reinforcing effort enhances students’ understanding of the relationship between effort and achievement by addressing their attitudes and beliefs about learning” (2009). They offer and describe several recommendations for the use of technology to track effort, to reinforce content, and homework and practice in the classroom. The Behaviorism Learning Theory tells us that learning is determined by the environment either through association or reinforcement. I feel that there is a correlation between behaviorist learning theory and technology tools. Although behaviorism is criticized all the time, it seems that today behaviorism is still being used in the 21st century classroom. Many classrooms are using behaviorism-based technology instructional tools that are based on behaviorist learning ideas. Although I think that drill and practice, remediation, and traditional tutorial programs have a place in the classroom in certain situations, I believe that technology applications could be more effective and appropriate when used during instruction. Dr. Orey tells us “that technology is most effective when remediation activities are kept to a minimum” (Laureate Education, 2009). I do feel that there are instructional situations when behaviorist technology applications are appropriate and effective.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). 2009. Behaviorist Learning Theory [Motion picture]. Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology. Baltimore: Author

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD

Reflection: Final Blog Posting

EDUC -6710 “Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work and Society” has helped me develop my own technology skills beyond what I would have ever imaged. Creating a personal blog, wiki, and podcast are tools that I would have never thought I would be using. To be honest, it has been challenging and exciting all at the same time. I look forward to incorporating these tools in my classes.
I know that today’s students’ must learn how to be productive in a workplace that is structured around the use of technology. Now with the sudden expansion of new technologies, the nature of student literacy is going to change. Today’s students’ have to know how to learn, comprehend, and interact with technology in a meaningful way. Students must have technology skills that allow them to communicate with others, access information, and understand how to evaluate new information. I feel that I must make an effort to acknowledge technology and structure opportunity for students to interact with it. This course has given me the tools to make this possible. I now have a better understanding on how technology can have a powerful and positive effect on student learning and achievement. The insights that I have gained in this course have without a doubt enhanced my effectiveness in the classroom by integrating technology into my curriculum.


There are several ways that I’m going to continue to expand my knowledge of technology integration with the aim to increase student learning. I’m going to take the initiative to take more classes, complete tutorials, go to workshops, and read literature on integrate technology tools in my classroom. Furthermore, I plan on investing more time in learning how to use and incorporate the technology tools that I have learned thus far in this master’s program.


Using technology to assess student learning is one long-term goal that I have for transforming my classroom environment into a place where technology is integrated. As a physical education teacher I teach hundreds of students every week and documenting their learning can be real challenge at times. I would like to use technology to efficient and effective record and analyze assessment data. I know that technology can definitely help make assessment an easier task. I would like to use technology and integrate the use of authentic assessments, research and reports, student’s projects, PowerPoint, blogs, wikis, and maybe portfolios in physical education.


Using technology to improve my instructional strategies and processes is another long-term goal that I have for transforming my classroom into place where technology is incorporated. I know that there are assessment tools for teachers that can improve their performance. I would like to create a professional portfolio to demonstrate my teaching effectiveness. I hope to gather evidence of my growth through this masters’ program and share it with my colleagues and administrators. I believe that by trying to attain this goal will keep me abreast of new strategies, techniques, and assessment tools that will provide me feedback on my instructional effectiveness.


I plan on accomplishing these goals through this Master’s Program and through my own research. I’m really amazed with what I have learned so far. As I stated earlier, I never thought that I would be using a blog or a wiki to access and contribute to in the World Wide Web. I really look forward to using and incorporating the use of technology in my classroom. I believe that it will help me become a better teacher and help my students’ achieve more!