Effective Bridging of Technology and Instruction - Reflection

My personal theory of learning in week one was gear towards instructional theory approach. Dr. Orey, Laureate 2009, explain that instructional theory examines the environment to facilitate learning. My instruction in the classroom was more teacher centered, than student centered. The technology I used in my class was used as busy work. As a result of my learning in this course, I realize now that I have to think about how to make my lessons more gear towards student learning. I love what I learned about constructionism approach to learning. I should use technology that engage student’s emotions and help them remember longer.

Social Constructivism caught my attention during the fifth week of the course. Therefore this upcoming school year, my immediate adjustments in my instructional practice would be to use the textbook only as a guide for doing lesson plans and adding more interactive and cooperative engaging activities in my lessons. Also, give less busy work and give more meaningful activities. Dr. Orey, Laureate 2009, made a good point when he talk about the conversations students engage in during collaborations which he said help students contretize and understand what they are learning. It puts meaning in the activity they are working on. Some of the technology that we used in this course that I feel would enhance student learning in the classroom are VoiceThread, Virtual Field Trips and blog posting. Not only would they enhance student learning, they also promote social interaction among students.

Two long-term goal changes I would like to make in my instructional practice regarding technology integration would be to use WebQuest. It requires a lot of planning by teachers but seems like a very valuable tool for 21st century learning. If I as a teacher want my students to get ready to work in the real world, I must provide then with the tools even if it requires a lot of planning. WebQuests make good use of the internet while engaging their students in the kinds of modern day social learning students should be participating in. My other long tern goal is to use VoiceThread as a presentation tool. I was very please how easy it was to use. Older teachers like myself, love the term Web 2.0, because that means the internet tool that was hard to use is now made easy for me to use. VoiceThread, a web 2.0 tool allows a quick and easy way to share information via the internet using pictures, text, audio and video. I will allow my students to work in groups of 3 and 4 to present information they reached or studied.

Integrating technology in the classroom has always been a goal of my since the introduction of Reader’s Rabbit. Technology in the classroom always was like another teacher in the classroom with me. But when choosing the type of technology to be used in my classroom, I must think of it as a student tool, not a teacher tool. Both WebQuest and VoiceThread are two of many tools that are student centered, and will engage student's emotions.

Laureate, Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). Instructional Theory vs. Learning Theory. [DVD]. Baltimore, MD.

Laureate, Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). Social Learning Theories, Part One. [DVD]. Baltimore, MD.