Reflective Essay

At the beginning of this class, I developed a Personal Theory that was focused on integrating technology to include all multiple intelligences and now that I have finished this course I would make some adjustments to that Theory. Technology provides many opportunities to reach all learners. There are a few topics I would like to add to my Personal Theory that were not included. The first would be to create more social learning environments, enabling students to rely on each others knowledge to build their own. Technology can be used in an array of group settings and can help students learn from each other. “The cooperative environment also develops a social support system for students” (Orey, 2001, p. 11). I would also like to include more detail about using technology as a way to provide graphic organizers, cues, immediate feedback, nonlinguistic representations, and reinforcing effort. Technology is versatile because it can be used in small ways and also for large projects.


This class has introduced two new tools, Concept Maps and Voice Thread, that I feel will be beneficial to my students. I have already integrated concept maps into my classroom, and I have found them to be helpful as they outline the chapter so my students are better able to see how the lessons relate to each other. They are also a “tool for organizing and representing knowledge” (Orey, 2001, p. 1). I leave extra bubbles so they can fill in examples so they know what types of problems go with each heading. This provides an easy way for my students to take notes. I have not had them make their own yet, I am trying to give them a couple of examples before I have them try it on their own. The second technology tool that I want to integrate into my classroom is Voice Thread. I have not introduced it yet, but plan to by the end of the year. This will allow my students to discuss topics which will promote a higher level of thinking. My students will truly understand a topic rather than just knowing enough to complete the homework. Voice Thread will also allow my students to ask questions when they do not understand; the teacher or their classmates can answer their questions.


The first long term goal that I have is to be more clear on my expectations and level of achievement with my technology projects. I have integrated technology in my classroom, but so far my biggest struggle has been giving my students clear expectations. In the future I plan to give my students a packet describing the project’s purpose and expectations. I will also attach rubrics that will be filled out by each individual. The rubrics will be used for self and group evaluation, and also for evaluating their finished product. Depending on the project, I will also have them evaluate the rest of their classmates’ projects. To achieve this long term goal, I will need to verbally explain the purpose and expectations of the project and the rubrics to the class. This will allow and opportunity for the students to ask questions before they start their project.


My second long term goal is to integrate technology into almost every lesson. Even if the students are not completing a project, technology can still provide a better learning experience for my students. I want to utilize more advanced organizers, cues, and immediate feedback. These help to focus “on enhancing students’ ability to retrieve, use, and organize information about a topic” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, p. 73). In the future, I will determine my learning objective for every lesson and then find a way that technology can play a role. I feel it is vital to dedicate time each day that is focused directly on integrating technology.


References

Orey, M.(Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/


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