Teaching with Technology
In today's classroom, Education and Technology have become somewhat synonymous.
Throughout my education, I have seen many of the possibilities that technology offers to enhance and expand a child's education. Through this website, I have displayed multiple tools that I intend to use in the classroom.
Furthermore, beyond using the internet for interactive purposes, I hope that children will use it to explore the world we live in and beyond. I intend to create technological lessons to couple with hands on and instructional tools.
In classes and exploration I have been introduced to multiple aspects of technology to enhance any lesson or project. I do not intend to teach solely with technology, but it is such a reality for the students of today, that their futures depend on their understanding of how it works.
The majority of my exploration is incorporated in my blog. Please spend some time viewing that as it displays my use of educational websites, social bookmarking, RSS feeds, Google Calendars and Documents, Audacity, Podcasting, Wikis, Websites, Photo Albums, Blogging, and more. All of these tools have their place and utility in the classroom; it is up to a teacher to find their best use and more beneficial placement within the curriculum.
I have included additional tabs in this portfolio to display some ways in which I have already created potential projects, presentations, assignments for future students. There have been several assignments throughout my college career that I have chosen to create websites so that the materials are more accessible to fellow teachers and myself to utilize in the future.
Throughout my education, I have seen many of the possibilities that technology offers to enhance and expand a child's education. Through this website, I have displayed multiple tools that I intend to use in the classroom.
Furthermore, beyond using the internet for interactive purposes, I hope that children will use it to explore the world we live in and beyond. I intend to create technological lessons to couple with hands on and instructional tools.
In classes and exploration I have been introduced to multiple aspects of technology to enhance any lesson or project. I do not intend to teach solely with technology, but it is such a reality for the students of today, that their futures depend on their understanding of how it works.
The majority of my exploration is incorporated in my blog. Please spend some time viewing that as it displays my use of educational websites, social bookmarking, RSS feeds, Google Calendars and Documents, Audacity, Podcasting, Wikis, Websites, Photo Albums, Blogging, and more. All of these tools have their place and utility in the classroom; it is up to a teacher to find their best use and more beneficial placement within the curriculum.
I have included additional tabs in this portfolio to display some ways in which I have already created potential projects, presentations, assignments for future students. There have been several assignments throughout my college career that I have chosen to create websites so that the materials are more accessible to fellow teachers and myself to utilize in the future.
Teaching Students Online
After completing a course through Michigan State University, for my Masters of Arts in Educational Technology, I began to design and create online course modules to use in a hybrid setting for elementary students. Throughout the course, my focus was on Fourth Grade Math instruction and the ways in which technology can cater to students in a variety of ways to improve their understanding of mathematics. To do this, I began with the curriculum and my audience, two critical aspects that must drive everything I do for this course development. In addition to the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, I focused on the National Standards for Quality Online Courses. These aided my own evaluation of my course through the content, instructional design, student assessment, and technology. I wanted to, as the late Steven Covey advocated, "Begin with the End in Mind." What did I want my students to learn and achieve through this course, and how could technology help them get there?
It has been proven that students learn better in blended learning environments, and my goal as an educator is to provide the best learning possible. In utilizing technology, I am able to access and create more resources to make content more accessible to all learners. It is important to assess the resources out their, including the Course Management System chosen. I utilized Haiku LMS because it is engaging, allowed for a variety of material, and presented itself in a way that is student friendly. Through this CMS, I could utilize features that I have in my regular education classroom: a calendar, announcements, discussions, assignments, etc. very easily. After evaluating other CMS I found this met the needs of both myself and more importantly, my students. I developed this course with all my students in mind: those who are Academic Intellectually Gifted, to those who are Exceptional Children with accomodations and modifications, to my English Language Learners, to those with ADHD, or those who simply struggle somewhere between it all. Technology provides the best platform to teach them all, while providing for their individual needs. From a previous course, Universal Design for Learning became a primary focus in what should be included. I need to provide visually, auditory, and kinesthetic learning, without actually being with each student. I began to review and assess a variety of tools and resources, and even practice them with my current students. I created tutorials to gain familiarity and repetition in the course, all the while building a teacher-student connection and encourage student-student interactions.
While creating this course, I had countless questions driving my choices in materials, delivery, and assessment. The most challenging aspect of this course development was the content. There are countless choices online for material on math, however, being smart and purposeful in your assessment of the materials is equally important. When designing a course, you must keep in mind that students may not spend all day there, but on the off chance they do, you want enough material to keep them occupied. It is a difficult balance between information and game overload, and losing a learner who is looking to be active and engaged. I tried to vary the information given and the methods in which it was given. Going back to UDL principles, from the content to the assessment, the learner must be engaged and able to learn to their best ability. When all is said and done, the mission of the online course is to engage students in learning content and utilizing technology. I feel that I have achieved that through my Fourth Grade Math Online Course.
It has been proven that students learn better in blended learning environments, and my goal as an educator is to provide the best learning possible. In utilizing technology, I am able to access and create more resources to make content more accessible to all learners. It is important to assess the resources out their, including the Course Management System chosen. I utilized Haiku LMS because it is engaging, allowed for a variety of material, and presented itself in a way that is student friendly. Through this CMS, I could utilize features that I have in my regular education classroom: a calendar, announcements, discussions, assignments, etc. very easily. After evaluating other CMS I found this met the needs of both myself and more importantly, my students. I developed this course with all my students in mind: those who are Academic Intellectually Gifted, to those who are Exceptional Children with accomodations and modifications, to my English Language Learners, to those with ADHD, or those who simply struggle somewhere between it all. Technology provides the best platform to teach them all, while providing for their individual needs. From a previous course, Universal Design for Learning became a primary focus in what should be included. I need to provide visually, auditory, and kinesthetic learning, without actually being with each student. I began to review and assess a variety of tools and resources, and even practice them with my current students. I created tutorials to gain familiarity and repetition in the course, all the while building a teacher-student connection and encourage student-student interactions.
While creating this course, I had countless questions driving my choices in materials, delivery, and assessment. The most challenging aspect of this course development was the content. There are countless choices online for material on math, however, being smart and purposeful in your assessment of the materials is equally important. When designing a course, you must keep in mind that students may not spend all day there, but on the off chance they do, you want enough material to keep them occupied. It is a difficult balance between information and game overload, and losing a learner who is looking to be active and engaged. I tried to vary the information given and the methods in which it was given. Going back to UDL principles, from the content to the assessment, the learner must be engaged and able to learn to their best ability. When all is said and done, the mission of the online course is to engage students in learning content and utilizing technology. I feel that I have achieved that through my Fourth Grade Math Online Course.