Final Reflection--EDUC 6715--New and Emerging Technologies

This course, New and Emerging Technologies, has been a wonderful learning experience that provided support and guidance on seeking, adopting, and becoming a promoter for utilizing technology that will help to transform our classrooms. It has been instrumental in helping me to view the cycle of technology as it emerges, evolves, or becomes obsolete. Throughout this course, we have discovered ways to become more aware of technology on the horizon, make informed decisions, and reflect on ways we might implement it in our own classrooms in order to better prepare our students for the 21st century.

I now have a more complete picture and understanding of how technology changes as consumers look for ways to accomplish tasks faster, easier, better, or cheaper. As a teacher, I have learned how these modifications in technology can help to motivate, engage, and enhance the learning of my students. Thornburg (2009) adds: "…some technologies have the potential to shape and reshape educational practice in the next few years" (p. 9). During this course, we have discovered and discussed various benefits as well as challenges associated with adopting new technology. These resources and interactions have been instrumental in helping me to focus more on the benefits, and they have given me tools to address the challenges.

Dr. David Thornburg suggests that teachers should make themselves "aware of options" as well as "know enough to form an opinion" (Laureate Education, Inc. 2009). By participating in this course, I have been paired with other technology advocates who have provided insights, perspectives, and feedback to help me increase my own awareness and more discerningly structure my opinions.

While developing a new technology learning activity and implementation plan, I was able to realize how my students could make richer connections with our content by utilizing current technology tools; how they could access, interact, and demonstrate mastery in ways that better suited their learning styles, preferences, or needs; and how they could change not only how they learned but where they learned. In addition, I have been able to broaden my scope on ways to make learning more authentic and meaningful by providing my students with opportunities to become fluent and build skills they will need to productively learn, work, and live in the 21st century.

Some adjustments that I will make to identify new and emerging technologies will be to stay informed through the help of current resources such as the Horizon Report and educational technology sites. I will include the fresh perspectives of my students in this circle of experts and take note of technology tools they enjoy or rely on. According to Johnson, Levine, Smith & Smythe (2009): "Technology is increasingly a means for empowering students, a method for communication and socializing, and a ubiquitous, transparent part of their lives" (p. 6).

It often takes the leadership of teachers in order for school systems to realize the benefits of introducing a new technology that can help to engage and prepare our students more effectively. I hope to be able to demonstrate to my colleagues how technology can be used to motivate, engage, and connect our students to skills they will need in their futures. Fullan, Cuttress, & Kilcher (2005) add: "There is no other driver as essential as leadership for sustainable reform" (p. 57). This course has supported me in recognizing that it is in this exchange of information and resources that change can begin to take place and classrooms can begin to transform.

References

Fullan, M., Cuttress, C., & Kilcher, A. (2005). Eight forces for leaders of change. ProQuest Education Journals, 26(4), 54-64.

Johnson, L., Levine, A., Smith, R., & Smythe, T. (2009). The 2009 Horizon Report: K-12 Edition. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009b). Program one. What is Emerging Technology? [Motion picture]. New and Emerging Technologies. Baltimore: Author.

Thornburg, D. D. (2009a). Current trends in educational technology. Lake Barrington, IL: Thornburg Center for Space Exploration. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Spotlight on Emerging Technology: Online Learning Modules

In order to help my colleagues become more informed about the features and benefits of online learning modules or distance education, I have prepared this presentation. I welcome your feedback!

http://www.slideboom.com/presentations/150522/Online-Learning-Modules

Final Reflection—EDUC 6714—Reaching and Engaging All Learners Through Technology

This course has been instrumental in supporting my transition into a more differentiated learning environment. It has been a wonderful learning experience that was rich in resources and collaborative opportunities. This class has guided me through the process of gathering data on my students in order to address their specific and unique needs, and has also helped me to customize my instruction through increased use of Universal Design for Learning and Differentiated Instruction concepts. With these two approaches, I have discovered ways to "take down barriers while building scaffolds, supports, and alternatives" and how to customize learning by providing choices (Meo, 2008, p. 22).

I now have the tools that I will need to begin planning for and managing a more differentiated classroom. Throughout the course, I have focused on ways that technology can help me implement the changes I want to make in order to make my content more accessible and more motivating by offering multiple methods of delivery, engagement, and expression. Howard (2004) adds: “This, in turn, allows teachers a multidimensional view of their students as learners, and offers teachers unique insights into assessing student’s knowledge, interest, and understanding” (p. 27). One of the most significant contributions from this course is the realization that students thrive when allowed to make choices, have options, and become active members of their learning community.

Participating in our social network has widened my scope of possibilities by sharing resources and perspectives with my peers. With the ever-increasing list of technology tools, this collaboration has eased the enormity and paired me with other technology advocates. I have benefited from the expertise of my classmates and their views on how to use technology to facilitate maximum learning potential. With the resources, feedback, and insights from the members of my social networking group, I now have solid support and suggestions on ways to differentiate my classroom. These resources have been key in helping me to plan for, organize, and build activities and instruction that will address the diversity in my students. Bray, Brown, & Green (2004) state that: “Meeting the needs of diverse learners is a challenging opportunity” (p. 19). Although I still can see challenges, because of this course my emphasis is now on opportunities.

Changes that I will begin to make immediately as a result of this class are to have students complete a survey regarding their backgrounds and interests; to analytically look for adaptations I can make in my daily lessons, activities, and assessments that would support the diversity of my students; to start with small changes and continue to build on successful practices; and to widen my support system with co-workers, administrators, community, and especially, my students. I will also continue to investigate current and new technologies and how they could be utilized in my classroom to enrich the learning of all students and provide them with skills that will help them make a “seamless transition” into the work world (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009). By implementing these changes now and merging technology with my content, I can expose my students to a classroom that is as diverse as they are.

References

Bray, M., Brown, A., & Green, T. (2004). Technology and the diverse learner: A guide to classroom practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Howard, K. L. (2004). Universal design for learning: Meeting the needs of all students. International Society for Technology in Education, 31(5), 26-29. Retrieved from the ERIC database.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009a). Program twenty-two. Reflection [Motion picture]. Reaching and engaging all learners through technology. Baltimore: Author.

Meo, G. (2008). Curriculum planning for all learners: Applying universal design for learning (UDL) to a high school reading comprehension program. Preventing School Failure, 52(2), 21-30.

What's New as We Head into Week 6 in EDUC 6714

The past two weeks have been filled with lots of creativity. We have all been working on our Universal Design for Learning projects as well as VoiceThread discussions. I really enjoyed viewing my Ning group members' projects. Even though we had the same topic and prompts to address, we chose different media to work with and the originality was awesome. The same is true for our VoiceThreads--it was refreshing to view our discussion in this new way. We are nearing the last few weeks of the course, and I look forward to sharing ideas with the cohort on best ways to plan for, manage, and connect Universal Design for Learning, Differentiated Instruction, and Technology in my classroom.

My First Update During EDUC 6714

Well, we are two weeks into our course and already I have learned so much about how to use technology to not only give my students greater access, but to make them more motivated and active in their learning. This week at my school, I have been working on developing an online course. I have been amazed at how much fun this has been for me. I have been able to pull many elements from our Walden courses (like how to evaluate Web sites or use effective searching techniques) and have been especially mindful of the diversity that exists and how to reach all learners with elements I am including. I am looking forward to learning more about Universal Design for Learning and Differentiated Instruction, and how I can incorporate these concepts with the help of technology.