Reflections: Masters Course Technology Integration Class

This week I am completing my Technology Integration class as part of my Masters of Education Program.  During this class, I learned more about the importance of creating and participating in an effective PLN and resources to help strengthen my PLN.  I was also able to create an Internet Safety & Awareness WebQuest. It was excited to create another WebQuest for the first time in years.  I felt like I was learning it all over again "for the very first time."


I feel that my teaching strategies will change more in the area of applying myself as a leader of change in technology integration.  I will continue to strengthen my PLN and share it with my teaching colleagues.  I will continue to share my resources and strategies with my colleagues via this blog and social bookmarking sites.  I will be a leader of technology integration in my school by leading by example instead of forcing my strategies and resources on my colleagues.

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Technology Integration - How we can serve as "teacher leaders" in our professional setting?

Any teacher who is effectively trying to integrate technology in their classroom knows how importance technology can be in the learning process of 21st Century Learners.  But what about some of our colleagues who have no interest in technology integration?  How can we serve as teacher leaders in technology integration in our schools?  There are two areas that I fell are paramount to serving as teacher leaders in integration.  These areas are sharing and leading by examples.  Nobody wants to be forced to do something they dont feel comfortable doing.  Technology integration can work as the same ways.  We need to invite our colleagues to join us or browse our Personal Learning Networks or PLNs.  We can show them what is working in our classroom through social bookmarking sites we invite them to join, through out blogs we ask them to browse, in our examples and lesson plans we share on our school websites.  When I find a resource that would be a great tool to integrate in the classroom, I try to email it to teaches I find would benefit from the resource. 

I also attempt to reach out and share the awesome projects we complete in class.  It is always nice to show off the finished projects your students are completing, but also the steps, strategies, and resources used to get there.  Allowing your students to share their impressions on a classroom forum is a great tool to show colleagues the level of engagement your students are experiencing in an effectively integrated lesson plan. 

I will never force technology integration on my fellow teachers, but I will always be open to share ideas and strategies with any teachers that want to use me as a resource.  This is the most productive first step I feel I can take to standing as a teacher leader in technology integration. 

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Internet Technologies & Concerns

As we strive to incorporate as many Internet Technologies and Resources into our daily curriculum to reach 21st Century learners, there are some concerns that can arise.

• Are we choosing the best resources that help our students have authentic and effective learning experiences or are we simply trying to incorporate the latest technology trends just to say we did or because others are doing it to?  

•  Are we relying too much on technology in our daily curriculum so when technology lets us down, we do not give ourselves an opportunity for a back up plan or on the fly replacement activity that is just as effective?  

We can alleviate these concerns by continuing to network with other instructors via blogs and other social networking sites to see what is working in their classrooms.  We can discuss if the latest and greatest resources are truly assisting in effective lesson planning or providing a distraction from the learning process for our students.   Sometimes I know that I get excited when some of my colleagues or online friends get excited about a new resource.  I feel like I just have to find a way to integrate that technology or resource into my curriculum.

As long as we all stay connected, share our experiences, and truly try to integrate technology to provide a better learning experience for our students, then when we fail, that doesn't mean we didn't necessarily succeed in some ways.  It is the experience and the journey to get there that will mostly make us all better teachers and provide teaching & learning experiences that stick with our students.

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My Top 3 Most Used Classroom Resources, Goals, & More!

Today, I wanted to look at my top most used classroom resources.  Currently, there are no other resources I currently use more than:

Google Docs -Google Docs is online, browser based, and free. My students can create documents, presentations, and spreadsheets without needing Microsoft Office installed at home.  They can work on any of these at the same time as a partner or small group.  GoogleDocs even autosaves regularly for students that have a hard time remembering to save their work or save it in the right place. 

GlogsterEDU - Allows students to create interactive "glogs" or posters.  Think of it as digital scrapbooking with a collage of media including music, text, videos, hyperlinks and more.  For more about GlogsterEDU or to see my example, CLICK HERE to read my previous blog post. 

Fakebook - Fakebook is resources created by ClassTools.net that allows students to create fake Facebook pages for anyone they wish.  We use Fakebook to create pages for our Historical Figure Presentations and we create them as part of our Novel Project (they create pages about characters from a book the whole 6th Grade Reads).  Students do not need to even have an email to save their Fakebook Page.

As this school year advances, I hope to improve my skills teaching and integrating GoogleDocs in my class curriculum.  I use GoogleDocs quite a bit, but there are still so many other skills I need to learn. I just recently taught myself how to create self graded quizzes using Google Forms in GoogleDocs.  I also want to improve my Internet Safety Curriculum.  Internet Safety is a huge passion of mine and I have never rested on my current curriculum and lesson plans.  The site KidSmart I blogged about this week is a new resource I will be using in my class. 

To reach my goals, I will continue to look for resources and training materials online to help me teach myself.  I will extend my curriculum to include more extensions using GoogleDocs to increase my students familiarity with it.  I will continue to browse the near 100 blogs I frequent to find more quality Internet Safety Resources.  I will also increase the number of activities we complete in class pertaining to Internet Safety.  The more access my students have to quality Internet Safety Information and hands on activities, the more aware they will be in their daily journeys online.

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21st Century Learning & Teaching

As this 2011-2012 school year continues in full swing, it is a great opportunity to assess how effectively I am reaching and teaching our 21st Century Learners.  I feel as if I am very prepared for 21st Century teaching and learning.  I several hours every day looking for new resources, tools, and strategies to reach today's 21st Century Learners.  I focus on what tools will not only make the learning process more engaging, but also help make my lessons "teaching that sticks."  I try my best to share my resources and strategies with my colleagues at school, and when time permits, with my colleagues online with my blog.  The process of researching, assessing, sharing, re-assessing is very important to the education process today.

I feel my students leave my classroom everyday with new skills to use and help them function effectively within our school and within our community.  I try to show them resources that are free of charge, yet provide the features needed of high priced software.  I try to integrate tools that are available online so students can work on projects at home and at school.  I also challenge my students to learn and teach one another, even having my students use a Presentation to teach a lesson in class. 

My biggest strengths when it comes to 21st Century Learning is my passion to never settle with the lessons and resources I have, but I am also trying to perfect everything.  Most of my lessons have at least 5 years of manipulating, editing, teaching, re-teaching, before they are ever where I want them.  My core projects are renewed or recreated every year to keep my class activities fresh for my students and myself.  My biggest weaknesses when it comes to 21st Century Learning is my dependence on technology.  My daily lesson plans and objectives are posted on my website for my students.  All of my important bookmarks are saved using social bookmarking sites (delicious and diigo).  My lesson plans, resources, activities, rubrics, and more are not saved on my school computer, but in storage space in the "cloud."  When the Internet goes down, it feels as if I have lost access to everything.  However, at least I keep hard copies of everything in my classroom "bible" if I ever need a quick resource or activity when technology has let me down. 

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Technology, School, & Me!

Everyday I walk into my classroom, I feel I do a great job of integrating technology into my daily curriculum.  As a technology teacher, it is my job and my passion.  Walking through my school, it is awesome to see many teachers developing lesson plans and digital age learning experiences.  Booking our computer lab or mobile laptop carts is becoming more difficult with each passing week as school progresses. 

Students in 8th Grade are able to plan and present "Virtual Vacations" to historic places and events they discuss in Social Studies Class, they create video dictionaries about the meanings of standardized test vocabulary, they virtually explore famous Civil War battles online, and create podcasts about school events and monthly updates around our school.  Students in 7th Grade get to create one minute video book reviews about their favorite or least favorite books , record audio interviews with famous authors and historic figures, and create graphic digital art as a connection to Art Class. Our sixth graders create collaborative presentations online within Google Docs, write and record school related rap songs within small groups, create Anti Bullying/Cyberbullying Comic Books online, and Internet Safety Awareness Glogs on GlogsterEDU.  These are only a small sample of the examples you would find in my school of teachers creating digital age work, online responsibility, and inspiring digital creativity and design. 

The major barriers or "divides" you would find in my school related to the use of technology would come more with inexperience than accessibility.  Although booking the labs can take some patience, many teachers are not familiar with how to creatively and effectively integrate technology into their curriculum.  This is an exciting challenge for me to find more ways to engage professional growth and leadership within my school to help my colleagues find more create ways to teach our 21st Century Learners. 

I am not fearful of integrating and using technology at all.  As a 6th Grade Computer and Technology Instructor, I have embraced technology as one of the most important and effective educational tools in the classroom.  My only fears come from when my technology does not work or function as it should.  Every time technology lets me down, I have to be adaptive and patient with my alternative activities.  I have become so dependent on technology that just the Internet being down at my school can keep kids from reading our agendas on my website or using an online resource.  I do not fear using technology or teaching others to use it.  I fear when technology does not work for me as it should.  

My personal goals as I journey forward are built around finding more creative ways to effectively integrate technology into my 6th Grade Curriculum.  I will create more genuine learning experiences and teaching moments "that stick."  I  will continue to work harder to exhibit leadership in sharing technology integration strategies and promoting growth among my colleagues. 

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