Final Reflections

When I began this course, my personal theory of learning was somewhere between Curry’s personality learning theory and the multidimensional learning theory as described in Multiple intelligences and learning styles (Orey, 2001).  When teaching computer technology to over five-hundred elementary students each week it can be challenging to get through to so many individual personalities and learning styles.  I have come to rely on my knowledge of technology, student personality preferences for acquiring information, as well as my awareness of students’ environmental preferences and personal filters in order to provide multi-sensory instructional events that stimulate and engage the learners’ brain.

As a result of this course, I have become more aware of the powerful cognitive strategies such as elaboration and dual coding hypothesis thus strengthening my belief in engaging the learners’ brain.  I have strengthened my depth of knowledge of constructionism and social constructionism and the importance of the interactions with others and the content.  Building objects as a way of clarifying, solidifying, or obtaining new information (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010b).  As I can still remember projects that I created some thirty years ago, I believe in the power of adding the tactile experiences.

When I first received my teaching certification some twenty years ago, my understanding of the learning theory was fresh in my mind.  Over the passing years however, they have moved further back into the recesses of my long-term memories.  Moreover, when I first started teaching, computers were expensive, rare in schools, and limited mostly to basic drill and practice.  This course has provided me with knowledge and experiences that has helped me to reflect on what I already know and grow beyond to higher understanding.  I now have a greater understanding of behaviorism and the effects of operant conditioning through reinforcement and punishment (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010a).  My own notions about the cognitive learning theory have been reinforced and strengthened by the information in this course.  The idea of constructionist learning and social learning also appeal to me as a means of incorporating more hands on learning and cooperative learning experiences (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010b).  Being able to recall project I did myself in grade school, tells me that these two learning theories are sound in their ability to create lasting memories. 

The biggest adjustment to my instructional practices regarding technology integration is in the renewed scrutiny of my own lesson planning.  I now look closer at my lesson plans and the technology being implemented.   I now ask myself three important questions while I am developing a lesson for the computer lab.  First, am I providing a learning experience that will help the students enjoy and understand the content, thus retaining more knowledge?  Second, will it promote collaborative learning with peers, parents, or community?  And third, will the learners themselves be engage with the technology and learning process?  By reflecting on these three questions, I feel my lessons will continue to become more student-centered and less teacher-centered. 

Because of the learning in this course, I will be adding two new technologies to the lab.  The first technology tool I would like to use with my students is the voice thread.  The VT is a tool that the students will definitely enjoy using for a number of projects in the computer lab.  The lessons can be completed within one or two classes depending on the complexity and depth of knowledge.  Collaboration is embedded with this technology thus making it easier for tracking participation and assessment.  Voice threads are a fun way to engage students in the learning.  Shared documents is a second technology tool I will use more with my students.  I believe using more share documents such as Google Docs will help increase student collaboration.  As stated in Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, “technology can play a unique and vital role in cooperative learning by facilitating group collaboration, providing structure for group tasks, and allowing members to communicate even if they are not working face to face” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007).  Shared documents can be a powerful learning tool and an important skill for working in today's networked society. 

Over the period of this course, my repertoire of instructional skills has expanded greatly.  I had only brief encounters with many of the resources practiced in this course and now I feel more confident in using them with the students.  Wikis, voice threads, and survey monkey are three technology tools I had seen used by others; however, until this course, I did not feel confident in presenting them to students.  There was always that feeling of “what if”.  What if I cannot answer student questions?  What if I cannot properly work the application while modeling?   Now that I have had the opportunity to practice using these tools in a safe environment, I feel much more confident in integrating these powerful tools into the lab.

I have two long-term goals regarding technology integration into the computer lab.  My first goal is to utilize more visuals and less teacher talking when presenting content.  Utilizing more concept maps, virtual field trips, and podcasts will help connect learners with the content in a more student-centered environment.  Thus placing the focus on the learning not the teacher.    My second long-term goal is to incorporate more technology embedded cooperative learning experiences utilizing many of the resources explored throughout this course.   As cooperative learning plays such an important role in learning theory, I feel I must place more of the learning into the hands of the students. Utilizing wikis, blogs, voice threads, and shared on-line documents are just a few of the resources I will begin integrating into future lessons as a way of promoting and strengthening cooperative learning within the compute lab. 

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010a). Program 4: Social Learning Theory [Webcast]. Behaviorist Learning Theory. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010b). Program 5: Social Learning Theory [Webcast]. Cognitive Learning Theories. Baltimore. MD: Author.

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

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