As I look back at the different sessions, I can't help but realize that I have been exposed to a lot of valuable information. Not only in the form of new tools, but in how to effectively administer and plan with these tools and concepts. The first assignment we were given was one that allowed us to define what it was that we wanted to learn, explore, and share. Throughout the course of these lessons I was able to experience these modules with my background knowledge and acquire new perspectives from my classmates. As the weeks passed I kept looking back at the initial assignment to see where these new tools could fit in with the goals that I set for myself.
How can I bring this knowledge into a classroom, and help instructors share with their students and collaborate with colleagues using technologies that are already available, and look into acquiring new ones to help implement these ideals? I quickly noticed that a lot of these web 2.0 technologies were already being used in our classrooms, but not to their full potential. As we were introduced to GoogleApps in our initial weeks, I too was working on deploying Google's educational services at our site. Being able to learn from the different assignments, and collaborating with my team to produce the different components of the SIG assignments, allowed me to learn at a pace and hands on experience that excelled my understanding of how the suite of apps works. I quickly realized that the content we were learning had much more of an impact and stuck better as I took what we learned and applied it in every day practices of its use.
This is a concept that I believe can be introduced into the classroom to induce a productive environment. As teachers can learn and use the tools for various functions, they can be more comfortable with them and more easily present them to their students and provide support without fearing the unknown. Where there is an unanswered question, there is a search query that can be carried out in a matter of seconds to find a solution. The vast amount of internet research I did during this course is an example of how the internet can't be ignored and is a valuable resource for a class environment, online or offline.
The main objective of my initial goal was to introduce the use of a student's personal technology as a more prominent role in their learning experience. Utilizing their mobile phone, laptop, or other mobile device could be used as one of their, as it was said on the tv show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, lifelines. Throughout the course I was able to learn how any browser, mobile or desktop, can emulate a classroom and carry out the message that a teacher would like to get across. Whether it is a blog, a published Google Doc, a wiki, a glog, or a VoiceThread, there are various forms through which a teacher can interact with a student at any time and in any place. Regardless of the setting, the technologies we explored in these past weeks have given us the ability to teach and learn anywhere. I carried out some professional development meetings while learning some of these tools myself, and I found it amazing how empowered the teachers became as they themselves explored and allowed their creativity to flow on how to implement these tools in their respective subjects.
I feel that I have widened my knowledge with the variety of assignments I took part in, especially the SIG assignments. These helped me in practicing the GTD model to have a constant effective work flow and stay on top of things. The process of creating the different parts of the SIG project allowed me to flex various mental, creative and organizing muscles. I am really proud of the what we created as a team. The theories and goals behind the proposal, the resources we collected, and the presentation embody an amazing example of collaborative work between members in two different geographical location, all while maintaining great communication.
While I feel I still have more work to do to effectively teach both teachers and students on how personal technology can be an asset to learning, I think I have much more ammo on my side to battle the notion that these devices are merely distractions. I plan on keeping my eyes and ears to the net and seeing what other innovative solutions are made available to work in synergy with traditional teaching models.
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