Personal Learning Reflection

* What are some things that you have learned about effective teaching strategies when integrating technology?

When I watched the 21st century learner video, it really opened my eyes to how important it is to incorporate technology in teaching. Knowing this, one of the most effective teaching strategies that I feel I learned in this class was learning how to use the TPACK model to appropriately integrate technology into teaching and learning. The interactions of technology, pedagogy and content(TPACK) forms the core of the TPACK model(Koehler & Mishra, 2008). When teachers are planning lessons, it’s important to use TPACK. This model starts with teachers looking at the content they need to teach. Then they think of ways to incorporate technology with the content and conceptually think how they are going to tie in the content and technology with their pedagogical philosophies. It can be challenging to tie all this into one lesson but the more teachers are using and thinking of TPACK the easier it will be to make it a part of a daily teaching routine. Another advantage of TPACK is that it helps with differentiated instruction taking place in the classroom and will enable educators to meet the different needs of all learners.

* How did integrating the Internet help you think about and evaluate uses of technology?

Integrating the Internet helped me to realize how many resources there are available on the Internet for teachers to use in their classroom. It made me realize that not utilizing what the Internet has to offer would mean doing a disservice to my students. Additionally, when teaching learners in the 21st century, it is important to teach them about digital citizenship through the Internet. Internet can impact a classroom through the use of differentiated instruction. All learners can learn with the tools the Internet has to offer. This will in turn increase a students motivation to learn along with making all students feel successful. This is the ultimate goal of teaching. The Internet also helps teachers supplement instruction with online learning games and activities as well as avenues for group collaboration. There is an endless list of what the Internet offers to teachers. However, the Internet tools are always changing, websites and programs are always being added and updated. Therefore, it is important for teachers to stay informed about the new technologies that are available on the Internet.

* Which of the assignments that you turned in do you feel really exemplifies good teaching with technology and why?

I think the group presentation really showed the impacts of using interactive whiteboards in a classroom. It is amazing the resources that interactive whiteboards have to offer. They are also supported by research that has been done behind the benefits of using them in the classroom. Students learning while having fun is what an interactive whiteboard is all about. They provide for a rise in student engagement for learning. Additionally, not only did this presentation show how wonderful interactive whiteboards are, it showed how wonderful Google presentation is! I was able to create a wonderful presentation with group members that I have never met! Google presentation allows for easy group collaboration because it is a form of cloud computing that allows anyone to access the same document on any computer and edit/comment a document anyway they wish.

* How have you met your goals established in your Personal Growth Plan?

In my personal growth plan, I stated that "My goal is to give students exposure to the different technologies that are available in order for them to be successful after grade school and into higher education and the workforce." I can definitely say that I have learned about many new resources in this class in order to make this happen. For example: blogs, rss feeds, bookmarking pages, podcasts, social networking sites, Google documents, Flickr, video streaming, are all ways to enhance learning and the list continues!

I also said that "One of my goals is to learn new ideas that I could add to my blog in order for it to be more appealing to my students and parents"
Google calendar is definitely a tool that will really enhance my blog. Also, when following different blogs on my RSS page, I found some new resources that I can add to my resource section of my blog. Also, I can add many images onto my blog using Flicker and Creative Commons.

Another goal that I had was that "To use technology as more of a way to differentiate instruction by finding resources to meet the needs of all learners. Additionally, I stated that I wanted to create more math centers in my classroom and I would love to learn new resources that I could use in these centers and on my smart board." I felt that I accomplished this goal when I discovered many resources on my RSS feed pages. For example, I found a great math game website that I could add to one of my centers. Also, when researching ideas for my SIG presentation, I found new resources that I can use on my IWB to help differentiate my instruction during center work.

Another goal that I had was to "Find new ways to help me stay more organized with my organization in my classroom to be more efficient with my everyday tasks." I feel like I accomplished this goal through the organization lab which gave me some helpful hints of how to keep myself organized. For exampling, a easy system for multi-tasking. Also,the use of Google Calendar will also be a great tool for organization.


My final goal that I listed in my personal growth plan was to "Find other ways for these students to accomplish the same goals I am trying to accomplish with the technology I use without limiting the experience to students who do have the internet." This was one goal that I did not accomplish in this class because everything we covered required having access to the Internet. But, it did help me realize that I can do many more of these activities in my classroom which would prevent students from needing to have the Internet at home.

* Do you have any new goals? What are your plans for reaching your new goals and your long-term goals after this course is over?

Another goal of mine is to continue to expand my personal learning network. My network has already expanded greatly across my teaching career and in this class and I cannot wait to expand this network even further. Additionally, new goals that I want to implement in my classroom is to create a message board on my classroom blog as well as creating a bookmarking page when I assign research projects. Additionally, I want make it a goal of mine to continuing to follow the blogs on my RSS feed page to continue getting new resources to use in my classroom. A third goal of mine is to learn how to us Prezi. In this class, I wish I could have learned more about this program. I am very comfortable using Microsoft Powerpoint but I think I could really make my presentations more engaging using Prezi. Finally, I want to create all 10 of my math units using SMART technology to make all my lessons very interactive. I am anxious to start using the tools I have learned during this class and putting them to use through effective lessons for my students.

Some of my long term professional goals is to complete the Master’s of Teaching and Curriculum Program in August. Before that, in June, I hope to complete my technology courses and receive my technology certificate. Additionally, I want to attend many professional development opportunities for technology that my school district provides. I also want to attend a MACUL conference this year. All in all, I want to be a resource to other teachers in my school district and promote sharing of technological ideas amongst staff members in my school.