Week 11 - Final Reflection

I can’t believe it’s been 11 weeks.  What a term!  In Learning through Technology, I had the opportunity to explore and practice with a variety of different social media and media-based technologies that enabled us to collaborate and create thoughtful and engaging presentations by the likes of Prezi, Wix or Animoto, to name a few.  I will admit I was skeptical coming into this class when we began 11 weeks ago.  I feel I was the last person on the planet to get a smartphone and I don’t use my computer for much else than work or school.  I was wary that technology in the classroom would create a distraction and gauge inappropriate student behavior, but I found that if the benefits of education can be harnessed, it creates a valuable, engaging and positive environment where students can be free to create and present material and research in a variety of professional presentation tools. 

We had the opportunity to learn about the dangers of social media and the foundations of good digital citizenship via two PBS documentaries that were available via their website.  We evaluated a webinar which enabled teachers and administrators the opportunity to collaborate and share information and research with one another, and, lastly, but among others, we created webquests which allowed students to create a lesson plain utilizing technology.  These 11 weeks have taught me and allow me to expand upon this knowledge as I continue onto different classes, and, furthermore, once I become a certified teacher.  I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunities we had to try different presentation and collaborating tools.  I firmly believe I will be successfully in utilizing multiple tools we’ve studied and continue to educate myself on the ever-changing technological landscape. 

I found that I struggled with learning something I had never used before.  Like Prezi, for example, I was focused on learning the material I was researching, but I felt more compelled on mastering how to use the new tool or resource available to us.  I found that creating our WebQuests was my biggest obstacle and accomplishment.  I struggled with building a lesson plan that was relevant to my concentration but I struggled with how to implement technology into it.  As we grew further into this class, I found that the more assignments we had, the better I understood the WebQuest assignment and how to appropriately pick a tool that’d benefit my students.  By successfully completing the WebQuest, I was able to create a webpage using Weebly and I developed an effective and engaging lesson plan.

With respect to the course outcomes listed on the syllabus, we proficiently achieved “Design meaningful and authentic digitally based learning experiences with multiple and varied assessments” via the numerous blog posts and other assignments we had due for this class, including our WebQuest.  We were asked to create podcasts, blog posts and digital slideshows using assistive technology to create engaging, informative resources for presenting our thoughts and research.  And “Evaluate and reflect on emerging tools and trends by reviewing current research and professional literature” was achieved by the immense resources that the course instruction, Kim Tufts, provided us with to demonstrate and research the tools they were given.  We had the opportunity to research new techniques and display what we’ve learned with exciting tools and formats.

Learning through Technology will be a course I will remember as I continue my studies here at SNHU.  I feel this course provides excellent foundational tools necessary to become a structured teacher and creates a framework for teachers to follow to better prepare themselves for their students.  I will continue to use these technologies and more as I am asked to complete new assignments.

Field Experience

I took the opportunity to speak with Professor Rebecca Noel.  Noel is a Professor of History at Plymouth State University.  Noel teaches history classes at Plymouth with her concentration being woman’s studies, western European history and the United States from the colonial period up through the Civil War.  Noel earned her Bachelors from Yale and later received her Master’s and her Ph.D. from Boston University.  She has taught at Plymouth for over 20 years.  Her primary e-mail is rrnoel@plymouth.edu or you can see her Facebook account.  

I’ve always thought of Noel as one of my favorite teachers.  Messaging her via Facebook was easy, and she was generally excited to help me with this assignment.  She was excited and feverous to talk when I mentioned that the focus of my interview was to discuss how she utilizes technology in her classrooms.  Noel commented that with her history classes, she utilizes many different media-based applications and presentation techniques to display a variety of different texts, pictures or videos to engage students in their work.

The following questions and answers are listed below per my interview with Noel:

What types of technology do you use in the classroom?  Do you find it beneficial?

Yes! Definitely! College students are so much harder to teach because their focuses and minds are wandering with everything else they have going on.  I use this application called Smilebox.  It’s really easy and free, too!   It’s basically an online slideshow tool.  I can take pictures from the Civil War or put together a slideshow that illustrates the different battlefields or any other fun topic.  I’ve seen that students really do appreciate it and actually participate more.  In classes I had in other semesters, students would be presented these slideshows and then they’d need to pick a specific topic and present it through PowerPoint or anything else they’d like to use

What are your thoughts about the prevalence of technology today?  Do you think it can serve a purpose in the classroom?

Technology is advancing so quickly!  You literally think you know something, but then you realize you don’t.  Today, students really need to be engaged and involved in the class lecture, or they’re just going to be bored and not pay attention.  I want students who will participate and be alert and ready for class.  I find that when students can get involved with their computers or their mobile devices, they contribute to the class more and get better grades.  It’s a big responsibility trying to “police” technology and how students utilize it, but there’s really no way.  I think students need to be conscious of their studies when on their smartphones or whatever else they use.  If used correctly, technology can be so big for schools.  Teachers can interact with students like never before.  Look at Blackboard!  And it’s still improving.  Technology will keep advancing and it’s really just up to us to keep ourselves current and moving with the ever-changing technology.

What do you think about “digital citizenship” and its effect on today’s students?

      The Internet and other technologies are always changing.  We can’t stop it, but only just adapt and grow with it. I think students need to be aware of the dangers on the Internet and use it for the right reasons.  When I was a kid, we didn’t have Facebook or all the tools we use today.  Now, I talk to students through Facebook, Twitter and Google+ to give reminders about assignments due or helpful hints or advice.  Students definitely need to be taught how to conduct themselves when using the Internet. 

How to you present a new technology into the classroom and avoid falling behind because of unfamiliarity with the tool?

Before I use anything new in class, I try it out for myself so that I don’t spend too much time trying to play with it while I’m conducting my lesson.  I’ve used Wikis and Prezi before.  With Prezi it was easy to incorporate text, videos and pictures into presentation and students seemed really into it!  If students are required to use the tool for an assignment, I’ll generally e-mail the class beforehand so that they’ll [hopefully] test it out for themselves before they come to class. 

Do you find that you have trouble keeping students engaged?

I’ve given my students the freedom to create their own guidelines for when an assignment will use their phones or their computer, but I make sure it’s within reason.  I’d hate to see students playing on their phones and not focused to the class when I’m trying to teach them.  I want them to be adults, though.  I want them to establish good etiquette and decide for themselves when their technology is appropriate. 

I really enjoyed my opportunity to speak with Noel.  She was informative and helpful in affirming my beliefs regarding technology in the classroom.  I could tell she was generally excited about the advances technology has brought for educators and what future technology may hold.  From what I’ve learned in this class to the guidance Noel provided, I feel comfortable in the new knowledge I have gained and my ability to build upon it and apply it to my lessons in the classroom.  Noel stressed the importance of ensuring students stayed on track and avoided the pitfalls that come with losing focus because of Facebook or other social-media websites. 

I don’t feel that my approach in the classroom would be different at all as a result of this interview, however.  Noel provided a very direct approach to her methodologies in the classroom and I feel they coincided with my beliefs.  Noel was very appreciative of me requesting her to conduct my field experience with.  She commented that she always enjoys helping students with their work and engaging with them outside of the classroom. 

Week 7 - Digital Storytelling