“I feel that
children learn best from one another. When placed in a cooperative learning
environment, children have the opportunities to be active learners. Also in
this form of learning, each child is given the opportunity to showcase his or
her own personal talents. From my own personal classroom experience, I have
noticed that the information sticks with the children longer when he or she is
involved”
Looking back on all of the theories and
instructional tools we applied in this course, learning is just as mentioned
above, giving students the opportunity to be active learners. As Dr. Michael
Orey stated throughout the seven weeks of video segments, the best learning
takes place when children are engaged and have multiple opportunities to learn
(Laureate Education Inc., 2011). This course has reminded me of all the various
learning theories that can be applied in the classroom. I have deepened my
knowledge in the fact that I now know and understand how to apply each theory
more effectively in the classroom. I have definitely gained an understanding of
how to successfully incorporate technology such as VoiceThread, wikis, iPads
etc. into my curriculum. I am pleased to say I have many new ideas that I can
add to my curriculum next fall.
As a result of this class, I will also be making some
adjustments to my instructional practice regarding how I use technology. I have
learned that I have to adjust the way I use instructional tools in the
classroom. My goal is to be more proactive in creating learning tools that the
students can use. Creating these types of lessons will allow my students to be
more active learners. As Orey stated in Instructional
Tools vs. Learning Tools I need to train my brain and ask myself “What can
the child do with the technology?” (Laureate Education Inc., 2011). As a
result, I plan to use virtual field trips more next year. I thought this was a
great way to get the students involved in the learning. There were many virtual
field trips that presented opportunities for students to be engaged and gain
meaningful information from. Another technology I intend to use more frequently
is SpiderScibe. I love how interactive and involved the students could be while
creating a concept map. I felt that it really allowed them to critically think
about the topic at hand while keeping them engaged in the process. Not to
mention all of the activities in our Using
Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works books too. By the looks of
it, I will be one busy teacher come next fall.
Overall, my long terms goals for incorporating technology into the classroom include using technology in a way that involves the students first hand in the learning. By doing this, I will be creating lessons that will be powerful for any age group. Another goal I have is to begin to incorporate more project based learning into the classroom. Moving into third grade, I feel that I will have more of an opportunity to achieve this goal. I will have the opportunity to split the students up into cooperative learning groups and across many other subject areas besides reading. Through this course I have learned that in the end, I need to be a facilitator of learning and let the kids do the work.
References:
Laureate Education, Inc.
(Producer). (2011a). Program eleven: Instructional strategies, Part one [Video
webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology.
Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1
Laureate
Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Program thirteen: Technology: Instructional
tool vs. learning tool [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory,
instruction and technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1
