At the end of these past 8 weeks I have learned that I am more
tech savvy than I thought. This is my first online class and there were some
times when I just wanted to be in a” brick and mortar” class to actually see my
teacher and classmates. I have at times been over whelmed by all of the tools
and how to integrate them into my teaching style and also into my district but
I think just focusing on using one tool at a time is a great starting
point. I've surprised myself and my colleagues
on the ideas I have brought back about going 1:1 and it is all because of this
class. Week 3 module: Moving mindsets
was really a great unit for me. I
brought lots of ideas back to my schools technology committee and while I’m not
sure how receptive they were, maybe it at least opened the door for discussion
at a later date.
The SAMR model was probably the best tool for me to utilize when
evaluating my use of technology. I have also tried new lessons this year with
more technology. I used a web quest instead of a lecture and then we went back
and discussed questions that they had or things they thought were cool. I tried
a Photostory for evidence of evolution that did not go well and was very
frustrating but I had another teacher try it with her students and it went
better. I got the students feedback for improvements next year.
If blended classroom setting is the way of the future then I
think we as educators have our work cut out for us, as well as other
stakeholders in the community. Hopefully all parties involved will see that
teaching critical thinking is not something that is new to education but rather
something that has been sidelined because of the importance of standardized
tests. One of my favorite quotes that I use now as my own professional vision
statement is from Josef
Albers, a professor of art and education, “Good teaching is more a giving of right questions than a
giving of right answers.”
