As a new teacher in a tough job market, I have worn many “hats” in an effort to get my foot in the door. My experience is limited in terms of duration, but plentiful in terms of learning. In three years, I have worked in an elementary gifted program, in an elementary social development program, as an elementary learning assistance teacher, as a special needs case manager, as a grade 4/5 classroom teacher and as a K-12 substitute. I am taking the MET because I am a “techie” and I want to be on the front lines of integrating technology into education. My goals for ETEC 565 are quite simple. I want to learn about how to select appropriate learning technologies and how to use technology as part of communication and assessment within the classroom.
LMS
I want to learn about how to use an LMS like Moodle effectively with intermediate elementary students. I hope to learn how a LMS can be a tool for creating independence among learners and as a tool for organizing students.
Synchronous communication
As far a communication goes in the evolving field of educational technology, asynchronous communication has taken precedence. Now that mainstream technology has made synchronous communication more available (ie. Cameras, speakers and microphones are built in to most newer computers/laptops), I am curious to see how it is integrated into online learning. I have used Elluminate (for an ETEC 510 project) and Vista chat already. I am confident that I can master the use of synchronous communication tools by simply being told about the options available! Synchronous communication would be very much supported by both Chickering and Gamson and Bates and Poole as it allows for prompt feedback, encourages interaction between faculty and student as well as reciprocity between students and allows for a level of (I)nteractivity that is second only to face to face communication.
Assessment
I would like to learn about the most effective options for assessment that would provide prompt feedback to students. Chickering and Gamson’s “Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education” (1987) lists prompt feedback as one of its practices and I think this can be better achieved by using an LMS to submit assignments, direct email between students and instructors and delivering practice quizzes with automatic assessment.
Social software
Keeping the Bates and Poole (2003) SECTIONS framework in mind, I wonder if social software can be a way to meet the interests of the age group of students that I am teaching. I hope that ETEC 565 can guide me in using social software in such a way that it appeals to my students and has them associating social software with meeting their academic needs rather than just solely for pleasure purposes.
Multimedia
For me, multimedia tools resonate with Chickering and Gamson’s (1987) principle of “respect[ing] diverse talents and ways of learning”. There are many ways to incorporate multimedia into teaching and learning and I hope to learn how to embed these activities within a site.
References
Bates, A.W. & Poole, G. (2003). Chapter 4: a Framework for Selecting and Using Technology. In Effective Teaching with Technology in Higher Education: Foundations for Success. (pp. 77-105). San Francisco: Jossey Bass Publishers.
Chickering, A.W. and Gamson, Z.F. (1987). Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education. American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, 39 (7), p. 3-7.