I have always had a love for technology.  I love computers, phones, tablets, cameras, speakers, and gadgets of any kind.  My high school years were primarily spent in the electronics/engineering department tinkering, designing, and building.  This was where most of my learning took place and it is only in the last few years that I have realized this.  Back in high school, I thought I was goofing off.  Many of our projects were self-directed.  We could choose what to make as long as we cleared it with our teacher.  I thought I was somehow getting away with something when my teacher let me make a set of speakers for my stereo.  Turns out, he was conning me into thinking I was goofing off, but really I was learning how to design, prototype, and refine.  In the end, my classmates and I made all sorts of things from robots to an electric car.

Contrast the last situation to the time I took computer science in high school.  That was one of the most awful experiences I ever had in school, and I am someone who loves computers!  If you just looked at the content of the course, you would think I would be happy in the class.  We learned how to build websites, code, and even program games.  Why wasn’t I happy then?  It was the way in which the class was taught.  We had written tests all the time to check if we knew our coding.  Projects were dictated to us and we weren’t given any freedom to choose.  We weren’t really allowed to talk to each other and projects were always individual.  Looking back at my own education, I understand the value and impact of implementing technology into the classroom to support learning.  But simply including digital technology in the classroom isn’t enough.  It has to be made fun and meaningful.

While implementing digital technology is something that interests and excites me, it also scares me quite a bit.  The dangers and problems of online activity are very real, and I have had to deal with serious issues related to social media this year.  This seems to get worse every year.  The situations this year were serious enough to have police involved a few times.  Because of this, I digital literacy and online safety are two issues that I would like to look at more in-depth.

Digital publishing is another topic that would like to delve deeper into.  The ways of telling a story or narrative are no longer limited to books or writing.  Many of my students have poor written output but have creative imaginations.  I have found that using the iPad to record and create digital books has been a good way for these students to express their ideas.  Another reason I would like to look at this topic more is because to my students, the most famous people in the world are digital creators.  YouTube stars are way more influential to my students than any famous person in any other medium by far.

Finally, I want to look at webtools and online portfolios.  I already utilize several webtools during my day-to-day teaching with my students, but I am always looking for more.  Online portfolios are something that I am not that familiar with and would like to learn more about.  Specifically, I am looking to learn about apps that share student work, assessments, and provide feedback.  Our school currently keeps paper portfolios in the form of binders, but these are not easily shared and are a pain to keep updated.

The topics of interest that I have right now may evolve as the course moves forward, but as it stands right now, these are the topics that or ideas that I am interested in exploring.

Topics I am interested in exploring:

Digital literacy, online safety, digital publishing, critical literacy, webtools, online portfolios