Final Synthesis
For this course, my goals were to learn how to better integrate technology into education and use it to motivate students as well as make content more accessible. I wanted to become a knowledgeable educator who can combine technology with the curriculum to enhance and support learning. My goals also included learning how integrate all that is embodied in the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) concept and, allow students to manifest and embrace the 4 C’s of 21st century learning. I hoped to learn how to select appropriate technologies for the age group that I teach to ensure the best learning opportunities for students with different learning abilities. I also wanted to become more familiar with Chickering and Ehrmann (1996) implementation of the seven principles and Bates’ (2014) SECTIONS model to ensure I am choosing technology with purpose. I would also like to keep the ISTE standards for educators close by so that I can build confidence and create positive attitudes towards technology in my future classroom. These are very valuable resources that I plan to use and go back to through out my career.
Overall, I have enjoyed my experience in ETEC 565A. I feel that I have learned a lot and that I was exposed to a lot of different types of learning technologies along the way. While I’m not a fan of discussion posts, the other assignments in this course proved to be very valuable and I know that I will use what I have learned, in the future.
Something I struggled with more towards the beginning of this course was that I felt everything was directed more towards an educator of post-secondary students and high school students, rather than the age group that I teach which is primary. As the course went on, I did continue to find that it was directed more towards older students but what was the bigger problem was my attitude towards it. It was important for me to change my attitude in that even if a reading was about older students, how could I translate it to relate to the age level at which I teach. Once I was able to do this I found I got a lot more out of the course than I initially was at the beginning. This was purely my issue, not the courses, but I’m glad I sorted that out for myself.
One of the most enjoyable assignments in this course for me was the introductory/content module creation along with the digital story. I feel that I will be able to use the information I learned here, in the future. For my course, I chose to use Google Classroom. While having no experience in this before, or even seeing it before, I was able to learn how to deliver content through such a venue and create content myself for ‘students’ to use. This was a very valuable assignment to me. I found myself thinking into the future about how I could implement this into my classroom and use technologies, like Google Classrooms, to enhance my students’ learning. This is a very good way to create a blended classroom and I am excited to try it one day.
Moving forward, I am excited to continue to use the resources I have gained in this course and experiment with learning management systems in my career as an educator. I have become more comfortable with selecting, teaching, planning and developing of learning technologies and look forward to my future using technology in the classroom.
References:
Bates, T. (2014). Choosing and using media in education: The SECTIONS model. In Teaching in digital age. Retrieved from https://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/part/9-pedagogical-differences-between-media/
Chickering, A. W., & Ehrmann, S. C. (1996). Implementing the seven principles: Technology as lever. AAHE bulletin, 49, 3-6.
International Society for Technology in Education (2017). The ISTE Standards for educators. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/for-educators