Synthesis

Precis of flight path

The road most traveled!

Having traveled this path at least five hundred times, my interest in using technology in the classroom has been ignited. The weekly activities though overbearing at times have boosted my confidence and competence in the use of technology in my classroom. Having participated discussions forums week after week, I do feel better equipped to make informed decisions on technological tools which can be used in the teaching and learning environment.

I had very little interaction with the e-Learning tool kit activities. I did read the information on multimedia and authoring tools. The information was very useful. After reading the material I was in a better position to discuss the issues about multimedia.

While I did not engage myself in the other tool kit activities, my knowledge of the technologies in the toolkit was never compromised. I was able to garner the information from other sources. The production of my LMS site and my e-portfolio are evidences of my competence in the use of technology.

The section model as outlined by Bates and Poole (2003) gave a framework for selecting and using technology. There are eight sections to the SECTIONS MODEL. Each section is significant to the word SECTIONS. I will use the model to do a self assessment of my e-portfolio.

Students: Using Word Press was appropriate for this course. By creating an e-portfolio, I was able to select, and design my own learning space.

Ease of use: Word Press, while not very easy to use, learning how to use it did not require a great deal of time. I also found Word Press to be reliable; I had no problem accessing the site.

Cost: While Word Press is a free software one has to consider other cost such as electricity.

Teaching and Learning: This was a suitable teaching and learning resource for me. At times I was motivated to try new things without being fearful.

Interaction/interactivity: Word Press is very interactive. I was able to demonstrate new knowledge, give and receive feedback through Word Press.

Organizational Issues: The support provided from the course facilitator is an indication of the organization system in place. There were times the site was not up, quick actions by the course facilitator and his team corrected the problem.

Novelty: Using Word Press was a novel idea for me. I was able to try out new things on the site. Some of which were worth the effort. Others were just frustrating.

Speed: I found word Press to be fast and flexible. My documents were uploaded in seconds. I was able to make changes to my post as well as to my layout of my blog.

With the wealth of knowledge garnered from this course and with my colleagues’ expectations, I will have to model a few things which I have learned. This will allow not only in service teachers to be exposed to the different ways in which available technology can be used in their classroom, but for pre-service teachers to be taught by using these technologies. This approach will provide the pre-service teachers with hands on approach to the use of technology in teaching and learning. While I will try not to take on more than I can manage given my already tight schedule, my proposed plans are to

(1) create and use a blog with my students.

(2) set up one course on moodle for the upcoming semester. I have started this already as my LMS.