Personal Learning Reflection CEP 810/811

Personal Learning Reflection

By: Jennifer Forbes

CEP 810/811

As school ended this year I was dreading taking these classes CEP 810 and CEP 811, Teaching Understanding with Technology.  I have never thought of myself as a “technical” person.  Yes, I know the basics and can teach them to my students, but technologically inclined I am not.  This being said I was not excited to take a class where I thought I was going to do nothing but struggle.  Guess what, “I was wrong.”  Once the class started I couldn’t believe what I was learning and what I was being asked to do, but it was all layed out and easy to follow and if I needed help there was always someone there to help whether it be a teacher, classmate, or web site.   

Throughout the class I have learned several things about effective teaching strategies when integrating technology.  I have learned about TPACK and how it influences creativity.  Motivation is key in getting students to grab on to a concept that you are teaching.  If they have a curiosity they will stay engaged and want to learn what is being taught.  When a student has access to technology they have the world at their fingertips.  Our job is to give them the tools to use them and a map of what they need to be successful.  When integrating technology security is of the utmost importance, if you teach the students how and what to be aware of they will not feel the need to wander.   Teachers are meant to be mentors not dictators.  This way they can develop the tools to strategize and problem solve.

Integrating the Internet helped me think about and evaluate uses of technology through all of the resources that were brought to my attention that could be found on and using the Internet.   When putting together our SIG we used the Internet to compile our resources and save them on a site called Diigo(www.diigo.com.)  This site allowed us to share resources with one another and allow each other to edit and comment on what was submitted.  The Internet helped me find additional resources to help students and teachers.  Google provides several free resources that everyone can use.  I had no idea about other than email when I first started.  By having all these resources communication becomes easier and instantaneous. 

The assignment that I feel best exemplifies good teaching with technology is the SIG presentation on Blogs.  This group assignment led us to so many great resources in multiple subject areas that I am anxious to use them throughout the year.  As for Blogs, starting one has been fun and informative.  I love how our presentation is easy to navigate and gives resources and how to use them all in one spot.  The other assignment I really enjoyed was my el dia de los muertos submission to MERLOT.  I am proud of that piece of work and will be using it this year.

  At this time I have not yet met many of my goals in my personal growth plan as school has not yet started for the year.  I have been able to follow up on some resources that I can use to construct lesson plans for the year.  I have also found several Blogs that have served as great resources for designing my lesson plans.   Since I am also taking CEP 811 as well I have been able to use multiple resources to construct a very “rough” web page that I can use during the year for my students and their parents. 

I have a couple new goals that I would like to achieve.  The first is I would like to construct a few web quests that I can use in my Spanish classroom.  I introduced this concept at the end of last year and the students loved them.   I would also like to form a network at school so we can share ideas online using a site such as Google docs or Diigo.  My plans for reaching my new goals are to share what I have learned with my co-workers and my principal to allow for time to work together and collaborate on integrating technology into the classroom more than it is.  As for long term goals I plan on speaking with an advisor and applying to get into the Masters in Educational Technology Program.  It will be a slow road but an achievable one.   I would also like to form a technology group at school to discuss how technology can add to the classroom and should not be feared.