Designing a technology-based Digital-Age learning environment can be the ultimate and most efficient way to teach students who are already in the new digital-age. By designing the classroom to be technology focused and using technology every chance that is presented, will engage students and allow them to go beyond the traditional method of teaching. It allows for a more constructivist learning environment and allows students to learn new content but also allows them to see the benefits of using technology.
An example of using technology in my classroom would be during projects. I would using a constructivist learning theory which means I would be the facilitator and mainly allow my students to sit in the drivers seat. I would do this by giving my students background information on a topic and then split them into groups to further investigate the topic. In their groups, we would incorporate technology by each group having a technology device, they would be able to use different educational programs to find answers to their questions. They could then use their device to make an online poster to present to the whole class. This allows for small groups and engagement between all students since they will have to work together to investigate the problem.
Glogster- A great resource that allows students to create a poster online that they can use to present their work to their classmates.
Google Classroom- A great tool for the teacher and students to upload their work and for the teacher to add instructions or comments to the classroom. It also allows for online collaboration with the students and the teacher.
Symbaloo- A wonderful tool for the teacher and the students to stay organized and ensure appropriate websites are being used.
Professional Development is a fancy name for constant continuing of education. Professional Development allows teachers and professionals to keep up with the advanced nature of technology and further their education on best practices and new content.
Program Evaluation allows the facilitator or instructor to determine whether or not their students or participants learned the content that was being presented. This can be done using many different types of evaluations which could be formal or informal but it does allow for feedback.
To create a technology integration program, I would begin by conducting needs assessments prior to creating my program. I would ideally send out a google form to the teachers and see what they would like to improve on. If that's not an option, I would talk to the administration and see what they would like their teachers to learn. When I have a program set up, I would start the class by doing another needs assessment. I would break the class up into their grade levels or related content areas and have them discuss and write down what they want to learn based on what they topic is. As we are learning, I would start my evaluation process by looking at students attitudes. If they are being positive and are actively engaged, I will know that they are learning the content. During discusses, I will walk around and see what they are sharing with one another to see what they have learned. I would also give them a questionnaire at the end for feedback on whether or not they found this training to be efficient and effective.
Google Form- This is a great resource to use because it allows for the instructor to determine the most important information that teachers would like to learn. It can also be used to evaluate the training at the end of the course.
Kahoot!- A wonderful, interactive, and engaging evaluation tool that can be used to evaluate what the students learned.
PowerPoint- A great resource to teach to all the senses and allow all the students to learn the way the do best. What I mean by that is that students can be visual, auditory, or hands on learners. A PowerPoint is great for the visual learners, it is also great for auditory learners because the presenter is elaborating on what they are teaching from the slides, and hands on learners get to learn through the activities that are listed throughout the PowerPoint.