Integrated Communication

This page of my eportfolio was more difficult for me to reflect on because I had to really think through my communication with my peers and others through my graduate studies. Many of my assignments and projects required the use of more than one technology, and also required me to grow in my flexibility. Many group projects helped me in my ability to collaborate and evaluate technology through others' eyes. I also found then need for rubrics and avenues to evaluate the technology itself in order to find the purpose and the benefit. This helped me narrow my thinking and consider the learning outcomes of my classes. Just because a newer technology has been introduced to me during the beginning of the year in teacher in-service, doesn't mean that it is a necessary addition to my own classroom. I learned to not only communicate with others through the technology, but also how to better communicate goals to my students through the technology.

Technology makes communication easier and more accessible, so I have taken technology and developed skills that allow me to reach my students and their parents quickly and easily. I also am developing skills that allow me to turn my classroom into a student-centered, self-sufficient, and technology-integrated environment, which can also be seen in the examples below. Many of the technologies used and mentioned in the artifacts below are selected intentionally to show that I possess technology literacy skills and an understanding of how to effectively communicate my learning goals to my peers and my students.

Even preparation for my ePortfolio required a group effort and effective communication. My two other peers who evaluated each page of my portfolio had to be specific and helpful in order for each of us to showcase our skills and understanding of technology. I appreciate their feedback and also feel like their specific help allowed me to reflect on my projects with more accuracy and understanding.

Technology Evaluation - Group Project

In this group project, my group was required to evaluate different technologies and build cohesion on one Google Doc asynochronously. Through email and comments on our Google Document below, we really evaluated each other's evaluation of each of the technologies we were semi-familiar with. I feel like the project demonstrates my ability to integrate multiple technologies together through evaluation and collaboration. It also allowed me to grow in my knowledge of different educational technologies that can be applied with a wide range of age groups, as well as implement a consistent rubric to all of the technologies. This project required me to effectively communicate with a group of my peers who all taught in different settings and with different age groups. We were all exposed to different technologies and had to learn from each other as we reflected on the different ed techs we had been exposed to in our teaching career. I was the "novice" of the group, and was not as experienced as the others in my group, but it gave me the opportunity to play around with new technologies within my own classroom and grow in my understanding of what works best in a secondary classroom.

Lee Vygotsky - Social Development Theory

Another wonderful example of a group project that really expanded my understanding of Vygotsky and Piaget's cognitive learning theories is below. I really enjoyed being able to effectively communicate with my group members and determine which of the two learning theories would have the most impact in our own classroom - Vygtosky's emphasis on group collaboration was evident and a wonderful example of us practicing the social development theory we were studying and trying to implement within our own classrooms. We were able to share instances of where this theory took place in our own classrooms and determined that another group member's most recent classroom activity would be the perfect example of this theory in action with students (which can be seen at the end of the presentation). The teacher that utilized the classroom lesson at the end of the presentation was able to communicate to the group what worked and what did not in her own classroom, which allowed us to tweak and revise the lesson plans and learning outcomes. The slideshow below exemplifies our learning as a group:

Emerging Technology - Inspiration

In this particular week of my "Applying Instructional Media & Technology" course, we were asked to find educational technologies that were the most appropriate for our particular audience, whether we had heard about them from our peers or discovered them on our own. I placed this artifact on this particular page of my portfolio, because it shows my technological literacy skills in being able to utilize different technologies for high school & university age students and communicate them effectively to my peers. The goal was to enhance the teaching and/or my students' learning through applications that we had discovered. I chose to focus on three applications that I had experience with and elaborate on the learning that took place with my particular age group.

Career Pathway - Partner Game Design

After investigating the above Gamestar Mechanic, a partner and I worked together to create a simulation for students to help them with financial literacy and decision-making. This project allowed me to engage in collaboration, consider the most effective technologies for my students to engage with, and build a problem-based lesson for my students to problem-solved. This project integrated multiple technologies and built meaning from many of the theories and courses I had taken up until this point.

This also gives a useful insight into my ability to communicate and work effectively with another educator who teaches in a different environment and with a different age group than me. We were able to analyze the outcomes together and create a simulation that would benefit secondary students, regardless of age, as well as extension and differentiation opportunities for teachers to implement. I feel like this artifact really shows my ability to work with others, as well as communicate learning outcomes effectively.