Taught by Professor Lucie deLaBruere, University of Vermont
My Goal: To become a resource and advocate for the purposeful and effective use of technology in education so learners in Vermont experience equitable and high quality education that will prepare them to be powerful leaders and participants on the global stage.
Using Blogger, I spent time reflecting on my current processes and ways of thinking as well as the new learning I was acquiring in Professor deLaBruere's class. This was one of my first two courses in the M Ed. program and came right at the height of the pandemic. I believe my last reflection (on April 30th) on this blog to be a synopsis of how much I learned in this class. Immediately, I was shifting my archetype and searching to step up into an informal leadership role within my team. We were shocked at having to migrate to a full-remote learning setting for our students. Because of the skills (both leadership and specific technology-related skills) I was learning in this course, I was able to provide my students and my adult team with remote learning opportunities that were engaging, purposeful, and intuitive. I will always remember this particular course (and the incredible teacher) as a life raft while surging waters of uncertainty flooded our daily lives.
With my peer from Franklin County, VT we created a tutorial and pitch for our districts to adopt a web-based integrative tool known as VoiceThread to reach our students both while we were remote learning and to extend learning beyond the typical school day. Reimagining what "homework" and snow days could look like, this simple yet effective tool now remains a major tool for our district as a result.
This particular project consisted of a pitch for change, inspired by the book Switch How to Change Things when Change is Hard by Chip and Dan Heath, step by step screencast instructions for teachers getting started, a tutorial for students, and a call to action for the future.
During this course, Professor deLaBruere had us discover and utilize many new technology platforms both for instruction, but also for connecting and growing our own Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). By doing this, I realized what a tremendous connector technology can be for educators and innovators alike. One of the tools we used, Wakelet, allows the user to curate resources to keep track of research and learning. Not only is this a helpful tool for my students when conducting research, but it also provided a very easy way to communicate my own new learning with my colleagues and friends. Additionally, as we began to use Twitter and participate in Twitter Chat events, it was an easy way to keep track of my learning, links, and professionals with whom I began to interact. This is an example of how I could show evidence of my learning using Wakelet.