Reflection

Albert Einstein once said, “learning is experience. Everything else is just information”.

As a reflective practitioner, my greatest aim is for my students to learn. Congruent to this, I must help to create their experiences in the spaces of learning, even with their variegated learning styles. Making information available or passing on information to the learners is not effective teaching, as we live in the information age. Everyone has access to information but making sense of and applying this information is of greatest importance. As defined by the Britannica dictionary, technology is the application of scientific knowledge to invent useful things or to solve problems. Thence, technology must be included in the process of education.

During the period of this course study, many technological tools were explored and discovered. We went in-depth about how each tool can be used to facilitate the best experiences for various types of learners. Some of these tools include podcasts, WebQuests, Google slides, Google docs, Canva, Kahoot, and a myriad of others. I was very excited to work with my group members to plan lessons using the ASSURE model, demonstrating the use of some of these tools as well as watching other groups do the same.

Everyone in this course was at a different level in terms of being versed with the use of technology, but the patience and cooperation of everyone didn’t allow this to be a source of any problem.

Another thing that stood out was exploring the various tech tools to see the ones that would best support the learning theories. For example, the Constructivist theory postulates experiential learning through cooperation, thus the use of tools such as Google docs, Google slides, and simulations.

Coming into the course, I gave myself 8\10 for being tech savvy and using technology during my lessons. Undoubtedly, at this point in the course, I have grown tremendously. I have learned that it is not just about knowing and using the tools but it is using the tools with the intention of enhancing and broadening the learning experience for the students. It is about effectively using the tools to support the learners.

The only thing that I would add to the course is more time so that all the underscored concepts can be properly digested and assimilated. The great thing is that the course sparked interest in us so now we can find the tools, discover more tools and explore with them in our own time.

For the first time, I was introduced to the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), which is the foremost organization in teaching technology in the classroom.

ISTE has quality standards for how students, teachers, administrators, coaches, and computer educators should approach technology in the classroom. ISTE encourages Educators to improve their practice by learning from and with others and exploring proven and promising practices that influence technology to improve student learning by staying current and participating in local and global networks.

I have signed up and downloaded the ISTE standards which I will share with my fellow educators.