Reflection on Course 6711

Reflect on the “Personal Theory of Learning” you developed in Week 1. Summarize any modifications to your personal theory of learning you have made as a result of your learning in this course. How has this course deepened your knowledge and understanding of learning theory and the use of educational technologies?

In Week 1 of this course, I talked about my personal theory of learning.  In one part of my paper, I stated “My personal theory of learning is that every student learns differently.  There is not one single method that will teach every one of my students.  It is my job to get to know my students and find out how each student learns.”  This can be a challenging task, because I have very young students that have never been to school.  Through taking this course, I have found how much technology relates to many different learning styles.  It is a learning tool that can be appropriate for all students.  In the video clip, Brain Research and Learning, Dr. Wolfe talked about the brain learning and remembering things when we teach the material more than one way. This directly correlates to the idea of the multiple intelligence theory. No two students learn alike and we must understand this in order to better address all the learning needs in our classrooms ((Laureate Education, Inc., 2010).  Technology relates to many of the multiple intelligence and this is one of the reasons technology is beneficial to the classroom. If one of my students is visual learner and another is linguistic, I can teach both of these students with the same program on the computer.

Describe any immediate adjustments you will make to your instructional practice regarding technology integration as a result of your learning in this course. Identify two technology tools you would like to use with your students and how the tools will support or enhance your students’ learning. How has your repertoire of instructional skills expanded as a result of this course?

During my summer vacation, I have been collaborating with two other teachers in my building to create lessons that integrate technology.  I have shared information with the teachers that I learned in this class and it has opened all of our eyes to some new technology tools.  One technology tool that we want to use next year is VoiceThread (http://voicethread.com).  VoiceThread is an amazing and free resource that can help students work on dictations.  For our students who are on Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) for speech, this gives us another way to have students work on their pronunciation.  Another technology tool that we want to use next year is virtual field trips.  I did one virtual field trip this year with my students and I was amazed how much they enjoyed it.  They were able to answer many WH questions solely based off of watching the virtual tour. 

List two long-term goal changes you would like to make to your instructional practice regarding technology integration and outline a strategy for achieving them

1. This year, our school won a grant for I-pads in our school.  Next year, I would like to write a grant to get a SmartBoard in my classroom.  There are many advantages to a SmartBoard such as differentiation and meeting many different learning needs.  I believe I can use the SmartBoard as a way to integrate technology into my lessons and classroom. 
2. This coming school year, I would like to get another computer time for my students (this would allow us to go to the computer room for three times a week).  If I get another computer time, I want to use the computer time to do my calendar time as an interactive time on the SmartBoard.    

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). Program one. Understanding the brain [Webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore, MD: Author.