My eyes have been opened to the possibilities of Ed Tech as both a professional learner but mostly for student learning. My expectation coming in to the class was that we would be learning how to use the Smart board and some apps for language learning or math games. I am so glad that is not what this class was about. Firstly, I am so glad I learned about PLN’s (personal learning networks). This was not an acronym that was on my radar up to this point in my life. Technology has completely revolutionized how we professionally develop as teachers. I am grateful for the time spent on twitter. Through the excellent modelling of Christine Ho-Younghousband, I can see how effective a strong PLN can be and how easy it is to call on colleagues through social media when you have a question or need support. Podcasts are another clever way we can be networking and keeping up to date with current trends, literature and information pertaining to education. I hope I will have more time in the future to dedicate to podcasts and I have been much more aware of my twitter feed since beginning EDUC 431.
Second theme that I took away from this class was to use technology in my class for creation and sparingly for consumption. I am hoping my students in the future will be able to use some of the apps introduced to us for creative purposes, whether it be an Office 365 Sway presentation or Pic Collage. There are some great ADST creation possibilities with Scratch JR. and I am feeling like I have a much better understanding of how I would like to use technology in my own class.
The last theme that resonated with me throughout this course is using technology as an access point. This can be achieved by having ipads or laptops in the classroom for students to need to listen to audio books or students who need to type or dictate their written output because of fine motor issues. I loved Valerie Irvine’s idea of using technology to keep students in the learning environment even if they cannot physically be in the classroom. This is becoming increasingly important in the world we live in today and I am grateful to live in a time when the technology facilitates this kind of learning.
It is an exciting time for Ed Tech and I know that my learning is far from over so I hope that through my PLN’s I will be able to learn from my peers and keep incorporating technology into my classroom so that every student feels they can succeed.