Final+Course+Reflection+-+5364

media type="youtube" key="sCaFTcAcU_Y?rel=0" height="219" width="372" align="right"EDLD 5364: Teaching With Technology

I began Teaching with Technology with both skepticism and hesitation. From one perspective, I entered the course believing myself to already be somewhat of an expert. I expected a fairly high level of redundancy in the course material because of my prior experience with a wide variety of classroom technology applications. Conversely, I worried somewhat when I realized that the coursework would, in large part, consist of online collaboration. I considered the obstacles to online collaboration: scheduling, hardware and application compatibility, and storing of materials; along with the concerns of any collaborative group: would the team coalesce into a functioning unit? How would we overcome differences in pedagogy? Would each member contribute adequately to the group whole?

My most significant lessons in completing this integrated unit came as answers to these concerns and as a reminder of how much I continually have to learn. As team leader, I had the distinct pleasure of working with an amazing and diverse group of professionals. Many of the recommendations offered for creating an effective community have in fact made their way into our cohort team, including “creat[ing] an environment of trust” and “creat[ing] productive dialogue” (Solomon & Schrum, 2007, pp. 105-106). I teach fifth grade science, and as the only member of Team TNT currently teaching in a K-12 classroom, we decided to focus on curriculum with which I was already familiar. My background knowledge in the fifth grade science content standards, along with two colleagues' experiences in curriculum and another's experience in college level science, gave us more freedom to focus on development of technology integration into existing district curriculum, an exercise we felt was more authentic to a real-life facilitation environment. We took an existing unit on Earth Science and used it as the basis of our scenario response. Together we utilized a variety of technological integrations in our lessons, particularly the use of productivity tools from Microsoft Office, digital video, and interactive whiteboard technology from SMART Technologies. I was responsible for the first two activities: creation of a graphic organizer using productivity tools and interactive graphic organizers/formative assessment using SMART Notebook and SMART Response applications. The first activity offers students the opportunity to create combination notes. These style of notes, which employ outlining, webbing, and pictographs in addition to words, have been shown to be effective: "Graphic representation has been shown to produce a percentile gain of 39 points in student achievement" (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, p. 124). The second activity utilizes interactive whiteboard technology to create and work with pattern organizers. Pattern organizers are useful in teaching critical characteristics of vocabulary and are particularly useful in science (pp. 93-94). The use of classroom response systems such as SMART Response allows teachers to collect data immediately and work with students to analyze data and make instructional decisions (p. 45). Our overall approach was to create a constructivist style that would not be overwhelming or threatening to a classroom teacher with minimal technological experience and skill. Together we created a cohesive body of resources appropriate for a legitimate learning environment, one that I utilized on my own campus; and, we have done so while we shared new ideas and overcame challenges as a group. The requirement of the coursework to look at a variety of options for integrated learning activities was vital to addressing both subject area and technology content standards for students. From a pedagogical perspective, this project called for the team to strike a balance between the goal of student-centered instruction and the need to address content standards in curriculum. I endorse the Core Knowledge philosophy pioneered by E.D. Hirsch, which emphasizes our obligation to students not only to make information available to them, but to act as leaders in creating the framework for learning (1987, p.23). However, I also support the main tenet of constructivist theory: that learning is shown to be a personal, intimate relationship between student and knowledge (Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, 1999). The project touched on many of the Technology Facilitator Standards and Performance Indicators, including On the whole I achieved all of my personal goals for this assignment. While I experienced some logistical challenges in working with the CAST Lesson Builder website, in the end I submitted three excellent artifacts. The lessons come together to build a cohesive unit that integrates the best technological tools available on my campus along with the best practices that I bring to the classroom. One area of growth I uncovered in this assignment involved my lack of knowledge in the available assistive technology in my district. Upon completion of the course, I met with my mentor and developed a two-year plan to familiarize myself with my district’s resources and receive intensive training in these resource options. References:
 * II.A: Provide resources & feedback to teachers as they integrate technology into units; consult with teachers during development and assist teachers during implementation;
 * II.B: Assist teachers as they apply current research on teaching/learning with technology during planning;
 * II.C: Assist teachers in identification and location of available technology resources/ model use of available technology resources;
 * II.F: Assist teachers in identification and application of instructional design principles associated with technology resources;
 * III.B: Facilitate use of strategies for integrating technology in the instruction of diverse learners, including adaptive and assistive technology;
 * III.E: Facilitate curricular methods and strategies that are alignment with district/state/national technology standards;
 * <span style="color: #0f380f; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">IV.A: Model and facilitate strategies for the use of technology in student assessment (diagnostic, formative, and summative);
 * <span style="color: #0f380f; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">VI.B: Facilitate use of technology in instruction to enable learners with diverse learning needs;
 * <span style="color: #0f380f; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">VII.C: Provide/support PD at the building level utilizing adult learning theory (Williamson & Redish, 2009)

<span style="color: #0f380f; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Hirsch, E. D. (1987). //Cultural literacy: What every american needs to know.// Boston: Houghton Mifflin. <span style="color: #0f380f; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Southwest Educational Development Laboratory. (1999). //Learning as a personal event: A brief introduction to// //constructivism.// Retrieved February 26, 2011, from [] <span style="color: #0f380f; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Pitler, H., Hubbell, E. R., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). //Using technology with classroom instruction that works.// Alexandria, VA: <span style="color: #0f380f; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. <span style="color: #0f380f; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Rose, D. H., & Meyer, A. (2002). //Teaching every student in the digital age:// //Universal design for learning.// Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Retrieved March 18, 2011 from __[]__ <span style="color: #0f380f; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Solomon, G., & Schrum, L. (2007). //Web 2.0: New tools, new schools.// Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education. <span style="color: #0f380f; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Williamson, J., & Redish, T. (2009). //ISTE's technology facilitation and// l//eadership standards: What every K-12 leader should know and be able to// do//.// Washington: International Society for Technology in Education.