EDLD 5364 - Week 5 - Course Reflection

Reflection of Course EDLD 5364 –Teaching with Technology

As a technologist I have collaborated with groups of individuals face-to-face however this was my first complete project with an online group. Learning online collaboration skills differ than a face-to-face however I could use some of this insight developing this online program for our group of diverse students. Our group project scenario contained many students with disabilities which required looking at some familiar technology in a different way. I had never considered basic tools of word processing and spreadsheets as an enhanced learning tool. “Word processing programs are extremely versatile and well suited as tools to create advance organizers, whether expository, narrative, or graphic.” (Pitler, 2007). Instead of handing a student a black-line master, give them access to a word processing program or spreadsheet application and let them create an organizer which allows student’s the flexibility to structure the information based on their specific needs for understanding.

My approach for this group project was to view the Texas TEKS and NETS for the curriculum and technology requirements for a 5^th grade reading class. With the introduction of the new STAAR test, preparing students to read and analyze non-fiction works is very important so we decided on a science based reading lesson. Our group collaborated in various ways, through email, shared website and Google documents. I feel our overall group project was complete and created a very effective online lesson that addressed the diverse population of the class. For our discussion forums, I enjoyed searching for a unique quote that would elicit a reaction from the forum participants. During the fifth week my quote from Mr. Gee, “…video games are just an assessment” that evoked many responses and even had some of my colleagues considering a different view of video games. Reflecting on our wikis and blogs helped me to summarize the week’s activities and formulate conclusions and impressions that I might not have retained.

One of my life-long learning challenges is how to help teachers to take ownership of their learning of technology. “Once the goal of enhancing teaching and learning through technology is agreed upon, there are many ways to accomplish it. One of the most successful is to use the technology to learn how to use the technology, or some might say, not just talk the talk, but truly walk the walk.”(Solomon, 2007) During this course I experienced using technology in new ways; through collaboration and applying various technology tools our project enabled students to experience learning on a more interactive, creative level. As stated in the video we need to prepare our students for the 21^stCentury and my hope to inspire others to embrace the journey to enhance our technology integrated education system.

Edutopia.org(nd). Big thinkers: James Paul Gee on grading with games. Retrieved on Oct. 5, 2009 from http://www.edutopia.org/ditital-generation-jamees-gee-video.

Youtube.com (nd). Vision for 21st Century Learning. Retrieved on October 5, 2009 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MITXK2KXUf4

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007) Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandra, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, pg. 75.

Solomon, G., & Schrum, L. (2007). Web 2.0: New tools, new schools, Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education, pg. 111