Through this class I have stretched myself and learned many new things. Understanding the different philosophies behind technology integration was key and really helped me to confirm as an educator that just using tech in your classroom isn't enough. We must be deliberate and thoughtful about when and how we use it so that students are learning content, along with technology skills and critical thinking and problem solving skills in order to be effective in this ever changing 21st century. Preparing student for jobs and careers that don't even exist yet can be an overwhelming task, but knowing that I am empowering my students to be life-long learners with the skills to read critically, think deeply, collaborate, and communicate effectively with technology helps me to know that they will be successful.
One of the ways that I will continue to learn is through the Applied Google Skills. I had no idea that this existed. In this class we tackled one, but now I know a place I can go to for ideas for my students, and also just to learn new tech skills for myself. I even think that these applied skills lend themselves to professional development use. What a great find!
I also really began to understand what flipped learning is and how I could see myself using it in my own classroom. Before this class, I really thought it could only be used and effective at the middle school level and above. But when thinking about math class in particular, I really like the idea of having videos that students can access outside of school for learning and review. I think parents alike will appreciate this too, so I'm making it a goal of mine to try it out next year. Seeing others' videos and screencasts from this class were inspiring and having to make one of my own, got me over the fear of hearing my own voice.
Robin,
ReplyDeleteLike you I feel like I have learned so much from this course. I wish I had more time to just dedicate to exploring Google Applied Skills. There are so many good options and most people don't even know about them. They are a go to resource for ideas for meaningfully integrating tech into the curriculum. I also enjoyed exploring Flipped Learning a bit. I think it can be a powerful instructional strategy for students that don't catch on right away and, as you said, for parents that are not familiar with the "new math" we are teaching (common core).