Technology Integrated Lesson Reflection

I believe our Unit Plan was well planned and organized in a manner that would maximize student understanding and learning. I believe we used technology in an effective way that supplements student engagement and learning rather than clouding the concepts and confusing the students with unnecessary technology tools. The tools we chose were clear and extremely student friendly, so that we were able to highlight the math concepts without overwhelming the students with confusing new technology.

With regards to the TPCK model, in my opinion, our lesson does a good job integrating content, pedagogy and technology. I believe the strategies we use and technology we implement only strengthens the content concepts and amplifies learning. I believe our lesson balanced all three components well and the intersection of these components strengthens the lesson.

Successes

I think one of our lesson’s greatest successes is how seamlessly our technology fit into our lesson. I believe it strengthens the content and reinforces key concepts we hope our students grasp. I also think our lesson does a good job of outlining each concept and building on previous concepts which will help students follow and understand those concepts more completely. Lastly, as this is a math unit, I believe our use of a combination of concrete, representational and virtual manipulatives will maximize learning.

Areas to Work on

While this lesson went very smoothly because it was executed in front of graduate students, I can’t help but wonder how it would really play out in front of real-life 4th graders? I imagine the lesson would potentially not run quite as smoothly. I think we might have to proceed through the lesson at a slower pace to accommodate for those students who need a bit more time and help to complete the tasks. Also, having three teachers administer one lesson makes multitasking possible (i.e. delivering the lesson, dealing with technology and technological difficulties, scaffolding, etc.) Administering this lesson by myself might prove to have some difficulties in multitasking.

Content, Pedagogy and Technology

I actually think the concept of graphing is one of the most seamless topics to introduce with technology. Graphing lends itself very well to the use of computers and other digital technologies which made our lesson and unit flow rather smoothly.

Increasing Media Usage amongst Young People

These findings did not necessarily surprise me at all. It is obvious that young people today are spending more and more time with media. One way this might affect my teaching is it may require me to spend more time learning about the technologies my students interact with most and, if possible, learn to integrate them into the classroom in some capacity.

However, looking at the information and data presented more critically in the key findings, I had a couple questions that I thought would be important to raise. For example, the data states that while time on computers , watching TV and listening to music has increased over the past 5 years, time reading print materials has decreased. When you further break this information down, it shows that time spent reading magazines and newspapers has almost cut in half. This begs the question; couldn’t young people be getting their news and magazine information online? The article does not go into detail about what these young people are doing online and it is reasonable to think they are still getting this information, just from a different medium. I’m not saying whether this new way of getting information is good or bad, but a question that is not addressed within data presented. It is difficult for me to comment on whether or not this increase in media usage is a good or a bad thing without more information about what these young people are doing with the technology addressed in the article.

A Reflection on Readings

        In my opinion, all three readings have a couple key points in common.  First of all, the general theme of both Tech Tonic and The Flickering Mind is that technology is not the end all be all, especially in the realm of education.  That is, just because new technologies exist and continue to progress, this does not necessarily mean that the educational system and instructional strategies will dramatically change right away, nor should they.  Oppenheimer furthers this point by saying that computers will never take the place of teachers and classrooms in the traditional sense as some people have claimed over the years.  They also agree that technology must be used in a responsible and planned manner in order to be effective when used in instruction.  For example, Tech Tonic states that technological literacy does not only mean being competent in using machines but it also refers to teachers and students being creative, critical and ethically responsible when it comes to using technology.  Oppenheimer talks about how technology will not be effective if teachers are not trained properly in how, why, and when they should incorporate technology into their instruction.  Furthermore, the NET-S goals demonstrate incorporating technology into the classroom in an ideal manner.

       All in all, I believe all three texts would agree that in order for technology to be truly effective in education technological practices must be used in meaningful ways.  They must not take the place of the teacher or instruction but must act as a supplemental tool that each teacher is trained in using appropriately.  As technology will inevitably be a part of students’ lives, they must be taught to use it responsibly, critically and ethically (as the specific forms of technology will be forever changing), without losing out on face-to-face interactions and our “humanistic traditions”.

Philosophy of Learning and Technology

My philosophy of learning is that learning is as much about personal growth as it is about academic growth.  Learning allows people to become well rounded individuals.  It opens their eyes and mind to other opinions, ideas and information which allows them to see the world more completely and from other perspectives.  I believe every man, woman and child has the ability, right and duty to learn throughout their entire lives in whatever capacity appropriate.  I believe the aim for education and learning should be to promote positive personal and academic growth and that every child regardless of disability, culture, race, etc. should be constantly challenged to reach a new and higher level of learning appropriate for his or her personal situation.

            I believe it is the responsibility of the teacher to use a variety of instructional strategies and assistive technology to promote the best opportunity for each student to learn.  .  The teacher is the guide and it is his or her job to captivate the audience and bring about the most academic and personal growth possible during the school year that will carry with them throughout the students’ lives.  Understanding and keeping up-to-date on the latest innovations in technology is part of this responsibility.  I believe technology in general should be used as an aid in the classroom to supplement the students’ learning and captivate them in new and exciting ways.  Technology should also be used as a tool to engage students to actively participate in their learning; allowing them to take more away from the classroom and, hopefully, retain more content long term.