Reflection
Synopsis
In
reflection, the last seven weeks has raised my awareness and understandings of
implementing technology in the classroom. When planning a lesson, I have learnt
to consider the partnership between SAMR and Blooms Taxonomy to extend the
level of learning for the students. When using technology as a mode of learning
with students, there comes the responsibility to teach legal, safe and ethical
expectations and ensuring that the students follow them. Personally, having
participated in an online community during this course has had its complex
moments, however it has been an experience which has deepened my understanding
of how and why an online community can be an effective way of sharing knowledge
and understanding.
Implementing technology in the classroom
The
classroom can be a room inside or a space outside where a learning environment
is set out. It is important as educators to be creative within these learning
spaces, and the implementation of technology is one effective way. There are so
many different types of technological devices available to increase the level
of learning for students such as; the use of mobile phones, powerpoint, videos
and blogs. To reflect on advancements made since I first attended school, to
the senior years and now training to become a teacher is really amazing.
Technology changes so quickly and its level of acceptance within the Education
System is also growing all the time. As a future educator, it is accepting the
challenge to move beyond a reliance of key technological favourites and rather
adapt and modify different and better options as they are available. Skilling
students in having the ability to use technology to access information is a
vital need for their future as working citizens.
Developing effective learnings experiences
with SAMR and Blooms Taxonomy
While
it is important to provide opportunities for exploring with technology in the
classroom, it is vital that the learning experiences are challenging and
require critical thinking. When responding to the weekly embedded tasks, I
gained an understanding of the need to develop activities that were linked to
the SAMR model and Blooms Taxonomy. This raised awareness was important as a
future educator as I realised that a task where a student uses technology to
simply view information can expect simplistic skills from the student, however
a modification of the task in partnership with a more complex use of the technology
can significantly increase the skill expectation. Also by implementing
technology on a regular basis in the classroom will demand a higher level of
knowledge and understanding from the students as their need to adapt to
changing technological advancements will be a necessary skill. By gaining a
deeper understanding of technological devices in the classroom, SAMR and Blooms
Taxonomy, I believe that these understandings will have a significant influence
on the way I plan and implement future learning experiences.
Legal, safe and ethical considerations
using technology for learning
When
implementing technology within learning environments, it is vital to be aware
of, teach and adhere to legal, safe ethical considerations and expectations. As
a young adult, I became very aware that this is an area that I needed to gain a
deeper understanding of as it is very easy to blur these boundaries without
meaning to. However as a future educator, it is vital that I adhere to all
considerations and expectations required so that I set a good example to
students by clearly demonstrating where the appropriate line is and why it
can’t be crossed. This line is still debatable even between adults as many
educators would argue that providing students with the opportunity to use their
mobile phone device in the classroom can be beneficial, while other adults
would strongly disagree. During my middle school years, the use of YouTube
within a class learning experience was very debatable and each teacher had
their personal perspective. However today, students are not only using YouTube
in the classroom, but they have accounts and are creating their own videos and
uploading them. This example reflects the challenge of knowing what the safe
and legal expectations of using technology are, and then being aware of the
changing lines of the ethical expectations and ensuring that I make wise and
professional decisions.
Participating in an online learning communities
When
one belongs to and participates in an online learning community there is an
expectation that each person reads each other’s text and makes contributing
comments. This was not a smooth process for me as I was able to see others
contributions and comments, however they weren’t able to see mine. This was a
learning experience for me as it was due to my link not being available. Even
though this was my fault, I found it a good learning experience. Having the
opportunity to read others contributions, provided me with greater
understanding of the content being covered and the different opinions that a
group of learners can have. This learning community strategy would be very
effective to use with students as the level of engagement required a higher
level of critical thinking.
