Reflection

As I reflect on my “Personal Theory of Learning” I developed in week 1, I still lean toward the eclectic approach. I feel each learning theory plays a part in the classroom to make learning effective. The constructivism and the social learning theory should have the major role in the learning process. They target different learning styles while keeping students engaged in the learning process. They also allow for conversation and collaboration to take place that are essential skills for the 21st century. Also, they employ the student to be responsible for their learning by letting them explore and implement their imagination.

An immediate adjustment that I would make would to implement a student-centered classroom and have more collaborative group projects. I really like the idea of students taking responsibility for learning and in-turn, being able to teach the concept. Orey tells us that students learn best when they teach. The technology tools that really caught my interest were Webspiration(concept mapping), Voice Thread, and PowerPoint. Concept Mapping allows for students to visualize relationships and helps them to organize information-which is a critical component of learning. They each support the dual coding hypothesis by connecting visuals with text and when used as a learning tool, students are allowed to use their creativity and find their own answers.

The long-term goals I have are to implement technology more as a learning tool instead of an instructional tool and to implement it for the use of collaboration and cooperative learning. I will ensure that activities that involve the interactive white board and the computer are hands-on allowing for students to be involved in manipulating and finding answers and to allow for students to work in groups to create artifacts and to find answers together. First and foremost, to implement technology effectively in the classroom, I first need to be more comfortable in using them. I plan on creating several voice threads, PowerPoints, and concept maps to use in the classroom so I can aid students to reach their full potential.

voice thread

http://voicethread.com/share/571408/