Final Reflection

                In week 1, I stated that my personal theory of learning was that children learn best when they are totally immersed in their learning through hands on, concrete activities and when they feel a connection with what they are learning. I also mentioned that I identified with the Constructivist learning theories best. Now that I am at the end of this course, I feel that my views have stayed somewhat the same. However, my understanding of all learning theories has become deeper and more concrete. This is very useful to me because I do not think that one theory covers all children in all situations. I think that having knowledge of all learning theories can help any teacher become more proficient in their instruction.

                As far as technology goes, this class has really broadened my horizons of technology use. I am so very excited to begin a new school year and use/share all of the new ideas that I have learned through this course. I also have a better understanding how technology can enhance almost any lesson. By adding technology tools, a normal lesson can be transformed into one that really deepens and impacts student learning.  I am very anxious to use tools such as VoiceThread, online concept mapping, virtual field trips, and many more. In fact, my principal is eagerly awaiting a list and demonstration of some of these fantastic tools.

                One immediate adjustment I plan to make to my instructional practice is that I will be devoting more time to investigate all possibilities of adding technology to my lessons. This year I used technology in a good bit of my instruction, but it seemed like I used the same resources over and over. It always felt very tedious to me to search and test out new things. Now, I realize how much of an impact skilled technology use can have on the education of my students. I am now more excited to check out all of the new resources I have been exposed to.

                Two resources I plan to use right away are VoiceThread and online concept mapping. I think that they are going to be great for my students to use collaboratively. VoiceThread is going to be a fresh new way to make learning exciting for my students and there are so many ways to incorporate it. I already do concept mapping with my students, but I think students will love creating them online to share with each other. These tools are really going to get my students interacting with the curriculum and each other.

                I have two long term goals as a result of taking this course. As I mentioned earlier, I would like to start spending additional time looking for more ways to use technology tools in my teaching. That would be my first goal, to devote the time to finding/testing more technology tools. This will be easy for me now that I have knowledge of the great resources from this course. My second goal is to spread the excitement that I have for technology use to my colleagues. Most of my colleagues use technology; however, I plan to share the many resources that have been exposed to so that they can enhance their students’ education as well.

                To conclude, this course has been an incredible asset to my knowledge of teaching. I have become more adept at integrating new technology tools into my instruction. My understanding of the many learning theories has become greater. All of these things will help strengthen the quality of my teaching and boost my effectiveness.