Final Reflection

* Reflect on the “Personal Theory of Learning” you developed in Week 1. Summarize any modifications to your personal theory of learning you have made as a result of your learning in this course.

I would not change my Personal Theory of Learning that I wrote at the beginning of this course. I think I do a good job of ensuring that all my children are included in the learning process. I strive to differentiate my instruction to accommodate the needs of each child in my classroom.

* Describe any immediate adjustments you will make to your instructional practice regarding technology integration as a result of your learning in this course. Identify two technology tools you would like to use with your students and how the tools will support or enhance your students’ learning.

One adjustment that I have made in my classroom is that I ensure we have two opportunities each week to utilize hands-on technology. We have a laptop cart in our classroom all day on Wednesday. We all take time in the morning to work on Study Island, iStation, or Spelling City. It is also a time that students can work on research they need for an assignment. On Thursday afternoon we have a laptop cart for Spelling City and then we use BrainPop for Social Studies and/or Science.

* List two long-term goal changes you would like to make to your instructional practice regarding technology integration and outline a strategy for achieving them.

I want to do some research this summer to incorporate more technology in my classroom. I want to ensure that I am using technology in the correct way such as teaching and learning technology.
I also want to spend more time teaching using technology instead of the textbooks. I think that students learn quicker and retain more information when we move away from textbooks and use technology for teaching and learning.

Social Learning

Discussion 5

I have to agree that social learning is what most educators use in their classrooms today to stay abreast of the changes in teaching today. I prefer to have my children doing the teaching because it gives me the opportunity to observe and ensure they are mastering the lesson. I like to use group or projects as much as possible in my classroom because I have realized that children learn best with hands-on activities. Children also learn from their peers working in groups than they do from a lecture.
Today in Science we had a social learning time as children presented their Science Fair Projects. I was amazed how the presenter held the attention of their classmates as they presented their projects. I just sat back and let each student teach the class today. They interacted with one another and were interested in many of the projects. I also enjoyed the question and answer time after each presentation. I would ask a question to trigger the conversation among the presenter and the audience of students.
I think that using technology is very important in the classroom. I do not get the opportunity to use technology as often as I would like to because we are limited to laptop carts. I try to have laptops available in my classroom one or two days a week as we work on Study Island, iStation, or SpellingCity. We use Macs in our school system so we have Garageband available. Garageband has Podcast which is very similar to Virtual Thread. I plan to introduce Podcast to my students in the next few weeks as we work on a project in Social Studies.

My Voice Thread

Creating a Voice Thread was more difficult than I thought it would be. Below is my first Voice Thread. I hope you can give me some feedback.

http://voicethread.com/share/897646/

Constructivism vs Constructionism

I had not heard of “constructivism or constructionism” until reading the text this week. I realized then that I use each of these theories in my classroom. This week is Space Week in our district. We are focusing on Space in most every subject.
We have used the constructionism theory a lot this week. We have decorated our hallways with all kinds of space information. Our hallway (4th and 5th) has put an emphasis on the nine planets. We have constructed the planets and have put information about each planet on the walls. The children have enjoyed being out of their seats most all day working on this project. As we work we are discussing the planets and how each are similar or different.
I enjoy this type of teaching even though it sometimes seems like chaos especially when guest walk among our hallways. The kids are actually learning more with hands-on activities than they do with the textbook. I enjoy this approach of teaching but know that we also need constructivism at times to ensure that we are on track.

Week 3

I enjoyed this weeks reading resources especially chapter 4 and chapter 6 in the textbook. As we review for chapter test in Social Studies and Science I strive to teach my children how to take notes and not just write down what I am saying. They are trying to make the change but some of them are have difficulty.

Virtual field trips are a great tools to enhance a lesson. It is also a great tool to use as several of my children have not traveled much and enjoy seeing place that we discuss in the textbook.. I am working on a virtual field trip of Washington D.C. as we study the U.S. government.

I enjoyed the material we read this week and the comments from colleagues. I am always open to other educators opinions and thoughts about behaviorism in the classroom. I strive to focus on the positive and reward this behavior instead of focusing on the negative behavior.

I like to use hands-on activities, group work, and projects to reinforce what I am teaching in the classroom. I also like to incorporate technology in my lessons and as a reward for good behavior.

New Class at Walden Univ.

Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology EDUC6711

I have never had a blog before so this will be interesting. I have this course and one more and I will have completed my program at Walden University. I am looking forward to having some free time again.