I believe my purpose as an educator is to personalize and differentiate learning for every student. Today’s students are learning in the digital age which requires educators to customize and personalize learning activities that address students’ different learning styles, work strategies, and abilities using technology tools and resources. I think the use of technology can accomplish that.
Students today have a new way of looking at the world which sometimes seems mismatched with teachers and their pedagogy. The way students learn is changing and with that we rely more on technology. Educators need ongoing training to stay current and connected to improve their teaching and learning techniques. Educational technology to me is the process of implementing technology into every part of the educational process to improve learning and performance. Teachers can use technology to design, develop, implement, evaluate, and manage instruction, as well as, for administrative duties. Teachers can utilize technology to differentiate between the students different learning styles. Technology can enrich student learning and met each objective. Being in the library gives me many opportunities to instruct and engage the students in the use of technology. The use of databases, the search for information, and more, give me the opportunity to create, use, and manage the appropriate technological processes and resources the students need.
Technology in education uses an array of tools that might improve student performance by creating, using and managing the appropriate technology needed in the process. As Alan November states in his article “Creating a New Culture of Teaching and Learning”, first decide on what you want the outcome to be and than what technology should be used to accomplish that. I think educational technology is more than just given the students technology tools. A teacher must teach the students how they can use the technology tool to obtain a needed outcome. I believe, as it has been a while, brought and traded instance, when the need is to locate a book in the library for a report a student is working on, the students needs to know how to use the OPAC, our library’s online database. It is my job to continually teach students how to use this tool throughout the year to improve their searching skills to find the exact resource they are looking. I think Bloom’s Taxonomy is a helpful when designing learning activities. A project using technology can be a good way for students to analysis and synthesis the information. Every student learns in a different way, so teachers must be respectful of a variety of diverse individual learning styles. Teachers need to customize their teaching for individual’s needs. Using technology can be that tool that will meet the need to customize teaching and learning.
I do try to have a constructivist learning environment when I was in the classroom and now in the library. A constructivist learning environment provides learning environments such as real-world settings or case-based learning instead of a set sequence of instruction, and encourages thoughtful reflection on experience, support collaborative construction of knowledge through cooperation. Constructivist learning is student-centered; the teacher becomes a facilitator. Higher-level thinking is encouraged. I believe the use of technology works best in this environment.
A learning atmosphere where students utilize their prior knowledge and experiences to formulate new, related and/or adaptive concepts in learning is the type of learning environment I feel works best. When I reflect back on my own education, I remember a teacher that seemed to always have us involved. It was an American History class and I believe it was 11th grade. I remember one lesson we ran a mock stock exchange. We met in a large group room and were assigned to small groups. The teacher set up the stock market floor. I still remember our group made the most money and won the challenge. It was so much fun. I felt like I took control of my learning that day and was very driven to be involved in the process. I remember wanting to be a part of that fast paced world.
In conclusion, my philosophy of educational technology includes personalized learning, being mindful of the diversity of all the learners, and providing opportunities for “real world” learning through discovery. It is my philosophy that educational technology is a tool that affords the opportunity to differentiate my teaching to best meet the needs of my students in a learner-centered environment.
Week 1 Reflection: This was a very thought provoking week. Writing down my educational technology philosophy took some organization of many thoughts for me. When I reflected on a favorite teacher and why, I thought about a history teacher of mine. I remembered the lessons he has us involved. It was like a “ah ha!” moment for me. This could be the root of my philosophy.
In the article by Alan November, “Creating a New Culture of Teaching and Learning”, I find his six topics relative. I do find that school districts focus on automating when developing a technology plan, I know mine does. I do find it puzzling that there is no real evidence to show computers improve teaching and learning. Teachers do need to tell their stories. We have some wonderful teachers that need to share their knowledge. Unlike November, I do think that technology can be an equalizer in education, but like he stated it is “because the real action is at home”. I am equally convinced that the real issue isn’t technology, but rather its information, communication, and community relations. I would first ask teachers, as November asks, “What relationship do you want to have?” Then I would ask, “What technology do you want to have?” The irony is that we will end up with more technology, not less.
I think Stephen Downs makes a good point for the potential use of blogging in education. But as he says, we are not there yet. Educators should be doing more collaborating and a good place to do it is on a blog. This quote really makes since to me, “I mean ultimately, aren't we trying to teach our kids how to learn, and isn't that [what] blogging is all about?" from Will Richards who emailed Downs. We need to get busy!
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